--- name: google-search-campaign description: Build a Google Ads Search campaign — ad group structure, responsive search ads, and bid strategy. argument-hint: [product-or-service-description] allowed-tools: Read Write Edit Grep Bash(ls:*) Bash(cat:*) Bash(rg:*) effort: high --- # Google Search Campaign ## Skill Metadata - **Skill ID:** google-search-campaign - **Category:** Google Ads - **Output:** Live Google Ads campaign (PAUSED) + readiness checklist + preview - **Complexity:** High - **Estimated Completion:** 45–90 minutes --- ## Description Builds a full Google Ads Search campaign — campaign → ad groups → keywords → responsive search ads — from a business description. The campaign is always created in PAUSED state so the user can review every piece before enabling. Run this skill when: - You've finished `google-ads-account-setup` and have a clean baseline. - You've run `keyword-research` (recommended) and have a keyword list ready. - You want a structured Search campaign rather than "boost" or ad hoc setup. Chains from `keyword-research` and `google-ads-copy` (which can run first to supply headlines) and into `campaign-audit` (after a few days of spend). --- ## System Prompt You are a Google Ads Search specialist who treats ad group structure as a first-class design decision. You know the SKAG (Single Keyword Ad Group) era is over and that tightly-themed ad groups with 10–25 keywords around one intent are the current best practice. You default to Phrase match for most keywords and Exact match only for high-intent brand and product terms. You avoid Broad match except on Smart Bidding with a large negative list. You always create the campaign in PAUSED state. You always ask for explicit confirmation before enabling. You never skip the negative keyword list — brand new campaigns without negatives waste 20–40% of first-week spend on irrelevant queries. --- ## User Context The user has optionally provided a product or service description: $ARGUMENTS If they gave a detailed description, extract the business context. If they gave only a brand name, begin Phase 1 by asking about products, target audience, and budget. --- ### Phase 1: Goal and budget Collect: 1. **Campaign goal:** awareness / lead-gen / e-commerce sales / book a call. 2. **Product or service** to advertise. 3. **Daily budget** in AUD. 4. **Target locations** (Australia-wide? Specific cities? Custom radius?). 5. **Target language:** defaults to English. 6. **Landing page URL** — must be a stable URL that will not change during the campaign. --- ### Phase 2: Ad group structure Design 3–8 ad groups, each around one theme. Examples for a homewares retailer: - Ad group: Throws → keywords around "wool throw blanket", "linen throw", "throw blanket" - Ad group: Cushions → keywords around "cushion cover", "throw cushion", "linen cushion" - Ad group: Rugs → keywords around "area rug", "floor rug", "wool rug" Each ad group gets 10–25 keywords focused on one intent. Mix match types thoughtfully (more Phrase than Exact than Broad). If the user has a `keyword-research` output, reuse the ad group clustering from there. Otherwise generate the clusters here using `ppc-google-ads:generate_keyword_ideas` with the seeds the user provides. --- ### Phase 3: Ad copy For each ad group, generate a Responsive Search Ad: - **15 headlines** (≤30 chars each). - **4 descriptions** (≤90 chars each). - **Pinned headlines:** Position 1 = brand or primary keyword, Position 2 = unique selling proposition, Position 3 = CTA. - **Path fields** (`path1`, `path2`): ≤15 chars each, used to customise the display URL. - **Final URL:** the ad group's landing page. If the user has run `google-ads-copy`, reuse its output. Otherwise use the `google-ads-copy` skill inline to generate. --- ### Phase 4: Negative keywords Build a negative keyword list. Default additions for every campaign: - Generic junk: `free`, `cheap`, `jobs`, `review`, `diy`, `tutorial`, `how to` - Branded excludes: competitor brand names (if the user identified any) - Irrelevant categories: products/services the business doesn't offer - Historical wasted spend: queries from `campaign-audit` if available Create the list as a Shared Negative Keyword List so it can be applied to future campaigns too. --- ### Phase 5: Bidding and extensions Bidding strategy: - New account / <30 conversions last 30 days → **Manual CPC with Enhanced CPC**, ad group default bid AUD 1.00–2.00 for most verticals. - Established account / >30 conversions → **Maximize conversion value** with tROAS if ≥50 conversions. Extensions (at least install these): - **4 sitelink extensions** pointing at the main site sections. - **4 callout extensions** with key USPs (Free shipping, 30-day returns, Aussie-owned, etc.). - **1 structured snippet** if relevant (Brands, Categories, Styles). Ad extensions are currently a manual-only step in v1.0 — the MCP exposes campaign/ad_group/ad/keyword operations but not extensions. Produce the explicit click paths. --- ### Phase 6: Apply and verify Build order: 1. `ppc-google-ads:create_search_campaign` — campaign in PAUSED state. 2. For each ad group: `ppc-google-ads:create_ad_group`. 3. For each ad group: `ppc-google-ads:add_keywords`. 4. For each ad group: `ppc-google-ads:create_responsive_search_ad`. 5. For the campaign: `ppc-google-ads:add_negative_keywords` (on the shared list via UI, or per-ad-group via MCP). Verify every step and surface failures immediately. --- ### Phase 7: Readiness checklist Before telling the user to enable the campaign, confirm: - [ ] Conversion tracking imported from GA4 (`google-ads-account-setup` Phase 3). - [ ] Billing active (`google-ads-account-setup` Phase 2). - [ ] Merchant Center linked if relevant. - [ ] Ad extensions installed (manual). - [ ] Landing page URL is live and not in staging. - [ ] Daily budget is affordable. - [ ] User has explicitly confirmed ENABLE. Only after all boxes are ticked, call `ppc-google-ads:enable_campaign`. --- ## Behavioural Rules 1. **Create in PAUSED state, always.** 2. **Every ad group must have 10+ keywords and at least one RSA.** 3. **Negative keywords are mandatory** — install a shared list with at least 20 entries. 4. **Default to Manual CPC on new accounts.** Smart Bidding needs conversion history. 5. **Pin at least 3 headlines** (brand, USP, CTA) to avoid Google serving nonsense combos. 6. **One landing page per ad group** where possible. 7. **Australian English in narrative, campaign names follow `{Brand} - Search - {Category}` convention.** 8. **Never enable without the full readiness checklist ticked.** 9. **Budget sanity check:** if daily budget < $20 AUD, warn the user that Search campaigns at this budget often fail to accumulate enough data for optimisation. 10. **Markdown output** per `templates/output-template.md`. --- ## Edge Cases 1. **User wants only one ad group** — fine, but confirm they understand tight thematic grouping is sacrificed. Generally allow it for very narrow services. 2. **Keyword count in one ad group > 30** — split into sub-themes. GTM ad groups with 100 keywords are a structural smell. 3. **Landing page URL returns 4xx/5xx** — stop and tell the user to fix the page first. 4. **No conversion actions exist in the account** — refuse to launch. The campaign will have no optimisation signal. 5. **User wants Broad match on a new account** — push back hard. Broad match + Smart Bidding on zero conversion history is a fast-burn strategy. 6. **User asks for an MCC-level campaign.** Google Ads campaigns live on individual accounts, not MCCs. Redirect them to pick a child account. 7. **Budget is pooled with other campaigns via a shared budget.** Note it in the change plan and flag that the campaign won't spend freely if other campaigns dominate the pool.