How to Build Your Google Ads Campaign Like a City Planner for Maximum ROI

Are you looking to stop wasteful spending, drive more qualified traffic to your website, and generate a better ROI for your ad spend? By better organizing the structure of your Google Ads campaigns you can improve performance and reduce ad spend…putting more dollars into your bottom line! So maybe it’s time to stop thinking like an advertiser and more like a city planner. Here’s how….

Imagine your Google Search Ads campaign as a bustling, well-planned city—a place where each district, neighborhood, and street serves a distinct purpose, all working in harmony to attract visitors (your potential customers) and direct them to the right destinations (your products or services). Much like a city, your search ads need careful planning and efficient structure to generate traffic, conversions, and, ultimately, success.

Let’s explore the city-like structure of a Google Search Ads campaign and how each level plays a role in ensuring your ads reach the right audience, at the right time, with the right message.

1. Campaign Level: The City Plan

The campaign level represents the big picture—your city’s blueprint. This is where you define the overall purpose of your campaign, setting the foundation for all the elements that follow. Just as a city plan outlines where residential, commercial, and industrial zones will be, your campaign plan determines your core advertising goals, budgets, locations, and scheduling. Think of it as laying out the grand vision for your advertising efforts.

Key Components at the Campaign Level

• Campaign Objective: Like a city’s zoning laws, your campaign objective dictates what you’re trying to achieve. Is your goal to drive more foot traffic (website visitors)? Generate leads for future outreach? Or build brand awareness? By clearly defining your objective, you ensure each part of your campaign is aligned with your overall goals. For search ads, common objectives include:
  • driving sales
  • attracting traffic
  • capturing leads through forms

• Budget: The budget you set is the operational funding for your campaign—similar to how a city manages its resources to keep the infrastructure running smoothly. Your daily budget ensures you don’t overspend while trying to achieve your campaign goals. A well-thought-out budget strategy prevents ad spend from spiraling out of control and helps ensure your ads are shown consistently throughout the day without exhausting your budget too quickly.
• Location Targeting: In the same way a city communicates with its local citizens, businesses, or tourists, location targeting defines the geographic areas where your ads will be shown. Do you want your ads to appear locally, or are you targeting a national or global audience? When you narrow down your location targeting, you can focus on the right regions, meaning your ads will be shown to more of the right people, driving down your wasted ad spend. Targeting can be as broad as the entire world, or as narrow as a specific zip code.
• Bid Strategy: Much like a city allocates resources to different districts based on needs and priorities, your bid strategy determines how much you’re willing to pay for keywords that trigger your ads. For Google Search Ads, you can choose from various strategies, such as manual CPC (cost-per-click) or automated strategies like maximizing conversions. Your bid strategy should align with your campaign objectives—whether you’re focused on getting the most clicks for your money or achieving a specific number of conversions.
• Ad Scheduling: Just as cities experience different levels of activity at different times of day, your ads will perform differently based on when they’re shown. Ad scheduling allows you to set specific hours or days when your ads are most visible, ensuring you’re reaching your audience during peak times. For example, if your target audience tends to search for your products or services during lunch breaks or evenings, scheduling your ads for these times can help maximize visibility and effectiveness.

2. Ad Group Level: Neighborhoods of Strategy

Ad groups are like distinct neighborhoods within your city. Each ad group serves a specific purpose and contains ads and keywords that align with a particular theme. In the same way that different neighborhoods cater to different residents (luxury homes for affluent families, starter homes for first-time buyers, affordable housing units, etc.), your ad groups target different segments of your audience, based on their search intent.

Key Components at the Ad Group Level:

• Keywords: Keywords are the attractions that draw visitors into each neighborhood. Think of them as the key landmarks or features that define a neighborhood and entice people to visit. For example, if an ad group is focused on luxury skincare products, the keywords might include phrases like “best anti-aging cream” or “premium face serums.” Choosing the right keywords is essential, as they determine when and where your ads appear in search results.
• Audience Segmentation: Just as a city has neighborhoods that cater to different types of residents, your ad groups should be designed to appeal to specific audience segments. By tailoring your ad groups to the needs and behaviors of different audience segments, you can craft more relevant and effective ads that resonate with searchers. Learn more about the different audience types here.

  Note that audience segments are more often used in other campaign types and are not a required part of your search campaign setup.

• Ad Assets: Ad assets (formerly ad extensions) within each ad group are like extra amenities that make a neighborhood more attractive. Whether it’s call extensions (like direct phone lines) or sitelinks (signposts directing visitors to other areas of your website), ad extensions offer additional information and help improve the overall user experience. They also provide more opportunities for users to engage with your ads, increasing the chances of conversion. Learn more about the different asset types here.

  Note that ad assets can now be added to the campaign and account level.

3. Ad Level: The Buildings and Streets

At the ad level, you’re building the streets and buildings of your city—this is where the creative elements of your campaign come into play. Each ad is a storefront, designed to capture attention and guide visitors toward your landing page, which is the “shop interior.” This is the level where your messaging and creativity shine, as you write compelling ad copy and design experiences that encourage users to take action.

Key Components at the Ad Level:

• Ad Copy: Your headlines and descriptions are the signs on storefronts, designed to capture attention and invite visitors inside. Well-crafted ad copy is essential for search ads, as it must immediately convey the value of your offer and entice prospects to click. Keep in mind that people want quick, relevant information, so your headlines should be clear, concise, and focused on solving their problem or answering their question.
• Final URL (Landing Page): Your landing page is the interior of each store, and should deliver on the promises made on your signs (ad copy). Your landing page is where the magic happens—whether you’re showcasing a product, providing detailed information, or capturing a lead, the experience must be seamless and relevant. A well-optimized landing page with a clear call-to-action (CTA) is key to converting searchers into customers. Learn more about landing page best practices here.

Ad Example:

Final Thoughts

Just as a city’s success depends on careful planning and development, the performance of your Google Search Ads relies on a thoughtful and well-organized structure. By treating each level of your campaign as a critical piece of the larger system, you can create a thriving “city” of ads that consistently draws in the right audience and drives conversions.

Ready to build your city of search ads? Let us help you craft a winning strategy!

Rachel Burgard

Rachel was born and raised in southern NH, and became an official Mainer in 2016. With an academic background in psychology, she brings to flyte a passion for people and a fascination with what motivates them. This, combined with her artistic skillset, made the decision to pursue a career in marketing a no-brainer.

With a big sense of humor and sentimental nature, she becomes the “morale booster” of whatever group she’s in.

Outside flyte Rachel can usually be found doodling in her sketchbook, doing spot-on impressions (if she does say so herself), or binging the latest Netflix competition show.