A well-structured Google Ads account is the foundation of everything that comes after: Quality Scores, relevance, impression share, bidding control, and ultimately your cost per conversion. Poorly structured accounts — one campaign, one ad group, everything in one place — deliver mediocre results regardless of budget, because Google’s systems cannot optimise what they cannot differentiate.
This guide covers how to structure a Google Ads account correctly in 2026, including the changes that Smart Bidding and Performance Max have introduced to conventional structure wisdom.
Google Ads Account Hierarchy
vertical tree diagram with indented levels; each level in a distinct brand colour
Why Campaign Structure Matters in 2026
In the early years of Google Ads, campaign structure was primarily about control — isolating keywords to manage bids manually. In 2026, the structure rationale has evolved:
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Smart Bidding needs clean signals: Target CPA and Target ROAS bidding algorithms learn from conversion data. If you mix high-intent (“buy running shoes online”) with low-intent (“what are running shoes”) keywords in the same campaign, Smart Bidding cannot distinguish between them — it optimises for average performance across both, which is worse than optimising for each separately.
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Budget isolation: Separate campaigns for separate budgets. If your search campaign and Shopping campaign share a campaign, you cannot control how Google allocates spend between them.
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Geographic targeting: If you need different messaging or bidding for Delhi vs. Bengaluru vs. Tier 2 cities, you need separate campaigns.
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Attribution and reporting: Clean structure produces clean reports. “Campaign A spent ₹50,000 at ₹120 CPA” is a useful signal. “Campaign A (containing branded + non-branded + competitor + generic) spent ₹50,000” is an averaged number that obscures what’s working.
The Right Campaign Level Structure
Separate Campaigns By:
1. Campaign type: Search, Shopping, Display, Video, Performance Max, Demand Gen — each has separate settings and network reach. Never mix types in one campaign.
2. Budget requirement: If a keyword group or product category needs a protected budget, it needs its own campaign. Example: Brand terms often have high conversion rates and low CPCs. If you combine brand + non-brand in one campaign, brand terms can consume disproportionate budget, or you lose the ability to report them separately.
3. Geographic targeting: Different cities, regions, or countries need separate campaigns if you want different bids or messaging. For Indian businesses: a campaign targeting Mumbai with ₹500 CPL tolerance and a campaign targeting Tier 2 cities with ₹200 CPL tolerance cannot share budget or bid strategy.
4. Bid strategy: You cannot mix manual bidding with Target CPA in one campaign. Each campaign has one bid strategy.
5. Network targeting: Search network and Search partners often have different performance characteristics. If you want to monitor and potentially disable Search partners, you need to be able to see campaign-level data for it.
6. Match type separation (less critical in 2026): Historically, many advertisers separated exact match and broad match into separate campaigns. With Smart Bidding, this is less necessary — but separating broad match into its own campaign with a separate budget cap is still advisable for accounts with limited conversion data.
Recommended Campaign Structure for a Mid-Size Indian Business
Example: Indian real estate developer targeting property buyers
Campaign 1: Brand [Search]
Budget: ₹3,000/day
Bid strategy: Maximize Clicks (brand keywords rarely need CPA target)
Keywords: [brand name], [brand name reviews], [brand name projects]
Campaign 2: Non-Brand — High Intent [Search]
Budget: ₹8,000/day
Bid strategy: Target CPA ₹1,500
Keywords: "2BHK flats Pune", "property for sale Wakad", "new residential projects Pune"
Campaign 3: Non-Brand — Informational [Search]
Budget: ₹3,000/day
Bid strategy: Target CPA ₹2,500 (higher CPA expected for top-funnel)
Keywords: "property investment Pune 2026", "is Wakad good for investment"
Campaign 4: Competitor Keywords [Search]
Budget: ₹2,000/day
Bid strategy: Maximize Conversions
Keywords: [Competitor brand names] + "reviews", "vs [your brand]"
Campaign 5: Remarketing [Display]
Budget: ₹1,500/day
Bid strategy: Target CPA ₹800 (warm audience)
Audience: Site visitors, listing page viewers (last 30 days)
Campaign 6: Performance Max [PMax]
Budget: ₹5,000/day
Asset groups: By project/location
Signals: Converters, site visitors, similar audiences
Ad Group Structure: Keyword Clustering
Within each campaign, ad groups organise keywords into tightly themed clusters. The principle: every ad in an ad group should be directly relevant to every keyword in that ad group, and the landing page should be equally relevant to both.
The SKAGs vs. Thematic Ad Groups Debate (2026 Position)
SKAG (Single Keyword Ad Group): One keyword per ad group, maximum relevance. In the pre-Smart Bidding era, this was the gold standard for Quality Score control. In 2026, it is largely unnecessary and creates maintenance overhead. Smart Bidding handles bid management at keyword level regardless of ad group structure.
Thematic ad groups: 5–20 closely related keywords per ad group. This is the current best practice. Group keywords that share intent, would use the same ad copy, and should go to the same landing page.
Practical rule: If two keywords would use different ad copy or different landing pages, they should be in different ad groups. If they would use the same ad copy and land on the same page, they can share an ad group.
Example Thematic Ad Group Structure
Campaign: Non-Brand Search — Dermatology Clinic Bengaluru
Ad Group 1: Acne Treatment
Keywords: "acne treatment Bengaluru", "dermatologist for acne Bengaluru",
"acne specialist near me", "best acne doctor Bengaluru"
Landing page: /acne-treatment-bengaluru
Ad focus: Acne treatment outcomes, consultation booking
Ad Group 2: Skin Whitening / Brightening
Keywords: "skin brightening treatment Bengaluru", "pigmentation treatment",
"skin lightening dermatologist"
Landing page: /skin-brightening-bengaluru
Ad focus: Treatment options, safety, certified dermatologist
Ad Group 3: Hair Fall
Keywords: "hair fall treatment Bengaluru", "hair loss specialist",
"PRP treatment for hair", "alopecia treatment"
Landing page: /hair-fall-treatment-bengaluru
Ad focus: Diagnosis + treatment, before/after results (compliant)
Ad Group 4: Laser Treatment
Keywords: "laser hair removal Bengaluru", "laser treatment for skin",
"diode laser clinic Bengaluru"
Landing page: /laser-treatments-bengaluru
Ad focus: Technology, safety, consultation
Each ad group has tightly themed keywords, dedicated ad copy, and a dedicated landing page. Quality Score is maximised because expected CTR, ad relevance, and landing page experience are all aligned.
Ad Group Health Check — 4 Questions
2x2 decision grid with green checkmarks and red X marks; clean flat design
Keyword Match Types in 2026
Google’s match type system has simplified since 2020. The practical landscape in 2026:
Broad Match: Keywords trigger a wide range of related searches, including synonyms, related concepts, and Google’s interpretation of the searcher’s intent. With Smart Bidding (Target CPA or ROAS), broad match is more useful than historically — Smart Bidding constrains broad match to only bid on auctions where the algorithm predicts a conversion, reducing waste.
Use broad match when: You have 30+ conversions/month, have a conversion-trained Smart Bidding strategy, and have a robust negative keyword list. Broad match in a new campaign with no conversion data burns budget fast.
Phrase Match: Keywords trigger when the search contains your keyword phrase (in order) plus potentially other words before or after. A good middle ground for campaigns with moderate conversion history.
Exact Match: Keywords trigger only when the search is your exact keyword (or very close variants). Use for branded terms, high-performing keywords you want to protect, and competitor terms.
Negative Keywords: As important as positive keywords. Build negative keyword lists at:
- Account level: Terms that are never relevant (competitors you don’t want to appear against, irrelevant use cases of your product terms)
- Campaign level: Terms irrelevant to that campaign’s intent
- Ad group level: Terms that belong in a different ad group
For Indian accounts: maintain a Hindi and regional language negative keyword list if your ads appear in searches mixing English and Hindi/vernacular terms.
Bidding Strategy by Campaign Type
| Campaign | Recommended Strategy | When to Change |
|---|---|---|
| Brand search | Maximize Clicks or Target Impression Share | Switch to Target CPA once 30+ conversions |
| Non-brand high intent | Target CPA or Target ROAS | Start with Maximize Conversions for first 30 conversions |
| Informational search | Maximize Conversions | Target CPA once data builds |
| Competitor terms | Maximize Conversions | Monitor CPA closely — often expensive |
| Remarketing Display | Target CPA (warm audience) | Lower CPA target than cold |
| Shopping | Target ROAS | Start with Maximize Conversion Value |
| Performance Max | Target ROAS or Target CPA | Use asset group signals aggressively |
The ramp-up problem: Smart Bidding requires conversion data to work well. A new campaign with Target CPA and no conversion history will be constrained by the algorithm. Best practice: start with Maximize Conversions for 2–4 weeks (until you have 30–50 conversions), then switch to Target CPA.
Performance Max Campaign Structure
Performance Max (PMax) deserves separate attention because it does not use ad groups — it uses asset groups to organise creative assets.
Best practices for PMax in India:
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Separate asset groups by product category or service type: Each asset group should have coherent creative assets — headlines, descriptions, images, videos — that work together for a single product/service theme.
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Use audience signals aggressively: Add your converters, site visitors, customer match lists, and similar audiences as signals. PMax performs significantly better with strong signals.
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Exclude branded terms: Use brand exclusions to prevent PMax from cannibalising your dedicated brand search campaign.
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Give it enough budget: PMax needs ₹2,000–5,000/day minimum to generate enough auctions for the algorithm to learn. Under-funded PMax campaigns learn slowly.
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Monitor the search terms insight report: PMax doesn’t show full keyword data, but the Search Terms insight gives you the theme categories Google is targeting. Use this to identify if PMax is going off-target.
Account-Level Best Practices
Negative keyword lists: Create shared negative keyword lists at account level for:
- Job seekers (if you’re not hiring)
- Competitors you never want to appear against
- Location terms outside your service area
- Price terms that don’t match your product (“free”, “cheap” if you’re premium)
Conversion tracking: Every campaign needs accurate conversion tracking before Smart Bidding is useful. Set up:
- Google Tag Manager with Google Ads tag
- Phone call conversions (especially important for Indian healthcare, real estate, education)
- Form submission conversions
- WhatsApp click conversions (create a custom conversion action in Google Ads for WhatsApp button clicks)
Asset Library: Maintain brand assets (logos, images, videos) in the Google Ads Asset Library for use across campaigns and PMax asset groups.
Linked properties: Link Google Ads to:
- Google Analytics 4 (for audience building and enhanced conversion tracking)
- Google Business Profile (for location extensions)
- Google Merchant Center (for Shopping campaigns)
- Search Console (for search term data)
Frequently Asked Questions
Use these answers as the quick-reference layer for common objections, buying questions, and implementation concerns.
How many campaigns should a typical Indian business have on Google Ads?+
For most Indian SMBs: 3–5 campaigns. One brand campaign, one or two nonbrand search campaigns (split by intent or service category), one remarketing campaign, and optionally one PMax campaign. More campaigns is not better — underfunding many campaigns produces worse results than concentrating budget in wellstructured campaigns with sufficient data.
Should I separate campaigns by city in India?+
Yes, if you have different CPL targets or messaging for different cities. For a business targeting both Mumbai and Tier 2 cities, separate campaigns allow separate budgets and different CPAs. If your message and budget allocation are the same across geographies, locationlevel bid adjustments within one campaign are sufficient.
What is a good Quality Score target for India?+
Quality Score 7+ is a realistic target for wellstructured campaigns. Below 5 indicates a mismatch between keyword, ad copy, or landing page. Quality Score above 9 is exceptional. Note that Quality Score is a diagnostic tool — focus on actual CPA and ROAS, not Quality Score as a primary KPI.
How do I structure Google Ads for an ecommerce store in India?+
Use separate campaigns for: (1) Brand search, (2) Nonbrand search by product category, (3) Shopping campaigns by product category, (4) Remarketing (cart abandoners, product viewers), (5) Performance Max with asset groups by category. For Indian ecommerce, ensure your shopping feed has accurate prices in INR and GSTinclusive pricing if your audience expects inclusive pricing.
Should I use broad match keywords in India?+
With Target CPA or Target ROAS Smart Bidding and a strong negative keyword list, broad match can work well for established Indian accounts with 30+ monthly conversions. For new campaigns or accounts with limited conversion data, start with phrase and exact match and add broad match only after you have reliable conversion tracking and bidding data.
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