The Best Google Ads Strategy for Beginners

A Simple, Profitable Google Ads Setup for E‑commerce Brands

If you're an e‑commerce brand spending less than $15,000 per month on Google Ads, chances are you've already felt overwhelmed.

Between Performance Max, Search, Shopping, bidding strategies, and endless YouTube tutorials that contradict each other, it’s easy to burn budget without ever feeling in control.

Campaigns launch, spend accumulates, results fluctuate — and you’re left wondering what’s actually working.

The truth is: most beginners don’t need more tactics — they need a better structure.

In this guide, we’ll break down the best Google Ads strategy for beginners in 2026: a clean, proven setup designed specifically for e‑commerce brands that want consistent purchases, controlled spend, and a system that’s easy to manage and scale.

Prefer Watching Instead of Reading?

This article is based on a full Google Ads walkthrough where we break down a real account step by step.

If you want to see the full strategy in action, you can watch the complete YouTube video here.

The Core Google Ads Structure We Recommend

At RedMelon, we’ve worked with hundreds of e‑commerce brands and managed millions in ad spend. One of the biggest lessons we’ve learned is this:

In Google Ads, your structure is your strategy.

For beginners and low‑to‑mid spenders, complexity is usually the enemy. That’s why the foundation of this system is intentionally simple.

The Recommended Setup

This strategy uses only two campaigns:

1. One Performance Max campaign (to acquire new customers)

2. One Branded Search campaign (to protect and convert demand you’ve already created)

This structure is ideal for e‑commerce brands:

• Early in their Google Ads journey

• Spending lower monthly budgets

• Looking for consistency before scaling

Campaign 1: Performance Max (New Customer Acquisition)

Why Performance Max Works for Beginners

Performance Max allows you to reach potential customers across Google’s entire ecosystem:

• Search

• Shopping

• YouTube

• Display

• Discover

• Gmail

Instead of splitting limited budget across multiple campaigns that never exit the learning phase, Performance Max lets you run a full‑funnel strategy inside a single campaign.

This supports one of the most important Google Ads principles for beginners: unification.

As a general benchmark, each campaign should generate at least 30 conversions per month. Consolidating spend makes this achievable much faster.

Performance Max: Initial Setup

When creating your Performance Max campaign:

• Objective: Sales

• Conversion goal: Purchases only

Avoid adding secondary goals like Add to Cart or View Content. Early on, these signals often dilute optimization. We want Google learning from real revenue‑driving actions only.

Make sure your Google Merchant Center is properly set up, with:

• Approved product feed

• Correct pricing and availability

• Active sync with Google Ads

Without this, Shopping and Performance Max placements won’t work correctly.

Campaign Naming Convention

Clear naming keeps accounts scalable and easy to analyze. A simple example:

RM_PMax_NB

Where:

• RM = Account or agency identifier

• PMax = Campaign type

• NB = Non‑branded traffic

Bidding & Optimization Settings

• Optimize for Conversion Value, not just conversions

• No target ROAS initially — let the algorithm learn

This allows Google to prioritize higher‑AOV purchases instead of chasing low‑value conversions.

In the Customer Acquisition section, leave all options unchecked early on. Restricting new‑customer bidding too soon can slow learning and hurt performance.

Location, Language & Control Settings

• Target only the countries you actively sell in

• Match ad language to your website language

• Leave schedules, start/end dates, and brand exclusions unchanged

For tracking, set UTM parameters at the account level to maintain consistency across campaigns.

Disable Automatically Created Assets to maintain control over copy and URLs.

Asset Groups & Product Segmentation

Think of asset groups as the equivalent of ad groups.

Instead of lumping all products together, segment by product category when possible. For example:

• Earrings

• Necklaces

• Rings

This allows you to analyze performance at the asset group level and allocate budget more effectively.

Creatives & Copy Best Practices

For each asset group:

• Upload a transparent logo

• Use a relevant final URL (collection or product page)

• Complete all headlines, long headlines, and descriptions

In your copy, combine:

• Brand name

• Product benefits

• Trust signals (free shipping, guarantees, sustainability)

• Clear calls to action

Add as many images as possible in multiple formats (square, landscape, portrait) to maximize coverage across placements.

At this stage, do not upload videos. Video assets tend to push spend toward YouTube, which is usually less efficient for early‑stage accounts.

Audience Signals (How to Speed Up Learning)

Audience signals don’t limit targeting — they guide the algorithm.

Use them to help Google learn faster by adding:

• Search themes (high‑intent product queries)

• Website visitors

• Past purchasers

• Relevant in‑market and interest segments

These signals operate in observation mode, acting as a starting point for optimization rather than strict targeting.

Budget Guidelines for Beginners

While higher budgets accelerate learning, a practical starting point is:

• At least $100/day, if possible

Or use this rule of thumb:

Monthly budget ≈ 30× your Average Order Value

For example, with a $150 AOV, aim for ~$4,500/month. This gives Google enough data to optimize effectively.

Campaign 2: Branded Search (Brand Protection)

Why Branded Search Is Essential

Many brands skip branded campaigns to “save money.” In reality, this often costs them sales.

After seeing your ads on Meta, Google, or TikTok, users frequently search your brand name before purchasing.

If you’re not running branded search:

• Competitors can bid on your name

• You lose the final step of the funnel

• ROAS from your entire paid media ecosystem suffers

Branded search protects demand you’ve already paid to create.

Branded Search Campaign Setup

• Objective: Sales

• Conversion goal: Purchases only

• Campaign type: Search

• Bidding strategy: Target Impression Share

Set the campaign to:

• Absolute top of page

• 95–98% impression share

This ensures strong visibility without overpaying.

Cost Control & Network Settings

• Set a max CPC (around $3 for most brands)

• Disable Search Partners and Display Network

This prevents Google from spending branded budget on low‑quality placements.

Keyword & Ad Copy Structure

Use exact‑match branded keywords, including:

• Spacing variations

• Common misspellings

Your ads should include:

• Brand name

• “Official Site” style trust signals

• Clear CTAs

Complete all available headlines and descriptions to give Google flexibility while maintaining control.

Budget for Branded Campaigns

A daily budget of $20/day is usually sufficient.

Most branded campaigns won’t spend that amount — the goal is coverage, not volume. You want to appear every time someone searches for your brand.

Final Recap: The Best Beginner Google Ads Strategy

For e‑commerce brands under $1M in annual revenue, this structure delivers clarity and performance:

• 1 Performance Max campaign to acquire new customers

• 1 Branded Search campaign to protect and convert demand

It’s simple, scalable, and optimized for learning — exactly what beginners need in 2026.

If you want to see this setup built live inside a real Google Ads account, make sure to watch the full video breakdown.

And if you’re serious about scaling your e‑commerce brand with paid ads, stay tuned for more Google Ads and Meta Ads strategies designed to protect profit while growing revenue.