How Google campaigns work
The exact objectives, learning-phase thresholds, budget floors, creative specs and policy rules the agent works from — rendered from the same versioned knowledge module, nothing added.
Google best practice · knowledge v2026-07-13.1, verified 2026-07-13
Not connected yet — no Google OAuth in the product today. This module powers knowledge, tips and generation only; publishing states 'not connected / coming'.
Objectives
Every campaign starts from a goal. Each goal maps to one Google objective with its own optimization events, required setup and learning phase.
- Optimizes for
- impressions (CPM), views (CPV)
- Bidding
- target CPM; CPV
- Required before launch
- video asset (YouTube) or display creatives
Awareness maps to Video reach or Display campaigns, not Search.
- Optimizes for
- clicks
- Bidding
- maximize clicks; manual CPC
- Required before launch
- RSA (15 headlines / 4 descriptions); keywords; final_url
- Optimizes for
- clicks, conversions
- Bidding
- maximize clicks; maximize conversions
- Required before launch
- image + video assets; final_url
Demand Gen is the closest native equivalent to a social engagement objective — re-verify surface availability.
- Optimizes for
- conversions (lead event)
- Bidding
- maximize conversions; target CPA after signal
- Required before launch
- conversion action (lead); RSA or PMax asset group
- Learning phase
- ~30 events / 30 days per campaign· check docs
- Optimizes for
- conversions, conversion value
- Bidding
- maximize conversion value; target ROAS after signal
- Required before launch
- conversion action (purchase) with values; asset group or product feed
- Learning phase
- ~30 events / 30 days per campaign· check docs
- Optimizes for
- installs, in-app actions
- Bidding
- target CPI; target CPA (in-app)
- Required before launch
- app store listing link; text + image/video assets
Text limits
| Field | Hard max | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Headline | 30 chars | — |
| Description | 90 chars | — |
| Path | 15 chars | — |
| Long headline· check docs | 90 chars | — |
Headline: RSA: up to 15 headlines. Same constant validateRsa() enforces.
Description: RSA: up to 4 descriptions. Same constant validateRsa() enforces.
Path: Two optional display-URL path segments.
Long headline: PMax/Demand Gen long headline.
Creative specs
Ship the full ratio set per placement — serving one stretched asset everywhere is penalized by delivery ranking.
Policy rules
Personalized-advertising policy prohibits targeting or copy implying personal hardship or identity (health conditions, financial status, etc.).
Healthcare advertising is restricted by market; many treatments/claims require certification, and prescription terms are limited.
Editorial policy blocks gimmicky capitalization, repeated punctuation, and unverifiable superlatives ('best', '#1') without third-party proof on the landing page.
Common mistakes
Fifteen rephrasings of one message cap Ad Strength; cover distinct angles: benefit, proof, offer, brand, urgency, question. (validateRsa flags exact duplicates.)
Pinning most assets defeats RSA combination learning; pin at most a compliance-required headline.
Setting tCPA/tROAS before ~30 conversions/30 days starves delivery; start on maximize conversions.
Broad match plus smart bidding works, but only with routine search-terms review and a negative-keyword habit.
Working guidance
Intent-matching and literal: mirror the search query's language, lead with the concrete benefit or proof point, sentence case, no ellipses or gimmick punctuation.
Traffic: Search 'hooks' are query mirrors: put the searched noun in headline 1, the differentiator in headline 2, the offer or proof in headline 3.
Source: Google RSA best-practice docs.
Sales: PMax works when conversion values flow and feeds are clean; brand traffic will be absorbed into its numbers, so judge it on incremental conversions, not blended ROAS.
Source: Google PMax guidance; independent PMax measurement literature.
Ladder: maximize clicks (no signal) → maximize conversions (some signal) → tCPA/tROAS (stable signal). Skipping rungs is the most common self-inflicted delivery problem.
Source: Google bidding guidance.
Search fatigue is slower than social; review RSA asset performance monthly and replace 'Low'-rated assets rather than rewriting whole ads.
Source: Google asset reporting docs.
Last verified against official Google documentation: 2026-07-13 (module v2026-07-13.1). Values marked “check docs” are guidance not yet confirmed against the platform's current published specs.
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