How to Use Google Ads | Where Everything Sits
This page is for someone whose account is already set up but who doesn’t know where things are in the interface. For the setup itself, see how to advertise on Google.
The logic of the interface
Google Ads has three layers: campaign, ad group, ad. Budget and targeting settings sit at the campaign level; keywords and ad copy sit at the ad group level.
When you can’t find a setting, it’s usually because you’re looking in the wrong layer. Looking for budget, check the campaign; looking for a keyword, check the ad group.
Three reports worth checking regularly
First, the search terms report. It shows what your ad actually appeared for and is the one document that tells you where your money went. I cover how to read it on the search term analysis page.
Second, the conversions report. It shows how many times each conversion was counted and where it came from — this is where double counting is caught.
Third, auction insights. It shows your competitive position and how it’s changing over time.
Settings that hide by default
A few important things don’t show by default. Quality Score columns are hidden — without enabling them you can’t see your per-keyword score.
The “people interested in your targeted location” option under location targeting also sits in a submenu and comes on by default. The “limited” warning on ad status is easy to miss because the campaign still looks like it’s running.
What to check, and how often
The only thing to check daily is anomalies: did spend jump unexpectedly, did conversions suddenly stop, was a campaign disapproved.
Weekly: search terms and negative list updates. Monthly: performance review, budget allocation, creative refresh. Beyond that, changing settings every day does harm — in campaigns using smart bidding, frequent changes disrupt learning.
Change history
One of the least-used but most useful screens is change history. When performance drops for no obvious reason, this is the first place to look: who changed what, and when.
In accounts with multiple people accessing them, this screen settles most disputes.
Want help? I can walk through your account with you and show you what to watch. You can reach me from the contact page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I apply Google’s recommendations?
The suggestions and optimisation score in the interface are directional but shouldn’t be applied automatically. Some push toward raising budget or broadening match, and that isn’t right for every account.
Can I turn off auto-applied recommendations?
Yes. There’s an auto-apply option in account settings, and I generally recommend turning it off — unannounced changes make diagnosis harder.
Can I manage it from the mobile app?
It’s fine for monitoring and urgent action, but structural changes need the desktop interface. Reading reports and doing deep analysis is harder on mobile.
How do I work?
Work-hour packages
Tell me about your website and what you need on WhatsApp or by phone; we agree on a work block of somewhere between 5 and 40 hours and I start doing what is needed. What you get is not a calendar window — it is net working hours spent directly on your business. I can use 40 hours working three days straight, or deliberately spread it out and finish it over a year — whatever the work calls for. I do not spend my time estimating how long something will take, I spend it doing the work; every hour I spend has a lasting result on your site. We keep going for as long as you find it useful.
Why not monthly?
Is 40 hours a week?
On a fixed monthly fee both sides are watching the wrong thing: you watch a fixed cost, the other side watches how many more contracts like this they can line up. Working by the hour puts us both in front of the same thing — the real value of the work that got done. I know not having an upfront answer to "how much will this cost in total?" is the natural cost of this model. But instead of paying a fixed fee for months to a setup that is not producing results, you only pay for the qualified time spent on your work — and you see exactly where that time went, start to finish. That is why my clients keep coming back.