The ideal Google Ads account structure explained

A well-built Google Ads account structure is the foundation for lower costs, higher relevance, and reliable Smart Bidding performance. Account structure defines how campaigns, ad groups, keywords, and ads are organised relative to each other, and that organisation directly affects your Quality Score, your CPA, and the learning behaviour of Google's algorithms.

Key takeaways

• A Google Ads account has four layers: account, campaign, ad group, and ad. Each layer has its own settings that influence the layers below.
• Thematic ad groups per search intent increase relevance and therefore Quality Score at keyword, ad, and landing page level.
• Smart Bidding (Target CPA or Target ROAS) performs better when a campaign receives more conversion signals per period, an overly fragmented structure undermines this.
• Negative keywords at both campaign and account level prevent overlap and budget waste between campaigns.
• AdBrains AI continuously monitors and optimises account structure: from keyword incubation to automatic campaign expansion.

What is a Google Ads account structure?

A Google Ads account structure is the way you organise campaigns, ad groups, keywords, and ads relative to each other. Google describes this setup as a pyramid with four layers: the account at the top, campaigns below that, then ad groups, and at the bottom the individual ads and keywords (Google Ads Help, 2026).

Account hierarchy in Google Ads

Example: from account level to individual ad

Account

All settings, budgets and access

Campaigns

Type, network, budget and bidding strategy

Ad groups

Thematic keyword clusters per intent

Ads (RSA)

Copy aligned to the ad group theme

Every layer refines relevance

Each layer inherits certain settings from the one above it. At campaign level you define the advertising network (Search, Display, Shopping, Video), the daily budget, and the bidding strategy. At ad group level you pick the keywords and the Responsive Search Ads that go with them. This layering is not administrative overhead. It is the mechanism that lets you stay in control while still giving Google's algorithms enough room to learn from real data.

A lot of advertisers only discover how much damage a poorly structured account does when they start digging through the numbers. Pack keywords with completely different search intent into the same ad group, and Google will have a hard time picking a relevant RSA to show. Ad relevance slips, expected CTR follows, and so does Quality Score. The practical consequence is straightforward: you end up paying more per click for the same position.

The four layers of a Google Ads account

Understanding the four layers is the first step toward a solid account structure. Below you will find what you configure in each layer and why it matters.

1. Account level

At account level you configure shared settings that apply to all campaigns: conversion tracking, shared budgets, shared negative keyword lists, and access rights. Conversion tracking itself depends on correctly configured conversion actions, where primary and secondary actions are distinguished so Smart Bidding optimises toward the metrics that matter most. This is also where Enhanced Conversions and server-side tracking are connected. Clean account hygiene at this level prevents errors from spreading to all campaigns below.

2. Campaign level

A campaign groups ad groups that share the same ad type, network, and budget. A common mistake is mixing campaign types. Search and Performance Max (PMax) belong in separate campaigns, as do remarketing and prospecting. For Clima-Active.nl, which generates quote requests for air conditioning and heat pump installation, it makes little sense to combine branded search traffic and generic search traffic in the same campaign, the bidding strategy and budget priorities diverge too much.

3. Ad group level

This is the level with the greatest impact on relevance. An ad group contains keywords that revolve around one clear theme, plus the RSA ads that respond to that theme. The rule of thumb: one clear search theme per ad group, so that every RSA headline directly matches what the user searched for. For ToetsJeKennis.nl, which offers online exams and courses, this might mean separate ad groups for "driving theory practice test", "CBR theory exam", and "online theory exam", even though they are related, the search intent and corresponding ad framing can differ.

4. Ad and keyword level

At the lowest level live the individual keywords (with their match type: broad match, phrase match, or exact match) and the RSA ads. The Ad Strength of an RSA indicates the combination possibilities Google has to assemble relevant ads. The more unique, relevant headlines and descriptions you provide, the better Google can personalise the RSA to the search query.

What does an ideal campaign layout look like?

Flat structure vs. Ideal structure

What changes when you set up your Google Ads account structure properly?

Flat / unstructured approach

• All keywords in 1-2 ad groups
• Ad copy not aligned with search intent
• Smart Bidding lacks conversion signals due to fragmentation
• Negative keywords missing or overlapping
• No logical separation between campaign types
• Low Quality Score due to irrelevant connections

Ideal Google Ads structureRecommended

• Thematic ad groups per product or service
• RSA copy tailored to each search theme
• Sufficient conversions per campaign for Smart Bidding
• Negative keyword lists active at campaign and account level
• Clear separation: Search, PMax, Display, Remarketing
• High Quality Score through relevance at every level

There is no single answer here, because the right structure depends heavily on your ad type and business objective. That said, a few principles hold up across most accounts: keep themes cleanly separated, and make sure each campaign collects enough conversion signals for the algorithm to work with.

For an e-commerce business like E-4motion.com, which sells new electric folding bikes, the campaign layout might look like this:

• Branded campaign (Search, exact/phrase match): protects the brand and captures high-converting brand searches at a low CPC.
• Category campaign (Search, broad/phrase match): targets generic keywords such as "electric folding bike buy" or "foldable e-bike".
• Performance Max campaign: complements Search campaigns across other channels (Display, YouTube, Gmail) and captures signals from users who are not yet actively searching.
• Remarketing campaign (Display or Search RLSA): re-engages visitors who already visited the website but did not convert.

Lead generation businesses follow a broadly similar structure. For Clima-Active.nl the bidding strategy is where things diverge: you optimise for Target CPA (cost per quote request) rather than Target ROAS. One thing worth watching is conversion volume. Smart Bidding needs a steady flow of data per campaign to perform reliably, so thin campaigns that rarely convert will struggle to get out of the learning phase.

Why Quality Score depends so strongly on your structure

What determines Quality Score per level?

Relative weight of the three Quality Score components (source: Google Ads Help, 2026)

Expected CTR

40%

Ad relevance

35%

Landing page experience

25%

Quality Score is a composite score that Google calculates per keyword based on three factors: expected CTR, ad relevance, and landing page experience (Google Ads Help, 2026). All three factors are directly influenced by how your account is structured.

A thematic ad group ensures the RSA ad closely matches the search term, which benefits ad relevance. A well-chosen landing page per ad group improves landing page experience. And a relevant ad for the right audience attracts more clicks, raising expected CTR. In our practice, we see that accounts switching from a flat structure to a thematic setup score noticeably better on relevance in the Google Ads diagnostics dashboard.

That has a direct financial effect. A higher Quality Score leads to a lower Ad Rank threshold, meaning you need to bid less for the same position. Conversely, a low Quality Score means you pay a premium per click.

How AdBrains AI automatically optimises account structure

Setting up an account structure is one thing. Keeping it relevant as search behaviour shifts, new competitors appear, and Google's algorithms change is a different matter altogether. That is where AdBrains' proprietary AI technology does its most meaningful work.

The starting point is the Keyword Incubator. New keywords are not dropped straight into production campaigns. They go into a separate incubator campaign first, where the AI monitors click volume, quality, and conversion potential. Only once a keyword has demonstrated real performance does the AI promote it to the production campaign. The structure stays clean, and unproven keywords cannot interfere with the bidding strategy of campaigns that are already working.

Separately, automated search term mining runs every day. The AI goes through all search terms that generated impressions, checks them against the existing keyword set, and flags irrelevant ones. Those terms are added as negative keywords automatically at the right level, campaign or account, without a campaign manager having to touch them. For clients like Elletens.nl, which operates across a broad product category, that process removes dozens of irrelevant search terms per week that would otherwise have drained budget quietly.

When the AI spots growing search themes that have no dedicated ad group yet, auto campaign expansion takes over. A new thematic ad group is built automatically, including an initial set of RSA variants. Emerging search intent gets covered straight away rather than sitting unaddressed for weeks while someone finds the time to act on it.

Before any structural change is actually executed, the multi-agent verification system puts it in front of four independent AI agents. This step exists because purely automated systems without checks do make mistakes: a keyword landing in the wrong ad group, or a negative keyword that inadvertently blocks a search term that was converting. That verification layer is what separates the system from standard Google Ads automation.

Bidding strategies are adjusted per campaign every day. The AI looks at current conversion volume and the margin targets set for each client, then fine-tunes Target CPA or Target ROAS accordingly. If a campaign is receiving too few conversions to keep Smart Bidding stable, the strategy-switch system temporarily moves to an alternative bidding strategy and brings Smart Bidding back once conversion volume has recovered sufficiently. This daily fine-tuning is what automated bidding is meant to deliver: continuous optimisation at a pace no manual process could match.

Overview: campaign type vs. bidding strategy and objective

This table is a guideline. In practice, the right choice depends on budget, conversion volume, and the specific objective per client. AdBrains AI adjusts the bidding strategy per campaign based on live data, not a fixed rule of thumb.

Common mistakes in Google Ads account structure

From our experience across advertising accounts in various sectors, we consistently see the same mistakes. Awareness of these pitfalls helps you avoid them.

• Too many keywords per ad group: if an ad group contains dozens of different keywords, Google cannot assemble a relevant RSA for all variants. Group tightly around one theme.
• Branded and generic in the same campaign: branded keywords have a much higher Quality Score and lower CPC than generic terms. Mixing them lowers average quality and makes bidding strategies suboptimal.
• No negative keywords with broad match: broad match gives Google a lot of freedom to match on related queries. Without negative keywords, this quickly gets out of hand.
• Activating Smart Bidding with too little data: a campaign with fewer than 15 to 20 conversions per month lacks sufficient signals to run Target CPA or Target ROAS stably. The result is erratic bidding behaviour.
• PMax and Search competing for the same traffic: without clear campaign priorities and negative keyword lists, Performance Max and Search campaigns can end up cannibalising each other's budget.

FAQ: frequently asked questions about Google Ads account structure

How many ad groups should a Google Ads campaign have?

There is no magic number, but in practice a campaign works best with three to ten ad groups, each focused on one clear search theme. Too few ad groups means keywords with different intent are grouped together, which lowers ad relevance. Too many ad groups makes management complex and fragments conversion volume, which hinders Smart Bidding. For ToetsJeKennis.nl this could mean one ad group for "theory exam practice", one for "first aid course online", and one for "driving licence theory exam", rather than lumping everything into one generic ad group.

What is the difference between a campaign and an ad group?

A campaign is the highest active layer in your account and determines the budget, the advertising network, and the bidding strategy. An ad group sits one layer below and groups keywords and ads that belong to the same search theme. You can have multiple ad groups in one campaign, but they all share that campaign's budget and bidding strategy. The distinction matters because campaign settings are broad, while ad group settings are specifically aimed at relevance.

Should I use separate campaigns for branded and generic keywords?

Yes, that is strongly recommended. Branded keywords typically have a much higher Quality Score and lower CPC than generic keywords, because ad relevance for your own brand name is high. Mixing them in one campaign gives the bidding strategy conflicting signals. A separate branded campaign also allows you to set a different budget and bidding strategy, tailored to the role branded traffic plays in your conversion funnel. Clima-Active.nl, for example, benefits from a branded campaign that protects against competitors bidding on their brand name.

How does Performance Max work alongside Search campaigns in the same account structure?

Performance Max and Search campaigns can coexist effectively, but require a well-thought-out structure to prevent cannibalism. According to Google Ads Help (2026), the algorithm prioritises exact match and phrase match keywords in Search campaigns over PMax when there is a strong match. Nevertheless, it is wise to add branded keywords as negative keywords to PMax campaigns (via Google support), and to clearly define which traffic enters through which campaign type. In our practice, we monitor the distribution of impressions and conversions across both campaign types weekly to detect and address overlap early.