Create Google search ad campaigns in HubSpot

After connecting your Google Ads account to HubSpot, you can create Google search ads directly in HubSpot. Running search ads will allow your business to appear when people search for specific keywords on Google.

You can also use AI assistants when generating your ad creative for your Google search ads. Learn more about using AI assistants to create your ad campaigns. 

• In your HubSpot account, navigate to Marketing > Ads.
• In the top right, click Create Ad Campaign.
• In the left panel, select Search ad.
• In the right panel, select an ad account.
• Under Google campaign, specify the campaign for your ad:
  • To create a new campaign, select Create new Google campaign, then enter a name.
  • To include an ad as part of an existing ad campaign, click Add to existing, then select a campaign.
  • In the top right, click Next.
    
    

Set up ad creative

First, edit the content for each ad in your campaign. Each ad can have different headlines and descriptions, and Google will optimize which ad it displays to users, based on engagement:

• Specify the URL that your ad will link to:
  • If your website is hosted on HubSpot, select HubSpot page, then select a page.
  • If your website is hosted externally, select Manually enter URL, then enter your website URL.
• Enter your ad's headline:
  • Your ad's headline can be split into three parts, each separated by a "|" character. Under Headline 1, enter the first part of your headline.
  • If your full headline is more than 30 characters, you can add up to 30 more characters under the Headline 2 and Headline 3 options.
• Enter your ad's description:
  • Under Description 1, enter a description for your ad. If your description exceeds 90 characters, you can enter an additional 90 characters under Description 2.

Please note: After the 30th of June 2022, when creating a new Google search ad campaign in HubSpot, only responsive ads will be added (up to 3 per ad group). Draft text ads created before June 30th 2022 will continue to work if they are published. 

Add keywords

After editing your ads, manage your search ad keywords from the Keywords tab:

• Under Keywords, enter any relevant words or phrases that will match what users might search for on Google to connect with your business:
  • For each keyword, enter a word or phrase, then select Phrase match or Exact match.
  • Click + Add Keyword to create additional keywords, or the delete delete icon to delete a keyword.
• Under Negative keywords, you can optionally add words or phrases that you do not want matched with your ad. Anyone who searches on Google with one of these negative keywords will not see your ad:
  • For each negative keyword, enter a word or phrase, then select Phrase match or Exact match.

• • Click + Add Keyword to create additional negative keywords, or the delete delete icon to delete a keyword.
    
    

Specify targeting

After adding your keywords, in the Targeting tab, set up the targeting for your ad:

• Under Networks, confirm which Google ad networks you want to target:
  • Search network: your ads will appear near Google search results, or when people search on other Google sites for your keywords.
  • Display network: your ads will be shown to relevant users when they browse certain websites, watch YouTube videos, or use certain mobile devices and services. Learn more about the Google Display Network on Google's Help Center.
• Under Audience, configure which locations, languages, or existing audiences to target:
  • Location: enter any cities, states, or countries.
  • Language: enter any languages spoken by the users you want to target.
  • To include a contact list audience or website visitor audience, click + Add retargeting audience (AND).
    • Select the checkboxes next to any existing audiences you've created to include them in your targeting rules. You can also click Create to make a new ads audience.
    • Click Save.
      
      

Enter budget and schedule

In the Budget & Schedule tab, set up the budgeting and schedule for your ad:

• Budget: enter the daily amount you plan on spending for your ad.
• Bid strategy: select a bid strategy, which Google will use to automatically set your bids to achieve a specific goal for your ad:
  • Maximize clicks: Google will set your bids to optimize for getting as many ad clicks as your budget allows.
  • Maximize conversions: Google will set your bids to optimize for getting as many conversions as your budget allows.
  • Maximize conversion value: Google will set your bids to optimize for generating the most conversion value for a given budget. 

• Schedule: click the dropdown menus to select the duration of your ad.
   

Set up automation (Marketing Hub Starter, Professional, or Enterprise only)

In the Automation tab, use simple automation features such as adding contacts who have interacted with your ad to an ads audience or list. You can also use the ad interaction as a trigger in a simple workflow. Learn more about how to use automations with the ads tool. 

• At the top, click the Automations tab. From the Automations tab, you can configure what happens after the ad interaction. 
  
  • Add contacts to a list: add contacts who have interacted with your ad to an active list. 
  • Create your own automated follow-ups: use a simple workflow template to add contacts who have interacted with your ad to an ads audience or create your own simple workflow in the editor. 

Publish or Save

To publish or save your ad:

• In the top right, click Publish. Once you've published your campaign, you can analyze ad performance from your Ads page.
• You can also save your progress at any point and return to finish setting up your ad later. To save your ad as a draft:
  • In the top left, click Exit.
  • In the dialog box, click Save and Exit. HubSpot will save your drafted ad, which you can resume editing at any time.

• To view your current drafted ad campaigns:
  • In your HubSpot account, navigate to Marketing > Ads.
  • In the left sidebar menu, click Drafts.
  • To resume editing one of your drafted campaigns, click the campaign name.
  • To remove a draft, hover over the campaign and click Delete. In the dialog box, enter delete. Then, click Delete draft.