Stop 06 · Paid Advertising (PPC)Topics · 3/12

Search Campaigns

In short

Search ads reach people at the exact moment they type what they want. No interrupting, no convincing them they have a problem. They already told you.

Text ads shown to people actively searching for related terms — the highest-intent ad format, since you're reaching people who are already looking, not interrupting them.

The blob holds out a bundle of colourful umbrellas under falling rain.

Think of it like this

The umbrella seller at the station exit

When it suddenly pours at Dadar station, one man stands at the exit with umbrellas. He doesn't chase anyone. People who need one walk straight to him. Search ads stand at the exit of a search.

Watch it happen

One search, one click

Searcher

Google

Your site

running shoes under 3000

1/5A student types a clear buying search on her phone.

The big ideas

What you need to know

Keywords trigger ads

You choose search terms you want to appear for. Match types control how loosely they match.

Negative keywords

Block searches you don't want, like 'free' or 'second hand', so you stop paying for useless clicks.

Search terms report

Shows the real searches that triggered your ads. Check it weekly for surprises.

Extensions help

Extra links, call buttons and short highlights make your ad bigger and more useful.

See it in code

Walk through the code

text

1running shoes        → broad: related searches too2"running shoes"      → phrase: must include the meaning3[running shoes]      → exact: same meaning only4-free                → negative: never show for "free"5-second hand         → negative: skip used-shoe hunters

1/3Broad reaches the most searches, including ones you didn't think of.

How you type a keyword sets its match type in Google Ads. Negatives keep your money away from the wrong searches.

Save yourself the pain

Common mistakes

Oops

Launching with only broad keywords and no negatives.

Do this instead

Start tighter, add a negative list, and read the search terms report in the first week.

Oops

Sending every ad to the homepage.

Do this instead

Send each ad to the page that answers that search, like the under-₹3,000 shoes page.

Your mission

Build a keyword list with negatives

~25 min

Quick check

Your laptop repair ads keep showing for 'free laptop repair course'. What's the quickest fix?

Go deeper

1Draft a search campaign structure: ad groups by keyword theme, with matching ad copy.
2Learn keyword match types (broad, phrase, exact) and how each changes reach and precision.
3Practice writing 2-3 ad variations for the same ad group for testing.