You can run Google ads straight from PPCmate X, with no Google Ads account of your own. You create the campaign here, PPCmate builds it on Google for you, and your spend and results show up in your usual PPCmate reports. Four Google formats are available to every advertiser.
The four Google formats
| Format | Where your ads show | Creative you need | How you bid | Min. daily budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Search | Google search results, for the keywords you choose | 3 headlines and 2-3 descriptions | Max CPC from $0.02, or a Google bid strategy | $5 |
| Google Display | Websites and apps in the Google Display Network | Landscape and square images, headline, long headline, description, business name | Max CPC from $0.10 | $5 |
| Google Demand Gen | YouTube (feed, in-stream, Shorts), Gmail and Discover | The Display images and texts plus a logo, and an optional YouTube video | No CPC to enter. Google bids within your budget | $15 |
| Google PMax | Every Google channel: Search, YouTube, Display, Gmail, Discover and Maps | The Display images and texts plus a logo, 3 headlines and 2 descriptions | No CPC to enter. Google bids for conversions | $5 |
You pay per click on all four. Every Google campaign needs a daily budget, at least one country and an end date, and it always delivers as soon as possible. The Cost shown on these campaigns is what you pay, including the PPCmate service fee.
Creating a Google campaign
- Go to Campaigns → New Campaign, pick the Google format under What are you running? and click New Google … Ad. The format is locked once you save.
- Add a creative. When you create one, choose the matching Format (Google Search Ad, Google Display Ad, Google Demand Gen Ad or Google PMax Ad). A campaign only lists creatives made under its own format.
- Set your budget, bid and targeting, then save. Once it's approved and ready, PPCmate creates the campaign on Google within about 5 minutes. After that, Google runs its own review of the ad, which usually takes a few hours.
Each Google campaign runs one ad, built from its approved creative. To test a different ad, create a second campaign.
Creative specs
Google Search Ad: Headline 1-3 (required, up to 30 characters each), Description 1-2 (required, up to 90 characters) plus an optional Description 3, and optional Display path 1/2 (15 characters each).
Google Display / Demand Gen / PMax Ad (one form):
- Headline (30 characters), Long headline (90), Description (90), Business name (25).
- Landscape image 1.91:1 (1200×628) and Square image 1:1 (1200×1200). Both are required.
- Logo 1:1. It's optional on Display and required on Demand Gen and PMax.
- PMax only: Headline 2, Headline 3 and Description 2 are required.
- Demand Gen only: YouTube video (optional). Paste a YouTube link and the ad runs as a video ad. Without one, it runs with your images.
Google combines your images and text into many ad sizes. ✨ Suggest with AI writes the texts from your landing page, and ✨ Generate images with AI can fill the image slots (the price is shown on the button). See Generating creatives with AI.
Targeting: what's available on each format
| Setting | Search | Display | Demand Gen | PMax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Countries, regions, cities | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Geo Radius (map circles) | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Keywords, negative keywords, callouts | Yes | - | - | - |
| Languages | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | Computers, phones, tablets | + TV screens | + TV screens | + TV screens |
| Age and gender | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Websites & Apps | - | Yes | - | - |
| Where ads show (YouTube, Shorts, Gmail, Discover) | - | - | Yes | - |
- Keywords: one per line. Use "quotes" for a phrase match and [brackets] for an exact match. Negative keywords stop your ad showing for searches that contain them. Callouts are short selling points (up to 20, 25 characters each).
- Locations are set per country. In each country, Google targets the most specific places you picked there (cities, else regions, else the whole country). For example, Athens plus Cyprus runs in Athens and in all of Cyprus. If you draw map circles, only the circles are targeted, and blocked countries are still excluded.
- Websites & Apps (Display): leave it empty to run across the whole Display Network. You can also list sites and apps to only show on or never show on, or attach a saved list from Domains & Apps. Apps are off by default, and listing apps turns on only those apps.
- Where ads show (Demand Gen): YouTube feed and search, YouTube in-stream, YouTube Shorts, Gmail and Discover. All are on by default, and at least one must stay on.
- Political Advertising: every Google campaign answers whether it contains political advertising. The default is "not political".
Bid strategies
- Search: Manual CPC (the default: every click is bid at your CPC), Maximize conversions, Target CPA or Target ROAS. A Target CPA or ROAS can belong to this campaign only, or be a shared strategy used by several Search campaigns. Manage shared strategies under Campaigns → Bid Strategies.
- Demand Gen: Maximize clicks (the default), Maximize conversions or Target CPA.
- PMax: Maximize conversions (the default) or Target CPA.
Conversion tracking (required for PMax)
PMax only buys conversions, so it won't launch without conversion tracking. Pick a Tracker in the campaign's Finance section, or add clickid={CLICK_ID} to your landing URL. On any Google campaign, add clickid={CLICK_ID} and send your usual PPCmate postback when someone converts. The Google Ads preset on the Trackers page walks you through it. Conversions then show in Reports, on your campaign list and on the dashboard, and are passed back to Google to improve its bidding.
What PPCmate won't send to Google
- Ads in restricted categories: cryptocurrency, gambling, risky financial products (binary options, forex/CFD, payday loans), prescription drugs and pharmacies, adult content and weapons.
- Links that redirect to a different website. Link straight to your landing page.
After launch
- Search campaigns get a Keywords card with Your keywords (including Google's first-page and top-of-page bid estimates) and Search terms, where you can add a search as a keyword or a negative in one click.
- Display campaigns get a Placements card that shows where your ads ran, with a Block button.
- If a campaign isn't running, Campaign Health Check tells you exactly why: "Not sent to Google yet", "Paused on Google" with the reasons, still in Google's review, or a CPC too low to win the auction.
Comparing Google with the other formats? See Which ad format should I choose?. Need help? Contact support.