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Campaign Goals In Google Ads

When you set up a new campaign you will be given the choice to choose a campaign goal. Google will use the goal you pick to guide your campaign settings options. Let's learn more about how these goals work.

About Campaign Goals In Google Ads

The objective of campaign goals is to help you with decision-making. When you first setup a new campaign, you will be shown several objectives (goals). These objectives are designed to guide you towards the campaign types that will help you achieve your goals with a given campaign. They all have different features that can help with different goals. The goal you select should align with your specific goals for a campaign. For example, if your goal is to drive leads with your campaign, then Google Search would be an ideal campaign type to use.

Once you select your goal, you will be shown recommended features and settings that Google believes are aligned with helping you achieve your goal. The rest of this article will help you to fully understand goals and 

How Google Ads Campaign Goals Work

When you first begin the campaign setup process, you will be shown different goals. Choose the goal that is best aligned with what you want to get from the campaign. You may want to generate website traffic, leads or sales, for example. There are goals for these.

Note

You do NOT have to choose a goal in order to set up a campaign. You can also add or remove a campaign goal at any time. 

Once you select your goal, you will then choose the campaign type you want to use. This will determine the options and settings you can use as well as determine where people will see your ads. For example, choosing a Display campaign will show your ads on other websites. Choosing the Search campaign will show your ads in Google’s search engine. 

Below are the different campaign types and goals.

Search Campaign Goals

Goal
Sales– Drive Sales
– Engage with people who are close to making a purchase or customers who have already engaged with your business.
Leads– Encourage your target audience to engage with your business’ service or product. Typical engagement includes filling out a contact form, calling your business, signing up for a newsletter or engaging with a live chat option on your website.
Website Traffic– Drive targeted traffic to your website. The idea is to show ads to people who could become customers and to make them aware of your business.

Pro Tip

Driving leads and sales are the two main reasons why businesses use Search campaigns. If your goal is driving website traffic, then Display or Video are typically better options.

Display Campaign Goals

GoalWhen To Use It
Sales– Drive Sales
– Engage with people who are close to making a purchase or customers who have already engaged with your business.
Leads– Encourage your target audience to engage with your business’ service or product. Typical engagement includes filling out a contact form, calling your business, signing up for a newsletter or engaging with a live chat option on your website.
Website Traffic– Drive targeted traffic to your website. The idea is to show ads to people who could become customers and to make them aware of your business. Note: driving leads and sales are the two main goals for using Search campaigns.
Branding/Awareness– Increase awareness of your business and it’s products or services.
– Introduce customers to new product launches or services. Let them know about changes with your business you believe they would be interested in.

Pro Tip

Generally speaking, Display campaigns are best used for branding/awareness, driving traffic, and to a lesser extent, driving top-of-funnel leads – getting people to download a white paper or product demo, for example. Relative to Search, Display tends not to work as well for getting people to make purchases or pick up the phone and call your business.

Shopping Campaign Goals

GoalWhen To Use It
Sales– Drive Sales
– Engage with people who are close to making a purchase or customers who have already engaged with your business.
Leads– Encourage your target audience to engage with your business’ service or product. Typical engagement includes filling out a contact form, calling your business, signing up for a newsletter or engaging with a live chat option on your website.
Website Traffic– Drive targeted traffic to your website. The idea is to show ads to people who could become customers and to make them aware of your business. Note: driving leads and sales are the two main goals for using Search campaigns.

Video Campaign Goals

GoalWhen To Use It
Sales– Drive Sales
– Engage with people who are close to making a purchase or customers who have already engaged with your business.
Leads– Encourage your target audience to engage with your business’ service or product. Typical engagement includes filling out a contact form, calling your business, signing up for a newsletter or engaging with a live chat option on your website.
Website Traffic– Drive targeted traffic to your website. The idea is to show ads to people who could become customers and to make them aware of your business. Note: driving leads and sales are the two main goals for using Search campaigns.
Branding/Awareness– Increase awareness of your business and it’s products or services.
– Introduce customers to new product launches or services. Let them know about changes with your business you believe they would be interested in.