Prerequisites
- Microsoft Advertising account with billing set up
- Access to your website’s tag manager or code
- Goals (e.g., lead submission, purchase, demo booked)
Account & campaign structure
Keep it simple to start: one goal per campaign, tightly themed ad groups, and SKAG-lite where it fits.
- Campaigns: split by intent or product line
- Ad Groups: 3–10 closely related queries
- Keywords: focus on phrase/exact to begin
- Assets: sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets
UET & conversion tracking
Install the UET tag site-wide, then configure conversion goals (e.g., form submit, purchase, call). Validate with real-time tag assistants and test conversions.
Build your first campaign
- Goal-based campaign: choose Sales or Leads
- Locations & schedule: start broad, exclude where you can’t sell
- Budget & bidding: conservative daily budget; start with Target CPA off until you have conversion data
- Keywords: seed list from your site & search terms; avoid broad match at the start
- Ads: 2–3 RSA variants per ad group; include primary keywords in H1/H2
QA checklist
- UET and conversion goals firing correctly
- Negatives added (brand, competitor, irrelevancies as needed)
- Audiences layered (in-market/remarketing) in observation to collect data
- Assets added (sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, call)
What to do next
Let the campaign run for at least 7–14 days. Review search terms, add negatives, and iterate ad copy. Once you have stable conversion volume, test Target CPA/ROAS and expand with Shopping or new segments.