Modern Google Ads Campaign Structure: The Consolidation Strategy

Mistake #1: Overcomplicated Structures

The Cable Drawer Effect: Campaign structures often start simple but become increasingly complex through incremental additions:

• New product launches trigger new campaigns
• Seasonal promotions add temporary structures that become permanent
• Tests and experiments create fragmentation
• Geographic expansions multiply campaign counts
• Multiple team members add their own organizational logic

The Result: What began as 3-5 campaigns morphs into 15-25+ campaigns, each consuming budget, requiring management attention, and fragmenting data across too many silos.

Why This Hurts Performance

• Budget Fragmentation: Small budget allocations prevent optimization velocity
• Data Dilution: Conversion signals spread thin means no campaign gets enough data
• Management Overhead: More campaigns require exponentially more monitoring
• Statistical Volatility: Fewer conversions per campaign creates wild performance swings

Mistake #2: Outdated Structures and Strategies

Strategies from 2015-2020 emphasized:

• Single Keyword Ad Groups (SCAGs): One keyword per ad group for maximum control
• Manual Bidding: Hands-on bid management by keyword, device, location
• Extensive Segmentation: Separate campaigns by match type, device type
• Heavy Negative Keyword Lists: Exhaustive blocking to prevent any irrelevant spend

Why These Are Obsolete: Google's smart bidding algorithms now outperform manual optimization. The platform requires data volume and budget consolidation to optimize effectively.

The 15 Conversion Benchmark

Google's Official Guidance: Smart bidding strategies typically need at least 15 conversions per 30-day period to optimize properly. This is a minimum, not a target.

The Reality:

Conversions/Month	Algorithm Performance
15	Algorithm barely functions
150	Meaningful optimization begins
1,500	Sophisticated optimization achievable

The Spinning Plates Analogy

• One Plate (Consolidated): Easy to keep spinning at high speed with consistent performance
• Ten Plates (Fragmented): Constant attention required, some wobble, some fall, performance varies wildly

Statistical Volatility and Small Numbers

The Dice Example:

• Roll a die 6 times: Unlikely to get exactly one of each number
• Roll a die 1 million times: Almost certainly gets each number approximately one-sixth of the time

Application: A campaign with 2 conversions can have metrics completely change with the next 2 conversions. A campaign with 200 conversions has stable, actionable patterns.

The Consolidation ROI Bump

When taking over an account with 15-25 campaigns and consolidating to 2-4 campaigns:

• Immediate ROAS Improvement: Often 20-40% in the first 30 days
• Reduced Cost Per Conversion: Budget reallocates to best-performing elements
• Increased Conversion Volume: Same spend, better targeting, more results

Not everything should be consolidated. Strategic separation makes sense in specific scenarios:

1. Brand vs. Non-Brand Search

Why Separate:

• Cost Dynamics: Brand clicks typically $0.50-$2.00; non-brand $5-$50
• Conversion Rates: Brand searches convert at 20-40%; non-brand at 2-10%
• Budget Protection: Prevents brand budget from subsidizing expensive non-brand testing
• Defensive Strategy: Ensures competitors can't steal your brand traffic

2. Different Geographic Locations

When to Separate:

• Different Countries with Different Languages
• Dramatically Different Market Performance
• Local Businesses with Multiple Locations

3. Distinct Product or Service Ranges

Separate	Do NOT Separate
Hats vs. Shoes (different categories)	Red hats vs. Blue hats
Meta Ads vs. Google Ads Services	Small shoes vs. Large shoes
Residential vs. Commercial Services	Monday vs. Wednesday appointments

4. Different Service Tiers

Example: Agency Services

• Done-With-You (Mentorship): Small businesses, $1K-$5K, "Google Ads training"
• Done-For-You (Management): Larger companies, $10K-$50K+, "Google Ads agency"

5. Different Campaign Types

Naturally separate: Search, Performance Max, Display, Video, Shopping campaigns

These separations hurt performance by fragmenting data:

Don't Separate by Device Type

Outdated Strategy: Mobile-only campaigns, desktop-only campaigns, tablet-only campaigns.

Modern Approach: Let Google's algorithm optimize across devices. It will naturally favor whichever devices convert best.

Don't Separate by Keyword Match Type

Outdated Strategy: Exact match campaign, phrase match campaign, broad match campaign.

Modern Approach: Mix match types within ad groups. Smart bidding optimizes regardless of match type.

Don't Separate by Time of Day

Outdated Strategy: Morning campaign, afternoon campaign, evening campaign.

Modern Approach: Use ad scheduling within a single campaign, or let the algorithm determine optimal timing.

Don't Separate by Audience Type

Outdated Strategy: Remarketing campaign separate from prospecting campaign.

Modern Approach: Layer audiences within campaigns using observation mode or combined targeting.

No More SCAGs

SCAG = Single Keyword Ad Group: The extreme segmentation strategy where each ad group contains exactly one keyword.

Why This Is Obsolete:

• Creates hundreds of ad groups requiring individual management
• Fragments data so severely that optimization becomes impossible
• Assumes manual control outperforms algorithmic optimization (it doesn't)
• Massive time investment for minimal benefit

Themed Ad Groups Instead

Group related keywords that share search intent and can use similar messaging into single ad groups.

Landscaping Business Example:

Ad Group	Keywords	Landing Page
General Landscaping	landscaping services, landscaper near me, landscape design	General services overview
Lawn Care & Maintenance	lawn mowing, grass cutting, lawn maintenance, weeding	Lawn care services page
Patio Installation	patio installation, patio laying, paving services	Patio services page
Garden Beds & Planting	flower bed installation, raised garden beds, planting services	Garden design page

The Benefits of Themed Ad Groups

• Relevant Ad Copy: Ads mention the specific service the searcher wants
• Appropriate Landing Pages: Users arrive at pages specifically about their interest
• Sufficient Data Volume: Each ad group gets enough search volume to optimize
• Manageable Scale: 4-8 ad groups per campaign instead of 40-80 SCAGs

Example 1: Marketing Agency

Campaign	Purpose
Brand Search	All brand-related keywords, defensive positioning
Meta Ads - Done With You	Mentorship focused, small to medium businesses
Meta Ads - Done For You	Agency keywords, larger companies
Google Ads - Done With You	Google-specific mentorship
Google Ads - Done For You	Google-specific agency

Total: 5 Search Campaigns (plus Performance Max to supplement)

Example 2: E-Commerce Apparel Brand

Campaign	Purpose
Brand Search	Brand name and product name searches
Performance Max - General	Broad product catalog access
Search - Winter Apparel	Seasonal products (jackets, coats)
Search - Summer Apparel	Seasonal products (shorts, t-shirts)

Total: 4 Campaigns

Key Principle

Most businesses should have 2-6 campaigns total, not 15-25. Each campaign should receive enough budget and conversions to optimize effectively.