Google Search Ads Builder
Build a complete Google Search Ads campaign from scratch. This skill handles everything from deep keyword research through community and review language mining, to ad copy generation and campaign structure — outputting files ready to import into Google Ads Editor.
Core principle: Most early-stage teams waste their first $5K on Google Ads because of bad keyword strategy and bad structure. This skill builds the strategic keyword foundation AND a tight, well-organized campaign from day one.
When to Use
- "Set up Google Search Ads for us"
- "Build a Google Ads campaign for [product]"
- "I want to start running search ads — help me set it up"
- "Create a PPC campaign structure"
- "Generate Google Ads copy for our product"
- "Do keyword research for Google Ads"
- "What keywords should we bid on?"
- "Build a keyword strategy for paid search"
- "Find high-intent keywords in our space"
Phase 0: Intake
- Product name + URL — What are we advertising?
- One-line value prop — What does it do, for whom?
- Product category — How would a buyer search for this? (e.g., "sales automation", "AI writing tool")
- ICP — Who is searching for this? (Role, pain, company stage)
- Monthly budget — What are you willing to spend? (Affects structure and bid recommendations)
- Goal — Free trial sign-ups / Demo bookings / Content downloads / Direct purchase
- Landing pages — URLs you'll send traffic to (or "need to create")
- Competitor domains — 3-5 competitors (for keyword gap analysis)
- Geographic targeting — Countries/regions
- Existing keywords? — Any keywords you already know work or are currently bidding on
- Known converting keywords? — Any existing performance data
Phase 1: Deep Keyword Research
1A: Seed Keyword Generation
From the product description and ICP, generate 3 keyword buckets:
| Bucket | Intent | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Problem-aware | Searching for solutions to a pain | "how to automate outbound", "fix slow sales pipeline" |
| Solution-aware | Searching for a category of product | "AI SDR tool", "outbound automation software" |
| Brand/Competitor | Searching for you or competitors by name | "[your brand]", "[competitor] alternative" |
1B: Competitive Keyword Mining
For each competitor domain, research their organic keyword rankings and ad presence using web_search:
Search: site:<competitor_domain> [product category keywords]
Search: <competitor> SEO keywords ranking
Search: <competitor> top pages organic traffic
Search: "[competitor] site:google.com/ads" OR "[competitor] PPC keywords"
Search: "[competitor]" alternative OR vs OR comparison
Search: best [product category] tools 2026
Use fetch_webpage on competitor landing pages and pricing pages to extract the language and positioning they use — these reveal keyword opportunities.
Extract keywords with buying intent — skip informational-only terms.
1C: Review Language Mining
The exact language buyers use matters more than what marketers think they search. Mine review sites for real buyer vocabulary.
Use web_search to find reviews:
Search: "[product name]" site:g2.com reviews
Search: "[product name]" site:capterra.com reviews
Search: "[competitor name]" site:g2.com reviews
Search: "best [product category]" site:g2.com
Use fetch_webpage on the top review pages to extract phrases like:
- "I was looking for a [term] that could..."
- "We switched from [X] because we needed..."
- "Best [term] for [use case]"
These phrases reveal how real buyers describe the problem and the solution — gold for keyword targeting.
1D: Reddit Community Terminology Mining
Reddit threads contain the unfiltered language your ICP actually uses.
Option A — Apify Reddit Scraper (if APIFY_API_TOKEN is set):
POST https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/trudax~reddit-scraper-lite/runs?token=${APIFY_API_TOKEN}
Content-Type: application/json
{
"searches": ["best <category> tool OR software OR platform"],
"maxItems": 30
}
Then poll for results:
GET https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/trudax~reddit-scraper-lite/runs/{RUN_ID}?token=${APIFY_API_TOKEN}
Once status is SUCCEEDED, fetch dataset:
GET https://api.apify.com/v2/datasets/{DATASET_ID}/items?token=${APIFY_API_TOKEN}
Output fields: Each item has dataType ("post" or "comment"), title (posts only), body, communityName, upVotes, url, createdAt.
Option B — Web search fallback:
Search: site:reddit.com "best [product category] tool" OR "recommend [product category]"
Search: site:reddit.com "[competitor name]" alternative
Search: site:reddit.com "[pain point]" solution software
Extract the terminology, slang, and product descriptions real users use in these threads.
1E: Hacker News Terminology Mining
HN discussions reveal how technical buyers describe tools and problems.
Use the free HN Algolia API:
GET https://hn.algolia.com/api/v1/search?query=<product category>&tags=story&hitsPerPage=20
GET https://hn.algolia.com/api/v1/search?query=<competitor name>&tags=story&hitsPerPage=20
GET https://hn.algolia.com/api/v1/search?query=<pain point>&tags=comment&hitsPerPage=30
No API key needed. Extract terminology and product framing from titles and comment text.
1F: Your Site Content Audit
Use fetch_webpage to crawl key pages on the user's own website:
- Homepage
- Product/features pages
- Pricing page
- Blog posts (top 5-10)
- Any existing landing pages
Identify:
- Pages that could serve as ad landing pages
- Keywords the site content already targets (leverage in ads)
- Gaps — search terms the site doesn't cover yet
- Language and positioning already in use
1G: Search Suggest & Related Terms
Search: "[category] tool" → note Google autocomplete suggestions
Search: "[category] software for [ICP role]"
Search: "[pain point] solution"
Search: "how to [problem your product solves]"
1H: Keyword Expansion
For each seed keyword discovered across all sources, expand with:
- Modifiers: best, top, free, cheap, enterprise, for startups, for [role]
- Long-tail: "[category] for [specific use case]"
- Question queries: "how to [solve problem your product addresses]"
- Comparison: "[competitor] vs [your brand]", "[competitor] alternative"
Phase 2: Keyword Architecture
2A: Funnel Stage Mapping
Organize ALL discovered keywords by buyer journey stage:
| Stage | Intent Signal | Example Keywords | Bid Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Problem-aware | Searching for solutions to a pain | "how to scale outbound without hiring SDRs" | Medium — educational intent |
| Solution-aware | Searching for a category | "AI SDR tool", "outbound automation platform" | High — comparing options |
| Product-aware | Searching for specific products | "[competitor] alternative", "[competitor] vs" | Very high — close to purchase |
| Most-aware | Searching for your brand | "[your brand]", "[your brand] pricing" | Must-have — defend brand |
2B: Intent Classification
| Intent Type | Ad Group Strategy | Landing Page Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Transactional ("buy", "pricing", "free trial") | Aggressive bid, exact match | Direct product/pricing page |
| Commercial ("best", "top", "vs", "alternative") | Strong bid, exact + phrase | Comparison or feature page |
| Informational ("how to", "what is", "guide") | Low bid or skip — save for SEO | Blog/resource (if targeting) |
| Navigational (brand searches) | Must-bid, exact match | Homepage or brand LP |
2C: Competitive Density Assessment
For the top 30 keywords, estimate competition level:
| Density | Signal | Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Low | Few ads showing, no big brands | Bid aggressively — first mover advantage |
| Medium | Some competitors, not |