Google Ads for B2B

Use this skill when managing Google Ads for B2B — intent-first campaign strategy, account structure, keyword and match-type management, bidding, weekly search term auditing, negatives, Performance Max guardrails, RSAs, and performance analysis. Triggers: Google Ads, Google campaign, Google search ads, Google PMax, Performance Max, Google Display, Google Shopping, Google ad performance, Google keyword, search terms, Google RSA, Google bidding.

SKILL.md
name:
google-ads
description:
Use this skill when managing Google Ads for B2B — intent-first campaign strategy, account structure, keyword and match-type management, bidding, weekly search term auditing, negatives, Performance Max guardrails, RSAs, and performance analysis. Triggers: Google Ads, Google campaign, Google search ads, Google PMax, Performance Max, Google Display, Google Shopping, Google ad performance, Google keyword, search terms, Google RSA, Google bidding.

Google Ads Management

Orchestrator for Google Ads strategy and campaign management. It grounds every recommendation in a consistent B2B demand-generation methodology.

Methodology

This skill implements an intent-first B2B demand generation approach for Google Ads. It captures existing demand through systematic keyword targeting, proves unit economics on the highest-intent terms first, then expands outward.

Core Philosophy

Intent is everything. Capture demand before you create it.

Google Ads is the strongest channel for capturing existing demand. People are actively searching for solutions - the job is to be there at the right moment with the right message. Start with high-intent keywords (brand and solution-aware), prove unit economics, then expand outward to medium and low intent, and finally to awareness.

Knowledge Base

Ground all strategy in these files. Read the relevant one before advising.

File Contains Read When
references/intent-first-strategy.md Intent ladder (brand, high-intent, competitor, problem-aware, demand-gen), capture-before-create, B2B realities Any strategy or planning question, prioritizing spend
references/account-structure.md Splitting by intent, themed ad groups (not SKAGs), naming, network and geo defaults, when to consolidate Setting up or restructuring an account
references/keyword-and-match-types.md Match type progression, B2B keyword research, negatives, avoiding self-competition Building keyword lists, choosing match types
references/bidding-strategy.md Bidding by conversion volume, tCPA and tROAS, setting and moving targets, the optimize-to-quality trap Choosing or changing a bid strategy
references/search-terms-and-negatives.md Weekly search terms ritual, what to negative, negative match types, shared lists Weekly optimization, cutting waste
references/benchmarks-and-measurement.md B2B SaaS benchmark ranges, metrics that matter, offline conversion import, weekly scorecard Performance review, expectations, measurement setup
references/performance-max-b2b.md When and when not to run PMax, guardrails (brand exclusions, signals, negatives), reading PMax PMax questions, scaling beyond Search
references/rsa-and-landing-pages.md RSA assets, pinning, writing to intent, landing page message match, Quality Score Writing ads, improving CVR or Quality Score
references/cheatsheet-overview.md Campaign types cheatsheet (Search, Shopping, Display, PMax, Video) Quick campaign-type selection

Routing Logic

User Intent When to Use
Account analysis, performance review Start with the big picture, then drill into top-spending campaigns and ROAS
Search term waste Filter for terms with spend and no conversions, add negatives
Keyword optimization Read keyword-level performance and Quality Score
Create new campaign Follow the intent-first build order, start PAUSED
Pause, enable, or budget changes Review setup before enabling any spend
Strategic campaign planning Load the knowledge base files above

Core Rules

  1. Always start PAUSED. Never create campaigns in ENABLED state. Review everything before turning on spend.

  2. Check search terms weekly. The search terms report is the single biggest optimization lever. Find irrelevant terms, add negatives, discover new keyword opportunities.

  3. Build bottom-up by intent. Start with brand and high-intent keywords. Prove they convert. Then expand to medium intent, then low intent and awareness.

  4. Match type strategy matters. Start with Phrase match for control, expand to Broad match only with Smart Bidding and sufficient conversion data (roughly 30+ conversions per month).

  5. Quality Score drives costs. Monitor Quality Score on keywords - low scores mean ad relevance or landing page issues. Fix those before increasing bids.

  6. RSA best practices. 8-10 unique headlines, 3-4 descriptions. Pin critical brand or CTA copy to position 1 only when it must always show. Let Google optimize the rest.

  7. Speak from this methodology directly and with conviction. Avoid padding with generic best practices.

Campaign Types - When to Use What

Type Use Case When
Search High-intent keyword capture Always - this is the foundation
Performance Max Broad AI-driven across all networks After Search proves unit economics
Display Remarketing and awareness Remarketing first, prospecting second
Shopping E-commerce product ads Product catalog campaigns
Video (YouTube) Brand awareness and remarketing After core campaigns are profitable

Key Metrics to Watch

Metric What It Tells You
Search Impression Share How much demand you are capturing
Quality Score Ad and landing page relevance
Cost per Conversion Unit economics
ROAS Revenue efficiency
Search Terms (no conversions) Budget waste
Top Impression % Ad position competitiveness