Winning with Google Ads in an AI-Driven World

Google Ads has undergone major shifts in recent years, shaped by two dominant trends:

• Google Search clicks are becoming more expensive and competitive every year.
• Google Search campaigns are increasingly automated and AI-driven, especially in bidding and targeting.

As a result, campaign managers must make two key adjustments:

• Spend less time making manual tweaks within the platform and leverage Google’s AI by using smart bidding, broad match keyword targeting, and adopting new campaign types like Performance Max where appropriate.
• Focus more on maximizing conversion rates than on adjusting every available setting.

This article outlines the three main areas campaign managers should prioritize moving forward:

1. Smart Bidding
2. Keyword Match Types & Intent
3. A/B Testing & Conversion Rate Optimization

1. Smart Bidding

Smart bidding only reaches its full potential when Google has full visibility into the entire customer journey, including post-click activities within your CRM. If you're running an e-commerce store on Shopify or Magento, that level of data sharing with Google Ads is often already in place. However, for lead generation websites that send form submissions to a CRM, full integration is often missing, especially when it comes to assigning conversion value.

If you're using a popular CRM like HubSpot or Salesforce, they natively integrate well with Google Ads. Still, many advertisers fail to connect the dots fully.

✅ Action step: Ensure all CRM goals (and their respective values) are visible to Google Ads.

Once set up, you can unlock advanced smart bidding strategies such as Maximize Conversions, Target CPA, and Value-Based Bidding. Of these, Value-Based Bidding will likely be the most impactful long term, as Google can reverse-engineer high-value customer journeys and target more users like them.

2. Keyword Match Types & Intent

Exact match has historically been the gold standard for precision, and it still plays a role, but it’s becoming prohibitively expensive and limited in volume.

Meanwhile, Google has introduced intent-based targeting as a new layer on top of keywords. Much like Facebook, which relies heavily on behavioural intent, Google is using AI to understand users beyond search terms, factoring in browsing history, user signals, and engagement patterns.

For highly specific searches like “emergency plumber near me” intent signals may not add much. But across millions of broader queries, this layer can significantly enhance targeting.

✅ Recommendation: Start trusting broad match with intent signals, but be diligent with negative keyword lists to control relevance.

Example: At Search Engine People, our exact match campaigns with Maximize Conversions were costing over $100 per click on average, becoming unsustainable. Switching to broad match with value bidding reduced costs and increased performance.

3. A/B Testing & Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)

As click costs rise, eliminating friction in the user journey becomes crucial. You want to convert every high-cost click into a lead or sale. That’s where continuous A/B testing becomes essential.

Google offers Campaign Experiments for ad and bidding variations. For landing pages, most CMS platforms allow you to clone and test variants easily. Tools like Unbounce are excellent for rapid landing page testing.

🔹Landing Page A/B Testing

Create at least two versions and test them against each other. Variables to experiment with:

• Form placement (higher or lower on the page)
• Messaging and copy
• Page colors and design elements
• Placement of trust signals (e.g., reviews, guarantees)
• Overall layout and navigation flow

📱 Prioritize mobile: Since most traffic comes from mobile devices, and screen space is limited, CRO mistakes are magnified on mobile.

🔹Form A/B Testing

• Minimize the number of fields
• Change field order
• Test moving the form higher or lower on the page

🔹Ad Copy A/B Testing

Ad copy affects Click-Through Rate (CTR) — a key factor in Quality Score and Ad Rank. A higher CTR can lead to lower CPCs and better placement.

• Continuously rotate and test 2–3 ad variations per ad group
• Retire low performers and keep improving copy

🔹Creative A/B Testing

Images and videos also influence CTR and conversion rate. Like with copy, creatives should be regularly tested and updated to find the top performers.

🔹Granular Targeting A/B Testing

While ultra-segmented strategies like SKAGs (Single Keyword Ad Groups) are less necessary now, maintaining tight thematic ad groups with shared intent is still valuable. It helps improve CTR, Quality Score, and Ad Rank without becoming overly complex.

Looking Ahead: The Evolution of Google Ads

Google introduced Local Services Ads (LSAs) to simplify advertising: the business provides their industry, location, and price per lead, and Google handles the rest, no website required.

Performance Max campaigns are evolving in a similar direction. Advertisers provide assets (copy, creatives, targeting signals), and Google optimizes delivery across all surfaces.

As automation increases, campaign managers must evolve their value by focusing less on manual optimization and more on strategy, testing, and creative development.

Automation will democratize access to Google Ads, but the agencies and professionals who master testing, integration, and creative strategy will continue to outperform the competition.