A well-structured Google Ads account makes campaigns easier to manage, ads more relevant to the searcher, and budget easier to control. Poor structure, typically one campaign with one ad group containing dozens of mixed keywords, is one of the most common reasons accounting firm Google Ads campaigns underperform. This guide explains how to structure your account from the start.
The three-level hierarchy
Every Google Ads account has the same hierarchy: Account → Campaigns → Ad Groups → Keywords and Ads. Each level serves a distinct purpose:
- Campaign: controls budget, geographic targeting, bid strategy, and network settings
- Ad group: groups related keywords together so ads can be written specifically for that theme
- Keywords and ads: the individual search terms and the ads that show for them
The key principle is that keywords within an ad group should be closely enough related that one ad can be highly relevant to all of them. When keywords are too diverse, ads become generic, Quality Scores fall, and costs per click rise.
How many campaigns does an accounting firm need?
For most small and mid-sized accounting practices, two to four campaigns are sufficient:
Campaign 1: Core services (local). This is your primary campaign. It targets your local geographic area with keywords for your main service lines: self-assessment, limited company accounting, sole trader accounting, small business accounting.
Campaign 2: Specialist services (if applicable). If your firm has a specific niche, such as contractors and IR35, property landlords, or construction CIS, a separate campaign for that niche allows you to use a separate budget, write niche-specific ads, and send traffic to a niche-specific landing page.
Campaign 3: Brand (optional). A brand campaign bids on your firm's name. This protects against competitors bidding on your brand terms and is low cost. Only necessary once your brand has enough search volume to matter.
Campaign 4: Remarketing (later stage). Display remarketing to people who have previously visited your website. This is a separate campaign type (Display, not Search) and is better added after your Search campaigns are established.
Ad group structure within your core services campaign
Within the core services campaign, build one ad group per service line or client type:
| Ad group name | Theme | Example keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Self-assessment | SA filing clients | self assessment accountant [city], accountant for self assessment [city] |
| Limited company | Director clients | limited company accountant [city], accountant for directors [city] |
| Sole trader | Sole trader clients | sole trader accountant [city], freelancer accountant [city] |
| Small business | General SME | small business accountant [city], local accountant for businesses [city] |
| Contractor / IR35 | Contractors | contractor accountant [city], IR35 accountant [city] |
Each ad group gets its own set of two to three responsive search ads, written specifically for that theme. A sole trader ad group does not share ads with a limited company ad group.
Why tight ad group structure matters
When your keywords and ads are closely matched, the ad is more relevant to the searcher's query, Google rewards this with a higher Quality Score, higher Quality Scores mean lower costs per click and better ad positions, and searchers are more likely to click an ad that directly addresses what they searched. When keywords are mixed across one large ad group, ads become generic, Quality Scores are lower, cost per click rises, and click-through rates fall. The structure overhead is a one-time setup cost. Once built, campaigns with good structure require less ongoing management than poorly structured campaigns trying to compensate.
Budget allocation across campaigns
Allocate the majority of your budget to the campaign most likely to produce conversions. For most practices, this is the core services campaign targeting your local area. Example allocation for a £600/month budget:
- Core services (local): £450/month (£15/day)
- Specialist services (niche): £120/month (£4/day)
- Brand: £30/month (low CPC makes this affordable)
Review budget allocation after the first 60 days based on which campaigns are generating the most conversions at the lowest cost.
Naming conventions
Use consistent naming so you can understand your account at a glance. For campaigns: [Service type] | [Location] | [Match type], for example "Core Services | Manchester | Exact". For ad groups: [Service] | [Location qualifier], for example "Self Assessment | Manchester". Clear naming becomes especially valuable if you expand to multiple locations or hand over account management to a colleague or agency.
What to avoid
One campaign, one ad group, all keywords: the most common mistake. Produces generic ads, low Quality Scores, wasted budget. Mixing match types within an ad group without negative management: broad match keywords in the same ad group as exact match can lead to the wrong ad triggering for the wrong query. Duplicate keywords across campaigns: if the same keyword appears in multiple campaigns, they compete against each other in the auction, driving up your own costs. Too many campaigns too quickly: start with one campaign, run it for two months, then expand.
Key takeaways
- The three-level hierarchy (campaign, ad group, keywords/ads) each serves a distinct role; control budget and targeting at campaign level and control relevance at ad group level.
- Most accounting firms need two to four campaigns: core services, specialist niche (if applicable), brand protection, and remarketing (added later).
- Build one ad group per service line or client type; do not mix themes within a single ad group.
- Tight ad group structure produces higher Quality Scores, lower CPCs, and better conversion rates.
- Start with one campaign and expand once you have two months of performance data.
Frequently asked questions
How many keywords should each ad group have?
Five to fifteen tightly themed keywords is the right range. Fewer than five may limit reach; more than twenty typically means the theme is too broad and should be split. Each keyword should be close enough in intent that one well-written ad is relevant to all of them.
Should we separate exact match and phrase match keywords into different ad groups?
Some advertisers do this for granular control; others manage both within the same ad group using bid adjustments. For most accounting firms, keeping exact and phrase match together in one themed ad group, with a negative keyword list to filter irrelevant phrase match traffic, is simpler and equally effective.
What is a campaign-level negative keyword list?
A negative keyword list applied at campaign level prevents your ads from showing for those terms across all ad groups within that campaign. Useful for filtering out job seekers (jobs, vacancies, salary) and irrelevant queries once across the whole campaign rather than repeating them per ad group.
When should we create a remarketing campaign?
Once your website is generating at least 100 unique visitors per month and your search campaigns are running well. Remarketing requires a minimum audience size to function effectively. Start with search campaigns, build your audience through search traffic, then add remarketing once the audience is large enough.
Do we need a separate campaign for each location if we serve multiple areas?
Not necessarily. A single campaign with location targeting set to all target areas works for most accounting firms. Separate location-based campaigns are worth considering if your service offering, competition, or pricing differs significantly between locations, allowing independent budget and bid control.
For more on structuring your Google Ads account, visit our Google Ads for accounting firms hub.