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How to Deploy a Google Search Campaign with Playbooks

Set your budget, brand, keywords, and ad copy, then deploy a Google Search campaign for a client in a guided, step-by-step flow.

Google Search campaigns run on keywords, not inventory, so you can deploy them for a client as soon as the Google channel is connected, even before Merchant Center inventory is approved.

This guide covers the full Search deployment flow.

For the big picture on Google in BuyerBridge, start with the Google Tools 101 hub.

💡 Note: Deploying Google campaigns requires the Google channel set up on the client's account. If you have not connected it yet, see Onboarding Google in BuyerBridge first.

Quick Links

🚧 Before You Get Started

Make sure the client's Google channel is connected in BuyerBridge, with the Google Ads account created or linked and the Business Profile confirmed. The sitelinks and other account-level assets that appear with Search ads are set during onboarding, so complete onboarding first.

Good to know: Search campaigns do not need approved inventory. Unlike PMAX and VLAs, a Search campaign can go out the day you onboard the client.

Step 1: Open the Playbook and Start Deployment

  1. Go to the Google channel for the client.
  2. Select the Search Playbook you want to deploy.
  3. Click Deploy, then select Google as the platform.

You will move through the deployment as a set of steps shown on the left, the same step-by-step style as onboarding.

Step 2: Set Campaign Budgets

The campaigns come from the extracted play. Set a daily budget for each one. The minimum is $5 per day.

The standard onboarding playbook includes 4 Standard Search campaigns, with these default daily budgets pre-filled:

Campaign Type Daily Default Budget
Brand Core Dealerships Search $10
OEM Dealerships & Cars Search $20
Service & Parts Search $10
Generic Consideration Search $10

Adjust any budget to fit the client's monthly plan, then click Continue.

Tip: A quick way to set a daily budget is the client's monthly budget divided by the number of days in the month, minus a few dollars for "padding."

Step 3: Confirm the Brand (OEM)

The brand sets the OEM-specific keywords and copy for the campaigns.

  • If the client has an OEM in their name, BuyerBridge selects it automatically.
  • If not, search for the OEM and choose it.
  • For a dealership that carries more than one brand, run the deployment once per brand (for example, once for Ford and once for Chevrolet).

Step 4: Review Campaign Names

BuyerBridge fills in the campaign names from the playbook. Any dealer name, city, or OEM tokens are swapped in automatically for this client, so you are reviewing finished names, not raw variables. Edit them if you want them to read a certain way in the client's account.

Step 5: Set the Destination URL

Enter the URL where you want the ads to send traffic. You can add additional landing pages here if the campaigns need them.

Step 6: Set Location Targeting

Set where the ads run. You can drop pins, set a radius, or search for locations such as DMAs, and select more than one. A common starting point for a dealership is about 25 miles around the store plus the top nearby cities.

Step 7: Build Your Keywords

Keywords live in the ad groups under each campaign, and negative keywords are set at the campaign level.

How many keywords. Aim for 5 to 15 keywords per ad group, all serving one theme (single-theme ad groups). For example, keep "Ford F-150 lease" separate from "Ford F-1

Match types. Each keyword uses one of three match types. Using all three works well for accounts someone actively manages, but for partners who will not customize or monitor closely, the safer default is Phrase and Exact only.

  • Exact match: the search closely matches your keyword. Best for high-intent terms like specific models or "dealer near me" searches.
  • Phrase match: the search contains your phrase, for example "auto service." Good for mid-funnel discovery.
  • Broad match: reaches the widest set of searches, including related terms. Use it only with a strong negative keyword list, since on its own it can spend on "recall," "parts," and "service" queries that do not sell cars.

For Brand campaigns, stick to Phrase and Exact to protect efficiency.

50 used." If a campaign is struggling for impressions, going up to about 20 is fine.

Match types. Each keyword uses one of three match types, and the standard approach is to use all three:

  • Broad match: reaches the widest set of searches, including related terms.
  • Phrase match: the search contains your phrase, for example "auto service."
  • Exact match: the search closely matches your keyword.

Negative keywords. Negative keywords are set at the campaign scope. The client's own dealer name is added as a negative automatically. Add brand and competitor terms as negatives too. Campaign-level negatives handle universal junk like "free," "jobs," "recall," and "salvage."

Keyword suggestions. BuyerBridge suggests keywords using a blend of Ahrefs data and the Google Keyword Planner, and factors in the client's live lot inventory. Each suggestion shows:

  • Search volume, for example 11,000 searches for "used Bronco for sale"
  • Average cost per click
  • Keyword difficulty
  • A short reason it is recommended, grouped by intent such as local buy or defend your brand

Review the suggestions and add the ones that fit each ad group. They drop into that ad group's keyword list.

Step 8: Review and Edit Ad Copy

Google Search ads are responsive, so you provide a set of headlines and descriptions and Google assembles the ad. BuyerBridge pre-fills tokenized copy tailored to each ad group, up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions. Dynamic Keyword Insertion and auto-created assets like sitelinks are supported.

You can accept the copy as-is or edit any line. Most deployments do not need changes here.

Step 9: Review and Deploy

Do a final check of the budgets, campaign names, destination URL, and locations, then click Deploy.

What Happens After You Deploy

Campaigns deploy paused. Nothing spends until the client goes in, verifies everything looks right, and turns the campaigns live, the same as Meta.

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