Google Ads Smart Campaigns are one of the most beginner-friendly ways to get started with PPC advertising and online marketing.
If you’re a small business owner looking to explore whether Google Ads can help grow your business—without spending hours learning complex tools—Smart Campaigns offer a simple and effective entry point.
That’s exactly why Smart Campaigns continue to be a valuable feature within Google Ads.
But what exactly are Google Ads Smart Campaigns?
What can you do with them, and are the results as good as normal Google Ads Campaigns?
Here’s everything you need to know about Smart Campaigns, how to use them, and if you should use them for your own business.
Running a Google ads campaign is not a simple task.
You have to master all kinds of things.
For example, you have to learn keywords, negative keywords, targeting, custom audiences, ad extensions, geo-targeting, determining when to bid and when not to bid, etc.
I could go on and on and on.
But when you’re running a small business where your job description fits every role, it’s almost impossible to find the time.
And hiring an outside PPC agency can be expensive.
Google Ads Smart Campaigns are here for you.
What are Google Ads Smart Campaigns?
Google Ads Smart Campaigns are an automated, beginner-friendly campaign type designed to help small businesses advertise online without needing deep PPC expertise.
They allow advertisers to promote their business across Google Search, Maps, YouTube, Gmail, and Google’s partner sites—using minimal manual setup.
Launched as part of Google’s ongoing effort to make advertising more accessible, Smart Campaigns are now fully integrated into the Google Ads platform. They rely on machine learning to automate key tasks like:
- Keyword targeting
- Bidding strategy
- Ad placements
- Audience targeting
All you need to do is enter your business details, write a short ad, and set your budget. Google then handles the rest—making Smart Campaigns a perfect entry point for small business owners who want results without managing complex ad settings.
Mainly, the idea was to automate and simplify everything.
With regular Google Ads, you have countless factors you need to control.
From bidding to keyword research, ad creation and more. It’s like a full-time job to run a single account to its maximum potential.
Even the overall Google Ads dashboard can be overwhelming to a new user:
But that’s where Smart Campaigns come in. Take the hassle out of online advertising by partnering with our team of professionals. Contact us online to get customized Google Ads Smart Campaign services tailored to your business needs.
Where Did AdWords Express Go?
If you’re wondering where AdWords Express went, don’t worry, it still exists.
In 2019, Google made it a part of the Google Ads suite and renamed the section “Smart Campaigns.”
Instead of a separate dashboard and URL, you now have to create Smart Campaigns by creating a new Google Ads campaign, and selecting “Smart” as the campaign type.
But that doesn’t mean the actual user experience has changed.
Smart Campaigns still maintain the simple user experience, and it is much easier to navigate for someone who either (1) has limited time and resources or (2) little to no experience with pay per click advertising.
Beyond being simplified, Smart Campaigns still help businesses leverage ads on Google properties to drive sales.
Just like with any advertising, to benefit from ads, you have to sell products or services, whether through a local brick and mortar store or online store.
If you choose a Smart Campaign, it probably won’t even take you 15 minutes to get started.
Where do your ads show?
Using Smart Campaigns, you can showcase ads for your business on the search network, mobile device targeting, Google Maps, and even Google website partners.
So, what are the benefits? Why should a small business use Smart Campaigns?
Why Should You Use Google Ads Smart Campaigns?
Smart Campaigns get a pretty bad rap.
Expert PPC marketers and agencies single it out as pointless and a waste of time/money.
But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Smart Campaigns is still a great ad product for small businesses with small budgets that lack technical knowledge.
A Much Simpler Dashboard and Reports
Smart Campaigns have a much, much simpler interface than regular campaigns. The campaign overview gives you everything a PPC beginner needs to know, at a glance.
At the top, you can see your ad preview, a breakdown of your company info, and the goal of your campaign. Then you see impressions, clicks, and the amount spent.
If you scroll down, you can see the five main metrics that a Smart Campaign reports on:
The main report shows impressions, clicks, ad spend, conversions, and map actions. Since the campaign goal of this campaign was “Calls,” it shows “Call clicks” instead of regular conversions.
The main ad settings, you can find at the bottom of the very same page.
Here you can control your budget, location targeting, and your business category and information. (The business category and information helps Google automatically target relevant keywords for your business.)
Save Time on Setting Up and Optimizing Campaigns
Smart Campaigns aren’t more primitive in their targeting options than regular campaigns. The main difference is that Google’s algorithm handles most of the advanced decisions.
So because of the simplified options, you spend a lot less time on the platform to ensure that it’s running smoothly.
The most significant benefit of Smart Campaigns is that they target and optimize themselves.
Google fully automates the experience, creating ads based on your website and your Google My Business profile. They consistently optimize and tweak based on best practices.
New to Google Ads? Check out our Beginner’s Guide to Mastering Google PPC Ads to learn the essentials and start your advertising journey with confidence.
Of course, you can edit the text of these ads by clicking the “Edit ad” link below your ad preview.
Once it develops the ads, Google picks the best placements depending on your business type.
For example, if you are running ads for your local business, they will automatically target audiences searching in your area or show your ads directly on Google Maps listings.
The entire selling point of Smart Campaigns is #SimplifiedAcquisition.
Compared to regular campaigns, you don’t have to manage dozens of tools, reports, and bidding modifications to find success. (But there are downsides to not having that access as well, more on that later.)
If ease of use is a concern to you, meaning you are relatively new to the PPC space, Smart Campaigns are a fantastic starting point.
It allows you to have some control over your account without overwhelming you with too many features.
Setting up your first campaign and ad takes only 15 minutes to do, whereas it could take you hours, if not days, to do it on a regular Google Ads account.
Targeting is another unique feature with Smart Campaigns.
Instead of fudging with custom audiences, IF functions, remarketing, and diverse targeting metrics, you can let Google do the work for you.
Based on your business’s location or category, Smart Campaigns target users in your area who have the highest propensity to purchase.
You don’t even have to lift a finger to get accurate audience targeting – a task that generally takes months of refining to master.
If you still want control over which keywords you target, you do have the option to manage which search phrases or keywords you target or exclude from your campaigns:
You can access these options by clicking the “Manage All” link in the “Search Phrases” section of the overview.
From here, you can enable or disable any search phrases that the Google algorithm thinks is relevant to your business. You can change this setting with the button in the “Status” column.
Giving you control over the basics and automating the rest, Smart Campaigns are compelling.
If you are looking for simplicity on your end with results for your bottom line, you should consider Smart Campaigns over the full Google Ads experience.
Want to learn more about Smart Google Ads Campaign services? Visit this page to explore how we can help you grow your business with expert PPC solutions.
