Google Ads Google Ads Syllabus

Google Ads syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Google Ads in Google Ads, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Introduction to Google Ads

   2 topics

   • What is Google Ads?
     • Overview of Google Ads
     • History and Evolution
     • Benefits of Using Google Ads
   • Account Setup
     • Creating a Google Ads Account
     • Navigating the Google Ads Interface
     • Account Structure: Campaigns, Ad Groups, and Ads
2. 2

   Campaign Types

   5 topics

   • Search Campaigns
     • Keyword Research
     • Ad Copywriting
     • Ad Extensions
     • Bidding Strategies for Search Campaigns
   • Display Campaigns
     • Creating Display Ads
     • Targeting Options
     • Bidding Strategies for Display Campaigns
   • Video Campaigns
     • Creating Video Ads
     • YouTube Advertising
     • Bidding Strategies for Video Campaigns
   • Shopping Campaigns
     • Setting Up a Merchant Center Account
     • Creating Shopping Ads
     • Bidding Strategies for Shopping Campaigns
   • App Campaigns
     • Creating App Ads
     • Targeting Options for App Campaigns
     • Bidding Strategies for App Campaigns
3. 3

   Targeting Options

   4 topics

   • Audience Targeting
     • Custom Audiences
     • Affinity Audiences
     • In-Market Audiences
     • Remarketing
   • Demographic Targeting
     • Age
     • Gender
     • Household Income
   • Geographic Targeting
     • Location Targeting
     • Radius Targeting
   • Device Targeting
     • Desktop vs. Mobile
     • Adjusting Bids by Device
4. 4

   Ad Creation

   3 topics

   • Ad Formats
     • Text Ads
     • Responsive Search Ads
     • Image Ads
     • Video Ads
     • Shopping Ads
   • Ad Copywriting
     • Writing Effective Headlines
     • Crafting Compelling Descriptions
     • Using Call-to-Actions
   • Ad Extensions
     • Sitelink Extensions
     • Callout Extensions
     • Structured Snippet Extensions
     • Call Extensions
     • Location Extensions
5. 5

   Bidding Strategies

   2 topics

   • Manual Bidding
     • Setting Manual CPC Bids
     • Adjusting Bids by Performance
   • Automated Bidding
     • Target CPA
     • Target ROAS
     • Maximize Conversions
     • Enhanced CPC
6. 6

   Performance Tracking and Optimization

   4 topics

   • Key Metrics
     • Click-Through Rate (CTR)
     • Conversion Rate
     • Cost Per Click (CPC)
     • Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
   • Using Google Analytics
     • Linking Google Ads to Google Analytics
     • Tracking Conversions
     • Analyzing User Behavior
   • A/B Testing
     • Setting Up A/B Tests
     • Analyzing Test Results
     • Implementing Changes Based on Results
   • Ongoing Optimization
     • Keyword Optimization
     • Ad Copy Optimization
     • Bid Adjustments
     • Quality Score Improvement
7. 7

   Advanced Strategies

   4 topics

   • Remarketing
     • Setting Up Remarketing Lists
     • Creating Remarketing Ads
     • Targeting Remarketing Audiences
   • Dynamic Search Ads
     • How Dynamic Search Ads Work
     • Setting Up Dynamic Search Ads
     • Optimizing Dynamic Search Ads
   • Local Campaigns
     • Setting Up Local Campaigns
     • Optimizing for Local Search
     • Tracking Local Campaign Performance
   • Smart Campaigns
     • Overview of Smart Campaigns
     • Setting Up Smart Campaigns
     • Optimizing Smart Campaigns
8. 8

   Compliance and Best Practices

   2 topics

   • Google Ads Policies
     • Ad Content Policies
     • Landing Page Policies
     • Prohibited Practices
   • Best Practices
     • Ad Relevance
     • Landing Page Experience
     • Account Structure and Organization

Google Ads flashcards for Google Ads

23 of 51 cards from the Google Ads deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What is Google Ads?

   Google's online advertising platform (formerly Google AdWords) where advertisers bid to display ads, product listings, and video content across Google Search, the Display Network, YouTube, and partner sites, typically paying on a cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM) basis.

2. Which auction and pricing model does Google Ads primarily use for Search ads?

   A pay-per-click (PPC) auction. Ads compete in a real-time auction and advertisers generally pay only when a user clicks (CPC), with actual cost determined by the auction rather than the max bid.

3. What three main factors determine Ad Rank in the Google Ads auction?

   Your bid amount, your Quality Score (ad and landing page quality), and the expected impact of ad extensions/assets and other ad formats. (Also context and Ad Rank thresholds.)

4. What is Quality Score and what three components make it up?

   A 1-10 diagnostic estimate of ad quality. Its three components are: expected click-through rate (CTR), ad relevance, and landing page experience.

5. What is the hierarchical structure of a Google Ads account?

   Account → Campaign(s) → Ad Group(s) → Ads and Keywords. Budgets and campaign type/settings are set at the campaign level; keywords, ads, and bids live within ad groups.

6. What information is required to complete Google Ads account setup?

   A Google account (email), business information/website, billing details (payment method and billing country/currency), and time zone. The currency and time zone are fixed once set.

7. What is a Search campaign?

   A campaign that shows text ads on the Google Search results page (and search partners) when users' queries match your keywords, capturing high-intent demand at the moment of search.

8. What is a Display campaign?

   A campaign that shows image, responsive, and banner ads across the Google Display Network (millions of websites, apps, and Gmail), used mainly for awareness, reach, and remarketing rather than direct search intent.

9. What is a Video campaign and where do its ads run?

   A campaign that runs video ads on YouTube and Google video partners. Formats include skippable/non-skippable in-stream, in-feed, bumper, and Shorts ads.

10. What is a Shopping campaign?

    A campaign that shows Product Listing Ads (PLAs) with product image, title, price, and store name. It requires a Google Merchant Center product feed rather than keywords.

11. What is required to run a Shopping campaign?

    A Google Merchant Center account with an approved product feed, linked to Google Ads. Shopping ads are driven by product data (feed attributes), not keywords.

12. What is an App campaign?

    An automated campaign type that promotes mobile app installs and in-app actions across Search, Play, YouTube, Display, and Discover. Google auto-generates ad combinations from provided assets; targeting and bidding are largely automated.

13. What is audience targeting in Google Ads?

    Reaching users based on who they are, their interests, habits, or past interactions—e.g., affinity audiences, in-market audiences, custom audiences, and remarketing lists—rather than only by keyword.

14. Compare affinity audiences vs. in-market audiences.

    Affinity audiences target users by long-term interests and lifestyle (broad, top-of-funnel). In-market audiences target users actively researching or intending to buy a product/service now (lower-funnel, higher intent).

15. What is remarketing (retargeting) in Google Ads?

    Showing ads to users who previously interacted with your website, app, or videos, using tracked audience lists to re-engage prior visitors and encourage conversion.

16. What demographic dimensions can you target in Google Ads?

    Age, gender, parental status, and household income (income availability varies by country). You can bid-adjust, include, or exclude these segments.

17. What is geographic (location) targeting?

    Restricting or adjusting where ads appear—by country, region, city, postal code, or a radius around a point—so ads reach users in (or interested in) chosen locations.

18. What is the difference between the 'Presence' and 'Presence or interest' location options?

    'Presence' targets people physically in (or regularly in) the targeted location. 'Presence or interest' also includes people who search for or show interest in the location even if located elsewhere.

19. What device types can you target and adjust bids for in Google Ads?

    Computers/desktop, mobile phones, tablets, and TV screens. You can apply bid adjustments (including -100% to exclude) per device type.

20. What is a bid adjustment and how is a +20% mobile adjustment applied to a $2.00 bid?

    A percentage modifier that raises or lowers bids for a condition (device, location, audience, schedule). A +20% mobile adjustment gives $$2.00 \times (1 + 0.20) = \$2.40.$$

21. What is a Responsive Search Ad (RSA)?

    The standard Search ad format where you provide up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions; Google automatically tests and assembles combinations (up to 3 headlines and 2 descriptions shown) to optimize performance.

22. What is a Responsive Display Ad?

    A Display ad where you supply assets (images, logos, headlines, descriptions) and Google automatically adjusts size, appearance, and format to fit available ad spaces across the Display Network.

23. List the main YouTube video ad formats.

    Skippable in-stream, non-skippable in-stream, bumper ads (≤6 seconds), in-feed video ads, and outstream/Shorts ads. Masthead is a reservation format on the YouTube home feed.

See more Google Ads flashcards →

Planning Google Ads for Google Ads

Google Ads (Google Ads) FAQ