Google Ads Campaign Settings: 10 Defaults to Check Before You Launch

By the MarketingStackHub team · Research-based, from vendors’ own pricing pages and documentation · How we research

The short answer

Google Ads campaign settings come pre-filled, and several defaults favor reach over control: search partners on, broad match on new keywords, the wider “Presence or interest” location option and automated assets added to your ads. None of them is wrong, but each deserves a decision before you launch. Here are ten to check, each with what Google sets and when to change it.

Check: networks

Best for: a small budget that should go to Google Search first, where you can see every search term and placement.

Line not to cross: assuming the boxes match your plan without opening them.

Read: networks ↓

Decide: reach

Best for: choosing location, match types and AI Max on purpose, so the campaign reaches who you meant.

Line not to cross: widening all three at once on a brand-new campaign.

Read: AI Max ↓

Keep: tracking

Best for: leaving auto-tagging on and making sure the campaign optimizes for the conversions you actually want.

Line not to cross: launching before a conversion action records anything.

Read: account ↓
Google Ads campaign settings illustration: a settings panel with toggles, some switched off, a network checklist with two boxes unticked, a location pin and a launch button
On this page

Before you start: Smart Mode or Expert Mode

Google Ads has a simplified Smart Mode, and Google says you can only create Smart campaigns in Smart Mode. Smart campaigns hide most of the Google Ads campaign settings below. If your account opened in the simplified view and you want a standard Search campaign, switch to Expert Mode from the settings menu before you create it.

The Google Ads campaign settings below apply to a standard Search campaign, the usual first campaign for a small business. Open each setting during setup, or afterwards under the campaign’s Settings tab, before you set the campaign live.

Account-level Google Ads settings

Three settings live at the account level rather than in the Google Ads campaign settings, so they apply to every campaign. Check them once, then again whenever someone new gets access.

1. Auto-tagging: keep it on

Google says auto-tagging is turned on by default for new accounts. It adds a click identifier (GCLID) to your landing page address, which lets Google Analytics match visits to ad clicks. This is a default to keep. Confirm it under Admin, then Account settings, then Auto-tagging, especially if someone set up the account before you.

2. Account-level automated assets: review them

Google can create automated assets and show them with your ads when it predicts they’ll help: dynamic sitelinks, callouts and structured snippets taken from your site, images from your landing pages, seller ratings, your business name and logo, and automated promotions. They can be useful, but they say things you didn’t write. Review what’s on under Campaigns, then Assets, then Account level automated assets, and turn off any type you can’t stand behind in Advanced settings.

3. Auto-apply recommendations: only the ones you chose

Auto-apply lets Google apply recommendations automatically, such as adding keywords or changing bids, at the account level. Open Recommendations, then Auto-apply settings, and look at the History tab to see what’s on; select any you didn’t choose and disable it. On a new account, it’s simpler to apply recommendations by hand until you know what each one does.

Campaign settings 1: conversion goals

Bidding optimizes toward whatever the campaign counts as a conversion, so this is the most important of the Google Ads campaign settings. Google says that when you create a campaign, all account-default goals are selected for optimization by default.

That’s fine if every account-default goal is something you’d pay for. It isn’t if a page view or a newsletter sign-up is set as a goal next to calls and quote requests. Open the campaign’s Conversion goals setting and check two things: the goals listed are the ones you want this campaign to win, and the actions behind them are set to Primary, because only primary actions are used for bidding. If they aren’t, choose campaign-specific goals instead of the account default.

Then make sure at least one of those actions records something. Launching a campaign that bids on conversions before tracking works is the most expensive setup mistake there is.

Campaign settings 2 and 3: networks

The Networks section of the Google Ads campaign settings decides where, beyond Google Search, your ads can show. Two boxes matter.

2. Search partners: on by default

Google’s help is explicit: when you create a Search campaign, search partners are included by default. Search partners are other sites that show Google’s search ads, and Google doesn’t tell you which partner sites your ad appeared on (except in Performance Max).

For a small budget, a reasonable start is to untick them, so every click comes from Google Search, where the search terms report shows you exactly what people typed. Once the campaign has a few weeks of conversions, turn them on as a test and compare results by network.

3. Display Network: check it

A Search campaign can also show ads on the Display Network, in banners and image placements on websites and apps. We couldn’t find a Google help page that states whether this box starts ticked, so don’t assume either way: open Networks and look. For a Search campaign on a small budget, untick it. If you want display ads, run them as their own campaign with their own budget, creatives and reporting.

Campaign settings 4: location options

Choosing a city or a radius is only half of the location step in your Google Ads campaign settings. Under the location settings there’s an option for who counts as being there, and Google’s default is “Presence or interest”: it reaches people who are, or regularly are, in your area, plus people who have shown interest in it. The alternative, “Presence”, reaches only people likely to be in, or regularly in, the places you target.

Google recommends the default, and it suits businesses that sell to people planning to visit, like hotels or tour operators. A plumber, a dentist or a local shop usually wants Presence: someone searching from another country who once looked up your town isn’t a customer.

Campaign settings 5: keyword match types

Keywords sit outside the Google Ads campaign settings screen, but their default matters as much: Google says broad match is the default match type for every keyword you add. Broad match lets ads show on searches related to your keyword, phrase match on searches that include its meaning, and exact match on searches with the same meaning or intent.

Broad match works best with Smart Bidding and enough conversion data to learn from. On a new campaign with a small budget and no history, many advertisers start with phrase and exact match and add broad keywords later, once the search terms report shows what kind of traffic the campaign attracts. Whichever you choose, read the search terms in the first week; our Google Ads search terms guide shows how to keep that quick.

Campaign settings 6: AI Max

AI Max for Search campaigns bundles three features: search term matching (showing ads beyond your keywords), text customization (headlines and descriptions written from your site and ads) and final URL expansion (sending clicks to the page Google thinks fits best). Google recommends a conversion-based bid strategy with it.

Check it in the Google Ads campaign settings even on older campaigns. Google’s announcement said that from September 2026, Search campaigns still using Dynamic Search Ads, automatically created assets or the campaign-level broad match setting would be upgraded to AI Max automatically:

  • Dynamic Search Ads campaigns: all three features switched on, with existing URL controls kept.
  • Automatically created assets: search term matching and text customization on.
  • Campaign-level broad match: search term matching on.

For a brand-new campaign with no conversion history, it’s easier to read results with AI Max off at first, then test it with Google’s one-click experiments once tracking works. If you leave text customization on, remember that the ad copy you check with our responsive search ads checker isn’t the only copy that will show. Google’s AI Max changes this year are in our Google Ads updates 2026 checklist.

AI Max also decides how far a campaign reaches into Google’s AI search. AI Max, broad match, Shopping and Performance Max can match conversational questions in AI Mode, while phrase and exact match keywords qualify only for searches with direct commercial intent. Our guide to ads in AI Mode covers where those ads run and what to check.

Campaign settings 7: ad schedule

New campaigns run “All day”: ads can appear at any hour, every day. That suits an online shop. A business whose ads ask people to call should match the schedule to the hours someone answers the phone, or at least review the Day and Hour report after a few weeks and cut the hours that never convert.

Those are the ten Google Ads campaign settings that matter most before launch. Others, such as languages, start and end dates or ad rotation, rarely cause trouble for a first campaign, but read each screen before you save.

The pre-launch checklist

Copy this list of Google Ads campaign settings into your notes, or print this page, and tick each line before you set a new campaign live:

BEFORE YOU LAUNCH

ACCOUNT
[ ] Auto-tagging: on
[ ] Automated assets:
    reviewed
[ ] Auto-apply: none you
    didn't choose

CAMPAIGN
[ ] Goals: the right
    conversions, Primary
[ ] Search partners:
    decided
[ ] Display Network:
    off for Search
[ ] Location: Presence
    or interest, decided
[ ] Keywords: match
    types chosen
[ ] AI Max: on or off,
    on purpose
[ ] Ad schedule: hours
    you can answer

After launch, the settings check moves into a routine. Our weekly Google Ads checklist includes a monthly look at location options, search partners and automated assets, so a default switched back on doesn’t run unnoticed.

A worked example: one local plumber

Here’s how an invented plumber with one Search campaign and a $50-a-day budget sets up these Google Ads campaign settings before launch:

  • Account: auto-tagging confirmed on; automated promotions turned off, because the business runs no online deals; nothing on auto-apply.
  • Goals: calls from ads and the quote form, both Primary; the newsletter sign-up demoted to Secondary.
  • Networks: search partners and the Display Network both unticked for the first month.
  • Location: a 15-mile radius around the town, set to Presence.
  • Keywords: phrase and exact match only, such as “emergency plumber” and “boiler repair”.
  • AI Max: off until the campaign has a month of tracked calls, then tested in an experiment.
  • Schedule: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., the hours someone answers the phone.

None of those choices is permanent. The point is that each one was made on purpose, so when results come in, the plumber knows what the campaign was set up to do.

Five mistakes a Google Ads campaign settings check prevents

Each of these comes from leaving a default untouched on a new campaign, and each costs money before it shows up in a report:

  • Paying for clicks you can’t trace: search partners are on by default, and Google doesn’t name the partner sites, so part of a small budget goes to placements you can’t review.
  • Ads shown far from your service area: “Presence or interest” also reaches people who have only shown interest in your area, which a local business rarely wants.
  • Bidding toward the wrong goal: account-default goals are selected for every new campaign, so a page view set as Primary teaches bidding to buy page views instead of calls.
  • Ad text you never approved: automated assets and AI Max text customization can add lines taken from your site that nobody on your side reviewed.
  • Changing everything at once: widening networks, match types and AI Max in the same week leaves no way to tell which change moved your cost per conversion.

The checklist above catches the first four before launch. The fifth is a habit, which is why the after-launch order below widens one setting at a time.

After launch: when to revisit the defaults

Most defaults in Google Ads campaign settings are built for reach, and reach is useful once a campaign has data. Revisit them in this order, one change at a time:

  1. After a month of conversions: test search partners, and consider broad match keywords with Smart Bidding.
  2. Once tracking is reliable: test AI Max in an experiment rather than switching it on for the whole campaign.
  3. Every month: recheck automated assets and auto-apply, because both can change without anyone editing a campaign.

For the skills that help with AI-driven settings like these, see our guide to AI for Google Ads, and for free and paid tools around the account, PPC Tools for Google Ads.

The bottom line

Google Ads campaign settings start with defaults built for reach: search partners on, broad match, Presence or interest, automated assets and, on older campaigns, AI Max. For a first campaign on a small budget, narrow them on purpose, keep auto-tagging and the right conversion goals, and widen one setting at a time once the data says it’s worth it.

Frequently asked questions

What Google Ads campaign settings should I change first?

Check conversion goals, the Networks section (search partners and the Display Network), the location option and keyword match types. Those four decide what the campaign optimizes for and who sees the ads.

Are search partners on by default in Google Ads?

Yes. Google says search partners are included by default when you create a Search campaign, and it doesn’t show which partner sites ran your ads.

Is the Display Network on by default for Search campaigns?

Google’s help pages don’t say. Open the campaign’s Networks setting and check; for a Search campaign on a small budget, untick it and run display ads as their own campaign.

What is the default location option in Google Ads?

“Presence or interest”, which also reaches people who have shown interest in your area. “Presence” reaches only people likely to be there, which usually suits local businesses.

What is the default keyword match type in Google Ads?

Broad match. Every new keyword is broad unless you add it as phrase or exact match.

Should I turn off auto-tagging?

No. Google turns it on by default for new accounts, and it lets Google Analytics match visits to ad clicks. Keep it on unless a specific tracking setup needs otherwise.

Was my campaign upgraded to AI Max?

If it used Dynamic Search Ads, automatically created assets or the campaign-level broad match setting, Google said it would be upgraded automatically from September 2026. Check the campaign’s settings for AI Max.

Where do I find Google Ads campaign settings after launch?

Open the campaign and select the Settings tab; match types are changed on the keywords themselves. Account-level settings, such as auto-tagging, are under Admin, then Account settings. Change one setting at a time and note the date, so your results show what each change did.

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