How to Create a Google Ad Account

Ready to get your business in front of new customers on Google? Setting up a Google Ads account is your first step toward launching targeted campaigns that drive traffic, leads, and sales. It can feel a bit intimidating, but the process is straightforward when you know which buttons to press. This guide will walk you through the entire setup process, step-by-step, and show you a critical shortcut for gaining full control over your account from the very start.

What You'll Need Before You Begin

Having a few things ready beforehand will make the entire process much smoother. Think of it as your pre-flight checklist. Before you start, make sure you have the following:

• A Google Account: You'll need a Google account (like a Gmail address) to manage your ads. If your business already uses Google Workspace, it's best to use that email to keep everything organized under one roof. If not, a standard Gmail account works perfectly fine.
• Your Business Website: You'll need the URL of the website or landing page you plan to send traffic to. This is where people will go after clicking your ad.
• Payment Information: Google Ads requires you to have a payment method on file. This can be a credit card, debit card, or a bank account, depending on your country. Have these details handy.
• Basic Business Details: This includes your business name, address, and the correct time zone and currency for your business. A quick note: A time zone and currency cannot be changed once the account is created, so double-check that this is accurate!

Once you have these items ready, you’re all set to create your account.

How to Create a Google Ads Account: A Step-by-Step Walkthrough

Getting your account live takes just a few minutes. Follow these steps carefully, paying close attention to the “Expert Mode” section, which is the key to unlocking the platform’s full potential.

Step 1: Go to the Google Ads Homepage

First, navigate to the official Google Ads website. You’ll see a large, welcoming page prompting you to grow your business. Find and click the “Start now” button, which is usually in the top right corner and in the center of the page.

You'll be asked to sign in with your Google account. If you're already signed into Gmail or another Google service, it may automatically use that account. If not, just enter your Google account email and password.

Step 2: Find the "Switch to Expert Mode" Link (This is Crucial!)

Once you sign in, Google will try to guide you through creating a simplified "Smart Campaign." These campaigns are quick to set up but offer very limited control, customization, and reporting. As a professional, you want full control. So, we're going to skip this guided setup.

On the very first screen, where Google asks about your advertising goal (e.g., “Get more calls” or “Get more website sales”), look for a small link toward the bottom of the page that says, "Are you a professional marketer? Switch to Expert Mode." Sometimes it just says "Switch to Expert Mode."

Click this link. This is the most important step in the entire process. Switching to Expert Mode gives you access to all campaign types (Search, Display, Video, etc.), detailed targeting options, and advanced bidding strategies. It gives you the keys to the entire platform, not just the starter kit.

Step 3: Create an Account Without a Campaign

After clicking "Switch to Expert Mode," Google will still try to get you to create a full campaign right away, asking you to select a campaign goal.

We want to set up the account structure first, without being forced into an active campaign. Look for another small link at the bottom of this screen that says, "Create an account without a campaign."

Clicking this gives you a direct path to simply setting up your account, confirming your business information, and adding your payment details. You can then build your first campaign thoughtfully later on, rather than rushing through it during setup.

Step 4: Confirm Your Business Information

Now you'll see a page titled "Confirm your business information." This is where you finalize the core settings for your new account. The fields will include:

• Billing country: The country where your business is legally registered.
• Time zone: Select the time zone where you operate. Your reports, stats, and ad scheduling will all be based on this setting.
• Currency: Choose the currency you'll use for billing.

Heads up: These three settings are permanent. You cannot change them later on. Take a moment to ensure they are all correct before moving on. An incorrect time zone can throw off your ad scheduling and reporting, while the wrong currency can impact your budget calculations and payment process. Once you’re certain, click “Submit.”

Congratulations! Your Google Ads account now officially exists. You'll see a confirmation screen. Click "Explore your account" to enter your new dashboard.

Step 5: Add Your Billing Details

The last essential step is setting up your billing information so your ads can run. After clicking "Explore your account," you’ll likely see a banner at the top of the page prompting you to add billing details. If not, you can find it under "Tools & Settings" > "Billing" > "Settings."

Here you'll complete your billing profile. You’ll enter your business name and address and select your payment method. Google offers two main types of payment settings:

• Automatic payments: This is the most common setting. Your ads run, and Google automatically charges your chosen payment method (like a credit card) after you’ve accumulated a certain amount of costs or after 30 days, whichever comes first.
• Manual payments: With this option, you add funds to your Google Ads account before your campaigns run. Your ads will stop once the funds are depleted until you add more money. This option is not available in all countries.

Choose the option that works best for your business, fill in your payment details, and save your information. With your billing set up, your account is now fully functional and ready for you to build your first campaign.

A Quick Look at Your New Google Ads Account

When you first enter your dashboard in Expert Mode, it can look like a lot. Don't worry. The layout is quite logical once you understand the basic hierarchy. On the left-hand navigation panel, you'll see the essentials:

The primary structure is broken down into three levels:

1. Campaigns: This is the highest level. A campaign usually focuses on a single goal, like promoting a specific product line or service. You'll set your budget, targeting locations, and bidding strategy at the campaign level.
2. Ad Groups: Each campaign is made up of one or more ad groups. An ad group contains a set of related keywords and the ads that are triggered by those keywords. For example, in a "Men's Running Shoes" campaign, you might have ad groups for "Trail Running Shoes" and "Road Running Shoes."
3. Keywords & Ads: This is the most granular level. Inside each ad group, you have your list of keywords (the search terms you want to target) and your ad copy (the actual text that users see).

Thinking of it like a filing cabinet can help: a Campaign is the big filing cabinet drawer, the Ad Groups are the colored folders inside that drawer, and your Keywords and Ads are the individual documents within each folder. Setting it up this way keeps everything neat, organized, and easy to manage.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid During Setup

Even though the process is quick, a few small mistakes during setup can cause headaches later. Here are the most common ones to watch out for:

• Staying in Smart Mode: The most significant mistake is not switching to "Expert Mode." It limits your ability to optimize your campaigns and can result in wasted ad spend because you lack the control an experienced advertiser needs.
• Setting Incorrect Time Zone or Currency: As mentioned, these settings are locked in once you create the account. Getting them wrong means you have to create a brand new account all over again.
• Ignoring Conversion Tracking: While not part of the initial account creation, the very next thing you should do is set up conversion tracking. Without it, you’re flying blind. You won’t know which keywords or ads are actually driving valuable actions like sales, form submissions, or phone calls.

Final Thoughts

Setting up your Google Ads account the right way is the foundation for all your future advertising success. By switching to Expert Mode and creating the account without a campaign first, you've established full control and a clean slate to build powerful, optimized campaigns from the ground up.

Once your campaigns are up and running, you'll open the floodgates to a ton of performance data. The next challenge is making sense of it all. To help marketing and sales teams with this, we built Graphed. You can connect your new Google Ads account with just a few clicks and start asking questions in simple, conversational language - like "show me which ad group has the best click-through rate" or "create a bar chart of conversions by campaign this week." Graphed instantly builds you a real-time, interactive dashboard, saving you hours of manual report pulling and spreadsheet analysis.