Google Ads Terms Explained: A Plain-English Glossary for Beginners

Google Ads Terms Explained: A Plain-English Glossary for Beginners

Last updated October 2026 · Written by Adrian Prokopiec · 38 terms, 9 min read

Google Ads has its own language. The good news: a few dozen terms let you read any account with confidence. Here are 38, each defined in a sentence or two with a quick Australian example. For SEO, email and social terms, see our digital marketing glossary.

Account Structure and Ads

An account holds campaigns; campaigns hold ad groups; ad groups hold ads and keywords.

Google Ads account

Your Google Ads account is the top level, linked to your login and billing details. Example: a Hobart bookkeeper's single account, billed in AUD.

Campaign

A campaign is a group of ad groups sharing one budget and one set of settings, such as locations. Example: a Perth electrician runs one campaign for "emergency electrical" and another for "solar installs".

Ad group

An ad group is a set of closely related keywords and ads inside a campaign. Example: a "blocked drains" ad group holds only blocked drain keywords and blocked drain ads.

Responsive search ad (RSA)

A responsive search ad is the standard Search ad: you supply up to 15 headlines (30 characters each) and 4 descriptions (90 characters each), and Google tests combinations. Example: "Same-Day Plumber Ballarat" is one headline Google can mix in.

Assets

Assets are extra pieces of information added to your ads, such as sitelinks, callouts, phone numbers and your location. They are not guaranteed to show. Example: a callout reading "Free quotes across Adelaide".

Optimisation score

Optimisation score is Google's 0 to 100% estimate of how well your account is set up, based on its recommendations. Example: accepting a "raise your budget" suggestion lifts the score, not necessarily your profit.

Keywords and Targeting

Match types control how loosely Google reads your keywords.

Keyword

A keyword is a word or phrase you add to an ad group to tell Google which searches your ad is relevant to. Example: dog groomer Newcastle.

Search term

A search term is the exact words a person typed before your ad appeared; the search terms report lists them. Example: "cheap mobile dog wash Merewether".

Broad match

Broad match is the default match type: your ad can show on searches related to your keyword, even without the same words. Google recommends pairing it with Smart Bidding. Example: wedding photographer could match "Hunter Valley elopement photos".

Phrase match

Phrase match, written in quotation marks, shows your ad on searches that include the meaning of your keyword. Example: "roof repairs" could match "roof repairs Wollongong price".

Exact match

Exact match, written in square brackets, shows your ad on searches with the same meaning or intent as your keyword. Example: [tax accountant Parramatta] could match "Parramatta tax accountant".

Negative keyword

A negative keyword stops your ad from showing on searches containing that term. Negatives do not cover plurals or close variants, so add those yourself. Example: a plumber adds jobs and salary to avoid job seekers.

Keyword Planner

Keyword Planner is a research tool inside Google Ads that suggests keywords and shows estimated monthly searches and costs. Example: checking searches for "pool fencing Gold Coast".

Location targeting

Location targeting sets where your ads show, by region, postcode or radius. "Presence" reaches people in the area; "Presence or interest" adds people interested in it. Example: a Toowoomba cleaner picks a 25 km radius and Presence.

Bidding and Budget

Ad Rank

Ad Rank is the set of values Google uses in each ad auction to decide whether your ad shows and where. It weighs your bid, ad and landing page quality, the search context and the expected impact of assets. Example: a cheaper bid with a better ad can outrank a bigger one.

Quality Score

Quality Score is a 1 to 10 keyword-level diagnostic of your ad quality compared with other advertisers, built from expected click-through rate, ad relevance and landing page experience. Google says it is not an input in the auction. More in our Quality Score guide.

CPC (cost per click)

CPC is what you pay when someone clicks your ad. Your maximum CPC is the most you are willing to pay, and you often pay less. Example: a max CPC of $6 might produce an average CPC of $4.20. See our Australian Google Ads cost benchmarks.

Average daily budget

Your average daily budget is what a campaign should spend per day on average. Busy days can spend up to twice that, but monthly charges are capped at 30.4 times the daily amount. Example: a $20 daily budget caps the month at $608.

Bid strategy

A bid strategy is how your bids are set: manually by you, or automatically towards a goal such as clicks or conversions. Example: Maximise clicks.

Smart Bidding

Smart Bidding is the family of automated strategies that use Google's AI to bid for conversions or conversion value in each auction. It needs accurate conversion tracking.

Maximise conversions

Maximise conversions is a Smart Bidding strategy that aims to get as many conversions as possible within your budget. Example: a Melbourne physio filling bookings.

Target CPA

Target CPA tells Google the average cost per conversion you want and aims for as many conversions as possible at that cost. Example: a solar installer sets $80 per quote request.

Target ROAS

Target ROAS tells Google the return you want on ad spend and aims for as much conversion value as possible at that return. Example: a Byron Bay skincare shop sets 400%, or $4 in sales per $1.

Measurement and Results

Clicks but no enquiries? Start with our diagnostic checklist.

CTR (click-through rate)

CTR is clicks divided by impressions (each time your ad is shown). Example: 50 clicks from 1,000 impressions is a 5% CTR.

Conversion

A conversion is a valuable action someone takes after interacting with your ad, which you define. Example: a booking, a quote form, a phone call or a purchase.

Conversion tracking

Conversion tracking records those actions, usually through the Google tag, a code snippet added to your website. Example: counting visits to a Canberra mechanic's booking thank-you page.

Enhanced conversions

Enhanced conversions improves tracking accuracy by sending hashed first-party data, such as an email address entered in a form, to Google.

Conversion rate

Conversion rate is the percentage of ad interactions, usually clicks, that become conversions. Example: 6 enquiries from 100 clicks is a 6% conversion rate.

Cost per conversion (CPA)

Cost per conversion, often called CPA, is your total cost divided by conversions. Example: $600 spent for 12 quote requests is a $50 CPA.

ROAS (return on ad spend)

ROAS is conversion value divided by ad cost. Example: $3,000 in online sales from $750 of ads is a ROAS of 4, or 400%.

Impression share

Impression share is the impressions you received divided by the impressions you were eligible for. Example: 40% means you missed about six in ten chances to show.

Campaign Types

Campaign type decides where ads appear. Most first accounts start with Search; see our first campaign walkthrough.

Search campaign

A Search campaign shows text ads on Google search results to people actively searching. Example: "emergency vet Geelong" at 11pm.

Performance Max

Performance Max is a goal-based campaign type that runs across all Google Ads inventory, including Search, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail and Maps, from one campaign. Compare it in Performance Max vs Search.

Display campaign

A Display campaign shows image ads on websites, apps and Google-owned properties. Example: a Launceston furniture store's banner on a home site.

Video campaign

A Video campaign runs video ads on YouTube and other video sites. Example: a Cairns tour operator's 15-second clip.

Shopping campaign

A Shopping campaign shows product listings with an image and price, and needs a Google Merchant Center account. Example: a Fremantle surf shop's wetsuits with prices.

Demand Gen

Demand Gen campaigns show visual ads across YouTube (including Shorts), Discover, Gmail and the Google Display Network. Example: a Sunshine Coast café promoting its brunch menu.

Remarketing ("your data")

Remarketing shows ads to people who have already interacted with your website or business; Google Ads now calls this "your data". Example: reminding visitors to a Darwin dentist's whitening page. More in our retargeting guide.

Frequently Asked Questions