Ads Decoded Is your Search campaign structure holding back performance?
Feb 11, 2026
Brandon Ervin, Director of Product Management for Search Ads at Google, explains why simplifying Search campaign structure matters. He discusses AI-driven consolidation, ad group theming, smart bidding data thresholds, and ad group-level geo controls. Practical tips cover safe migrations, budget sharing, and when segmentation still makes sense.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Keep Ad Groups Clearly Themed
- Keep ad groups thematically distinct so models route queries correctly; consolidate when creatives, landing pages, and goals overlap.
- Brandon suggests judging whether two ad groups represent clearly different intents before keeping both.
Opt Into AI Max For Performance Lift
- Opt into AI Max (search term matching, text customization, final URL expansion) to gain ~14% more conversions/value at same ROI, higher if automation was low.
- Brandon frames AI Max as both near-term lift and long-term positioning for evolving search experiences.
Generated Creative Anchors To Your Landing Page
- Creative automation is grounded in landing page data and controlled via term exclusions and matching restrictions to protect brand voice.
- Brandon explains text customization uses landing page content and new beta controls let advertisers ban terms or semantically restrict copy.