Google Ads Campaign Planner: Plan, Launch, and Optimize Your B2B Ads [Free Template]

Running Google Ads as a B2B founder or marketer can feel like one of two things:

The best channel for capturing intent and driving pipeline

Or the fastest way to burn through budget with little to show for it

The difference comes down to planning and measurement.

Without a structured campaign planner, you’re flying blind. 

Without a measurement platform like AllFactors, you can’t see what’s really working across keywords, ads, and landing pages. Put the two together, and you go from guessing to scaling.

This guide will walk you through how to:

• Build campaigns around high-intent keywords
• Use smart naming conventions and ad groups
• Assign the right landing pages for Quality Score
• Add negative keywords to cut wasted spend
• Split budget between brand and high-intent
• Measure it all with AllFactors to know what’s working
  

By the end, you’ll have Google Ads planned and the analytics muscle to actually improve performance week after week.

To make it easy to get started, there’s a free downloadable Google Ads Campaign Planner template you can use to set up campaigns step by step.

👉 [Download the free Google Ads Campaign Planner Template here]

Why You Need a Google Ads Campaign Planner + Measurement

Before we dive into the “how,” let’s talk about why this matters.

Without a campaign planner, most B2B Google Ads accounts fall into one of three traps:

1. Random keyword targeting. You pick broad keywords like “analytics” or “reporting tool,” but miss the high-intent long-tails like “B2B analytics software price.”
   
2. One-page-fits-all landing. Every ad clicks through to the homepage. This tanks your Quality Score and inflates CPC.
   
3. Budget leaks. Without structure, you overspend on low-intent traffic while missing brand defense.

Here’s what usually happens:

1. Random keywords are thrown in a campaign.
   
2. Every click goes to the homepage.
   
3. Budget is spread too thin.
   
4. Reporting is a mess, you can’t tell what’s working.

With a planner and AllFactors:

1. Keywords are intent-driven and organized.
   
2. Landing pages match perfectly, boosting Quality Score.
   
3. Budgets are split with strategy.
   
4. AllFactors auto-measures clicks, conversions, pipeline, and revenue, all without requiring engineering setup.

👉 That’s the difference between “Google Ads don’t work for us” and “Google Ads drive predictable pipeline.”

Step 1: Find High-Intent Keywords

Not all keywords are created equal. For B2B, the difference between someone searching “CRM” and “B2B CRM software pricing” is night and day. The second query shows clear buyer intent.

The Formula for High-Intent Keywords

High-intent keywords almost always include suffixes like:

• software
  
• platform
  
• solution
  
• system
  
• tool
  
• price / pricing
  
• best
  
• alternative

Example:

• Low intent: “accounting”
  
• Medium intent: “accounting automation”
  
• High intent: “B2B accounting software alternative”

Your campaign planner starts with collecting these long-tail, purchase-ready terms.

Where to Find Them

• Google Ads Keyword Planner → Type in your seed keyword (e.g., “accounting”) and filter for long-tail variations.
  
• Competitor websites → Look at how competitors describe their product in meta titles.
  
• Search suggestions → Google autocomplete and “People also ask” boxes often surface intent modifiers.

👉 Pro tip: Don’t just guess. Always validate in Google Keyword Planner to check average monthly searches and competitiveness.

Step 2: Add Keywords to the Planner Template

Once you have your keyword groups, add them into the Keywords column of your campaign planner template.

The key here is grouping by theme. Each ad group should target one tight keyword theme. For example:

• Campaign: Search | Accounting Software | High Intent
  
  • Ad Group: Accounting Software Pricing
    
  • Ad Group: Best Accounting Software
    
  • Ad Group: Accounting Software Alternative

Grouping ensures your ad copy speaks directly to the user’s search, improving CTR and lowering CPC.

Step 3: Naming Conventions That Scale

Clear naming conventions save your sanity when you’re auditing performance.

Here’s the standard naming format you’ll use in the planner:

• Campaign: Search | Theme | High Intent
  
  • Example: Search | Analytics Platform | High Intent
    
• Ad Group: Keyword Theme
  
  • Example: Analytics Platform Pricing

This makes reporting, optimization, and budget allocation 10x easier down the line.

Step 4: Add Negative Keywords (and Keep Adding Them)

Even with the best keyword research, Google will match your ads to irrelevant searches. That’s where negative keywords come in.

What Are Negative Keywords?

They’re the filters that stop your ads from showing on searches that waste money.

Examples for an accounting software campaign:

• “free accounting software” (if you don’t offer free)
  
• “jobs in accounting” (irrelevant intent)
  
• “quickbooks tutorial” (too top-of-funnel)

How to Build Your List

1. Start with a seed list (obvious negatives like “free,” “cheap,” “jobs,” “training”).
   
2. Use the Search Terms report inside Google Ads (here).
   
   • Check it daily/weekly at first.
     
   • Add irrelevant terms as negatives to tighten targeting.

👉 This is daily optimization work that separates high-performing accounts from wasted budgets.

Step 5: Assign the Right Landing Page

Here’s one of the biggest mistakes B2B marketers make: sending every click to the homepage.

Why is that a problem? Because Google assigns a Quality Score (1–10) to every keyword, based on:

1. Ad relevance – Does your ad match the keyword?
   
2. CTR (click-through rate) – Are people clicking your ad?
   
3. Landing page experience – Does the landing page deliver on the promise of the keyword?

If your landing page isn’t tightly aligned, your Quality Score drops. That leads to:

• Higher CPCs (you pay more for the same click)
  
• Lower ad rank (competitors outrank you even if they bid less)
  
• Lower ROI

Example

• Keyword: B2B Analytics Software Pricing
  
• Bad landing page: Homepage
  
• Great landing page: /pricing page with clear SaaS pricing tiers

👉 Rule of thumb: Every ad group should map to a designated landing page that mirrors the keyword theme. Add these URLs in your planner under the “Landing Page” column.

Step 6: Plan Campaign Budgets (Brand vs. High-Intent)

Once the structure is set, the next question is budget.

For founders and marketers spending up to $10K/month:

• 90% → High-intent search campaigns
  
• 10% → Brand campaigns

Why?

• High-intent search captures net-new demand.
  
• Brand campaigns defend your turf from competitors bidding on your name.

If you notice competitors creeping into your branded searches, scale up the brand defense budget.

👉 Pro tip: Inside the planner, assign a daily budget for each campaign. This helps you control pacing and prevents overspend.

Step 7: Run Regular Campaign Audits

Even the best-planned campaigns drift over time. That’s why auditing is crucial.

What to Check in an Audit:

1. Search Terms Report – Are new irrelevant queries slipping in?
   
2. Quality Score – Which keywords are below 7/10? Fix landing pages or ad copy.
   
3. CTR & CPC Trends – Are ads losing relevance? Refresh copy.
   
4. Conversion Rate by Landing Page – Are some pages converting lower than others? Optimize messaging.
   
5. Budget Allocation – Is brand spend creeping higher than planned? Is high intent getting enough coverage?

👉 Schedule audits monthly if you’re early stage, weekly if you’re scaling aggressively.

How This Planner Improves Google Ads Performance

Let’s connect the dots: using this campaign planner isn’t busywork—it directly improves your Google Ads performance.

• Higher Quality Scores → Lower CPCs, higher ad rank.
  
• Cleaner keyword targeting → More conversions, less waste.
  
• Smarter budgets → Faster scaling without overspending.
  
• Clear reporting → Easier to prove ROI to leadership or investors.

It’s also the foundation for running smarter Google Ads audits, because you’ll know exactly what “good” structure looks like.

Putting It All Together: Example Workflow

Let’s say you’re a founder running a SaaS analytics tool. Here’s how your campaign planner might look:

• Campaign: Search | Analytics Platform | High Intent
  
  • Ad Group: Analytics Platform Pricing → /pricing
    
  • Ad Group: Best Analytics Platform → /compare
    
  • Ad Group: Analytics Platform Alternative → /alternatives
    
• Campaign: Search | Brand | Defense
  
  • Ad Group: [Your SaaS Name] → /homepage

Budget: $300/day total → $270 on High Intent, $30 on Brand.

Every week:

• Check Search Terms report
  
• Add negatives
  
• Review landing page performance
  
• Re-balance budgets if needed

Final Thoughts: From Wasted Spend to Predictable Growth

Most B2B founders and marketers don’t fail at Google Ads because the channel doesn’t work, they fail because they lack a system.

A Google Ads Campaign Planner gives you that system. It forces you to:

• Start with intent-driven keywords
  
• Align ad copy + landing pages
  
• Plan budget splits that maximize ROI
  
• Audit campaigns with confidence

With this in place, you’ll know exactly how to improve Google Ads performance, stop wasting money, and run campaigns that scale your business instead of draining it.

👉 Download the planner, start with one campaign, and build from there. In a few weeks, you’ll go from scattered efforts to a structured, measurable, and profitable channel.