Google ads

Google Ads

Strategic guide for building new Google Ads campaigns and reporting on existing accounts. Research first, consult intelligently, validate everything, and build with the granular resource tools in dependency order (budget → campaign → targeting → ad groups → ads / asset groups). The API has exactly one campaign create — google_ads_campaigns_create — and the campaign type is just advertising_channel_type; type-specific requirements are enforced by the tools' built-in validators, which return corrective errors. Reporting is GAQL-backed and evidence-first — dashboards are optional presentation surfaces.

Requirements

• Hyper MCP installed and connected. https://app.hyperfx.ai/mcp
• Google Ads integration connected at https://app.hyperfx.ai/apps.

If google_ads_accounts_list is not in the tool list, stop and tell the user to enable Hyper MCP and connect Google Ads.

Out of scope

• Live optimization mutations (bid adjustments, pausing keywords, restructuring existing campaigns). Reports may recommend these changes; applying them needs explicit per-change user approval.
• Creative generation (headlines, descriptions, images) → ad-creative-generation.
• Cross-platform campaign launches → use this skill for Google, then invoke meta-ads / tiktok-ads separately.

Tool surface

Reads are GAQL (google_ads_gaql_query covers every resource). Writes are one tool per resource operation, named google_ads_<resource>_<create|update|remove>; create/update take (customer_id, body) where body is the bare resource object in snake_case.

Tool	Purpose
google_ads_accounts_list	Discover accessible accounts (and MCC sub-accounts).
google_ads_gaql_query	Run a GAQL query (conversion actions, search terms, any resource).
google_ads_campaign_budgets_create	Create the budget first (micros!).
google_ads_campaigns_create / _update / _remove	The ONE campaign create — every advertising_channel_type (SEARCH, DISPLAY, PERFORMANCE_MAX, VIDEO, DEMAND_GEN, SHOPPING, MULTI_CHANNEL for App).
google_ads_ad_groups_create / _update, google_ads_ad_groups_delete	Ad groups under a campaign.
google_ads_ad_group_ads_create / _update / _remove	Ads (typed: responsive_search_ad, responsive_display_ad, video / demand-gen ad types).
google_ads_keywords_create / _update / _delete / _list	Keywords (positive and negative).
google_ads_locations_search, google_ads_location_targets_add	Resolve location names, target them.
google_ads_image_assets_upload	Image assets — accepts file_id from the workspace file manager, image_url, or base64.
google_ads_video_assets_link	Register a YouTube video ID as a video asset (the Ads API cannot host video files — videos must be on YouTube).
google_ads_asset_groups_create	PMax asset group (atomic: text + image assets in one call).
google_ads_conversion_actions_create, google_ads_user_lists_create, google_ads_bidding_strategies_create, google_ads_shared_sets_create, …	Full per-resource CRUD surface — same naming pattern.
google_ads_request	Raw escape hatch for any uncovered endpoint.
hyper_data_build_dashboard, hyper_data_refresh_dashboard	Optional dashboards / data apps for reports.

Rules that must never be forgotten

BUDGETS IN MICROS: $50/day = 50,000,000 micros. Never pass dollar amounts directly.

ALWAYS START PAUSED: Create campaigns with status="PAUSED". Activate only after explicit user approval.

SUMMARIZE BEFORE CREATE: Present the full build plan (budget, campaign settings, targeting, ad groups, ads/assets) and get explicit user approval before the first mutate. Create in dependency order and reference each created resource by the resource_name the mutate returns. The tools validate bodies against the real API schema (writable fields, enum values) plus channel-type rules and return corrective errors — fix and retry rather than guessing.

NEVER INVENT: Don't assume URLs, budgets, or location IDs. Don't skip research. Don't invent keywords or copy — creative comes only from the actual site. Don't build without user buy-in.

GAQL GUARDRAILS: Never join ad_group_criterion with search_term_view. Never query more than 5 sub-accounts in a single batch.

See references/constraints.md for the full constraint set.

All reference files live in references/. Read them at references/<file> (e.g. references/discovery.md). They are not in the same directory as this SKILL.md.

Core process

Every campaign build follows this sequence. Do not skip steps.

1. Identify the goal — new campaign, reporting/analysis, or both?
2. Check the routing table and read the referenced files before calling any tools
3. Discovery is mandatory for creation (references/discovery.md) — account setup, site scan, conversion tracking check, market research, consultation
4. Present the pre-creation summary and wait for explicit approval
5. Build in dependency order (budget → campaign PAUSED → targeting → ad groups → ads/assets) after approval, re-checking references/constraints.md at each step
6. Activate only when the user approves

Full workflow: Initial Setup → Research (site + GAQL + market) → Analyze (goals, audience, keywords) → Consult (options + trade-offs) → Recommend (structure + bids) → Confirm (summary approved) → Create in dependency order (PAUSED) → Verify by GAQL → Activate (post-approval).

Routing table

The user wants to…	Read these files first
Create a Search or Display campaign	references/discovery.md → references/campaigns/search-display.md
Create a Performance Max campaign	references/discovery.md → references/campaigns/pmax.md
Add an asset group to an existing PMax campaign	references/campaigns/pmax.md
Create a Video, Demand Gen, Shopping, or App campaign	references/discovery.md → references/campaigns/other-types.md
Run a report / GAQL query / analyze performance (any kind)	references/reporting.md → the matching references/reports/*.md recipe
Account health snapshot / "how is the account doing?"	references/reporting.md → references/reports/account-overview.md
Diagnose conversion tracking	references/reporting.md → references/reports/conversion-tracking.md
Find wasteful search terms / negative keyword candidates	references/reporting.md → references/reports/search-terms-waste.md
Build a Google Ads dashboard or data app	references/reporting.md → matching report recipe's dashboard section
Work across an MCC / many sub-accounts	references/mcc.md → references/reporting.md
Goal not yet clear	references/discovery.md — discovery clarifies the goal

Reporting responses follow references/report-template.md; keep claims tied to queried data per references/heuristics.md.