Set up targeting
Targeting is the first step in building a campaign. You pick what to advertise, who can see it, and what queries to start from. The choices here shape every subsequent step.
Pick a product
Choose the product these ads will promote. The dropdown shows products on your active Google Ads account.
If you have only one product set up, it's selected automatically. If you need a new product, see Add another product before continuing.
The product determines which analysis Hero Marketer uses to draft keywords and ad copy. If you switch products mid wizard, anything generated below will need to be regenerated.
Choose a campaign type
Pick whether this is a Branded, Competitor, Non-branded, or Other campaign. The choice changes how Hero Marketer filters keywords and writes ad copy, and it shows up in the campaign name (Search | Competitor | ... | US).
- Non-branded. Generic category searches like "project management software" or "best CRM for sales teams". Most B2B SaaS demand-capture sits here. The default.
- Branded. Searches that include your own product name. People already know who you are; the copy reinforces trust and uses brand-anchored CTAs ("Try Linear Free", "Linear Pricing"). Use this when you have meaningful brand search volume worth capturing before competitors do.
- Competitor. Searches that include a competitor's name, usually with a modifier ("X alternative", "X vs", "X pricing"). The keywords run as bid targets so you show up on those queries, but the ad copy stays compliant with Google's trademark policy (more on that below).
- Other. A catch-all for anything that doesn't fit the three above. Hero Marketer applies the Non-branded playbook with a slightly looser keyword filter.
What changes per type
| Branded | Competitor | Non-branded | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keyword filter biases toward... | Your brand + modifier | Competitor + modifier | Generic category terms | Generic, with looser BOFU filter |
| Headlines lead with... | Your brand name | Comparative angles, no competitor name | Category language and value props | Same as Non-branded |
| Default CTAs | "Try [you]", "[you] Pricing", "Get a Demo" | "See How We Compare", "Switch & Save", "Free Migration" | "Try Free", "Get a Demo", "See Pricing" | Same as Non-branded |
A note on Competitor campaigns
Bidding on a competitor's brand name as a keyword is allowed. Putting that competitor's name in your headline or description is not, even in a comparative phrase like "Better than [Competitor]". Google's trademark policy restricts ad text to the trademark owner, authorized resellers, and informational sites. Comparative ads often pass automated approval, but the trademark owner can file a complaint at any time, and Google will then disapprove the ads and apply the restriction across your domain.
Hero Marketer treats this as a hard rule. For Competitor campaigns, the wizard generates ad copy that positions your product as an alternative without naming the competitor in headlines or descriptions. The competitor's name still drives targeting; it just doesn't appear in the ad text.
If you're considering naming a competitor in copy anyway, see Ad copy or sitelinks rejected by Google for what happens after a complaint is filed.
Choose a region
Pick the country or region where ads should run. You can pick:
- A whole country (for example, United States).
- A sub region (a state, province, or metro area).
- Multiple regions, if you sell into more than one geography.
For your first campaign, start narrow. One country, or even one metro, gives you cleaner data than a sprawling international target. You can expand later once you know what works.
If your product only ships or serves customers in specific places, list only those. Google won't override your geo settings, so anything outside your selection won't see ads.
Add seed keywords
Seed keywords are short phrases that describe what your customers might type into Google when looking for what you sell. Hero Marketer uses these as the starting point for keyword research.
Aim for one to three seeds. Good seeds are:
- Specific. "Project management for engineers" is better than "software".
- In customer language. Use the words a customer would use, not the words you'd use internally. "Alternative to Jira" beats "agile workflow optimization".
- Aligned with the campaign type. Branded campaigns lead with your product name. Competitor campaigns lead with the competitor's name plus a modifier. Non-branded campaigns lead with the category.
You can add more seeds later or refine after seeing the first round of clusters.
Set the landing page
The landing page is where clicks send traffic. By default, Hero Marketer uses your product's website URL.
You can override it for this specific campaign. Common cases:
- A campaign promoting a specific feature might link to that feature's page.
- A retargeting campaign might link to a pricing page.
- A campaign for a new release might link to a launch announcement.
The landing page must be a valid URL on a domain Google can crawl. URLs longer than 2,048 characters are rejected.
Advanced settings
The Advanced settings dialog has options most campaigns don't need to change:
- Sitelinks. Pick existing sitelinks from the account or generate new ones.
- Other extensions. Callouts, structured snippets, and prices.
These can be configured here or skipped until later. See Add sitelinks and Add other extensions.
Continue
Once the form is complete, the Continue button is enabled. Click it to move to keywords. Hero Marketer queries Google for keyword data, runs clustering, and shows you the results in the next step.