Account & Campaign Structure

Three levels, two vocabularies

Both platforms use three levels. Meta and Google just name them differently, and the budget does not always sit at the same level. Get this map straight and most platform documentation becomes readable.

Stop building one ad set per idea

Both platforms optimise per ad set / ad group using conversion signal. Split your budget across fifteen ad sets and each one gets a fraction of the signal, learns slowly, and competes with your other ad sets for the same people. Consolidation is not laziness — it is how you feed the algorithm enough data to work.

• Fewer, better-funded ad sets outperform many thin ones at the same total spend.
• Split only when the split changes a decision — a different budget, a different market, a different offer.
• Testing creative does not require a new ad set. Multiple ads inside one ad set is usually the right test.

Where the budget sits

On Meta you choose between a campaign budget shared across ad sets, and per-ad-set budgets. The campaign-level option lets Meta move money toward whichever ad set is finding results, which is usually what you want — unless you have a hard reason each ad set must spend a fixed amount, such as a guaranteed spend per market.

Google's equivalent tension is between campaign types. Search gives you control over keywords and match types; Performance Max hands placement and targeting to Google and asks you for asset groups and audience signals instead. Running both, with clear separation of what each is responsible for, is normal.

A naming convention you will not abandon in week three

Naming is the only structure that survives platform redesigns and staff changes. Use a fixed field order, no spaces, and never encode anything the platform already tracks.

Campaign : {platform}_{country}_{objective}_{product}_{yyyymm}
Ad set   : {audience-type}_{audience-name}_{placement}
Ad       : {format}_{creative-id}_{hook}_v{n}

Example
Campaign : meta_eg_sales_petfood_202608
Ad set   : broad_ae25-45_advantageplus
Ad       : video_c118_price-anchor_v2

• Same field order on every platform so one filter works everywhere.
• Lowercase and hyphens only — spaces break exports and URL parameters.
• Do not encode budget or status in the name. Those change; names should not.

Features covered here

Sources

• Meta: about campaign structure
• Meta: about Advantage campaign budget
• Google Ads: choose the right campaign type
• Google Ads: about Performance Max asset groups