Campaign Settings Recommender
Most wasted paid spend traces back to default settings nobody questioned — broad match left on, Display silently bundled with Search, PMax launched before tracking worked. This tool returns a deliberate launch checklist for your channel, with the reason behind every line.
Settings should be chosen, not defaulted. For Google Search, RGM’s house rule is exact and phrase match only, broken out, with broad match off and Search Partners/Display disabled at launch. For paid social, consolidate into broad ad sets that each clear the learning phase. For Performance Max, fix conversion tracking and feed strong audience signals before you spend a dollar.
Campaign Settings Recommender inputs and result
| Setting | Recommendation |
|---|
How to use this calculator
- Choose the channelThe channel selects the checklist. Search hinges on match types and networks; paid social on ad-set structure; Performance Max on tracking and audience signals.
- Set objective and budgetObjective tunes which conversion event and bidding approach the tool recommends; budget decides whether you can fund a target-based strategy yet.
- Set your geographyLocal, national, and international each get different location-targeting advice, including the presence-vs-interest setting that quietly wastes budget.
- Read the checklist and the reasonsThe table is the launch checklist; the analysis block explains why each setting is set that way, including RGM’s house rule on match types.
- Export it for the buildCopy the share link or CSV and use it as the literal QA list when you build the campaign.
RGM Expert Says
Almost every audit we run turns up the same three default-setting leaks: broad match quietly spending on irrelevant queries, the Display Network bundled into a ‘Search’ campaign, and Search Partners left on. None of those was a decision — they were defaults nobody turned off. The checklist this tool produces exists to make every one of those a conscious choice at launch.
Our firmest position is on match types. We run Search on exact and phrase only, broken out for control, and we avoid broad match. Broad match outsources query selection to the algorithm, and on most accounts that means paying for searches you would never have chosen. Exact and phrase keep spend on the intent you picked and keep negative-keyword work tractable. It is the single house rule we will defend hardest.
For Performance Max the rule is sequencing: do not launch it until conversion tracking and enhanced conversions are solid, because PMax optimizes toward whatever signal you give it. Launch it on broken tracking and it will confidently optimize toward noise — which is why the readiness planner is a prerequisite, not an afterthought.
How it works
The tool maps your channel, objective, budget, and geo to a curated set of launch settings, each carrying the rationale behind it. The constants it encodes — broad match off for Search, ~50 optimization events per week for Meta ad sets, and roughly 3× target CPA per day for Performance Max — are RGM rules of thumb informed by platform documentation.
- Channel — selects the make-or-break settings.
- Objective — tunes optimization event and bidding.
- Budget — decides target-based vs. signal-building bidding.
- Geo — drives presence-based location targeting and regional splits.
Match-type guidance is an RGM house rule. Network, bidding, and PMax guidance follow Google Ads account-structure best practices and Google Ads Help: about Performance Max; learning-phase guidance follows Meta Business Help.
Why default settings quietly drain budgets
Ad platforms ship with defaults tuned for their revenue, not your efficiency. Broad match, Search Partners, the Display Network on a Search campaign, ‘presence or interest’ location targeting — each one widens reach and spend, and each is on unless you turn it off. A launch checklist is simply the act of converting every default into a decision.
The match-type setting is where the most money leaks. RGM’s house rule is exact and phrase match only, broken out for control, with broad match avoided. Broad match hands query selection to the algorithm, which on most accounts means paying for tangential searches; exact and phrase keep spend on intent you chose and make negative-keyword hygiene manageable. We treat this as non-negotiable for new Search campaigns.
On Performance Max, the make-or-break setting is upstream of the campaign entirely: conversion tracking. Because PMax optimizes toward whatever signal it receives, launching it on weak tracking guarantees it learns the wrong lesson. Fix tracking, supply audience signals and full assets, and apply brand exclusions — then let it run.
Settings that most often need changing from default
The defaults that quietly cost the most, and what to set instead. The match-type line is RGM’s house rule.
| Default | Problem | RGM setting |
|---|---|---|
| Broad match on | Pays for queries you did not choose | Exact + phrase only, broken out |
| Search Partners on | Off-platform traffic, weaker intent | Off at launch |
| Display on Search campaign | Dilutes search intent and data | Search-only network |
| Presence-or-interest geo | Pays for out-of-market curiosity | Presence (in or regularly in) |
| PMax before tracking | Optimizes toward noise | Tracking + signals first |
What practitioners say about setup
Broad match is a budget you do not control. Exact and phrase, broken out, keep spend on the intent you actually chose.
Never launch Performance Max before your conversion tracking is trustworthy — it will optimize toward whatever you feed it, noise included.