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Manage a Shopping campaign with ad groups
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Summary
You can use ad groups to structure a Shopping campaign for bidding.
Ad groups let you use features like bid adjustments and negative
keywords.
If you include a product in multiple ad groups in the same campaign, the
highest bid is used.
You can use Product groups to subdivide and arrange your products under ad
groups. See Create product groups for more information.
In Google Shopping, bids are placed on product groups, not keywords. For
more information on bidding practices, see Build and optimize Shopping
campaigns.
Manual steps
Here are the steps to set up ad groups with the Google Ads
UI.
- Create a new Shopping campaign.
- Create a new ad group and enter a name.
Depending on your campaign type, you can subdivide your ad group into
product groups by attributes. Here are some examples:
- Brand
- Item ID
- Custom label
- Product type
- Google Product Category
Check your product groups. If you didn't subdivide your ad group, see
Manage a Shopping campaign with product groups.
Pause or enable your ad
groups.
See Manage a Shopping campaign with ad groups for more information.
Automatic steps
Here are the steps to create ad groups with the Google Ads
API.
Make sure you've already linked Merchant Center to Google Ads and
created a new campaign.
Select SHOPPING_PRODUCT_ADS or SHOPPING_SMART_ADS as the
AdGroupType.
You can't change the AdGroupType later.
Create an ad.
Use Shopping Listing Groups to organize your products.
See Create ad group for more detail.
Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License. For details, see the Google Developers Site Policies. Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Last updated 2025-08-28 UTC.
[null,null,["Last updated 2025-08-28 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eShopping campaigns utilize ad groups for structuring bids and applying features like bid adjustments and negative keywords.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eBids in Shopping campaigns are assigned to product groups within ad groups, not keywords, influencing product visibility in search results.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eProducts can be organized within ad groups using product groups, categorized by attributes like brand, item ID, or product type, allowing for granular campaign control.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eYou can manage ad groups manually through the Google Ads UI or programmatically via the Google Ads API, providing flexibility in campaign setup and management.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eIf a product is included in multiple ad groups within the same campaign, the highest bid among those ad groups will be used to determine its ranking in auction.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Manage a Shopping campaign with ad groups\n\nSummary\n-------\n\nYou can use ad groups to structure a [Shopping campaign](/google-ads/shopping/campaign-management/articles/t18) for bidding.\n\nAd groups let you use features like bid adjustments and negative\nkeywords.\n\nIf you include a product in multiple ad groups in the same campaign, the\nhighest bid is used.\n\nYou can use [Product groups](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/3517331) to subdivide and arrange your products under ad\ngroups. See [Create product groups](/google-ads/shopping/campaign-management/articles/t20) for more information.\n\nIn Google Shopping, bids are placed on product groups, not keywords. For\nmore information on bidding practices, see [Build and optimize Shopping\ncampaigns](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6167176).\n\nManual steps\n------------\n\nHere are the steps to set up ad groups with the [Google Ads\nUI](//ads.google.com).\n\n1. Create a new [Shopping campaign](/google-ads/shopping/campaign-management/articles/t18).\n2. Create a new ad group and enter a name.\n3. Depending on your campaign type, you can subdivide your ad group into\n product groups by attributes. Here are some examples:\n\n - Brand\n - Item ID\n - Custom label\n - Product type\n - Google Product Category\n4. Check your product groups. If you didn't subdivide your ad group, see\n [Manage a Shopping campaign with product groups](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6275317).\n\n5. [Pause or enable your ad\n groups](//support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2375409).\n\nSee [Manage a Shopping campaign with ad groups](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6275304) for more information.\n\nAutomatic steps\n---------------\n\nHere are the steps to create ad groups with the [Google Ads\nAPI](/google-ads/api/docs/start).\n\nMake sure you've already [linked Merchant Center to Google Ads](/google-ads/shopping/full-automation/articles/t15) and\n[created a new campaign](/google-ads/api/docs/shopping-ads/create-campaign).\n\n1. Select `SHOPPING_PRODUCT_ADS` or `SHOPPING_SMART_ADS` as the\n [`AdGroupType`](/google-ads/api/reference/rpc/latest/AdGroupTypeEnum.AdGroupType).\n\n You can't change the `AdGroupType` later.\n2. [Create an ad](/google-ads/api/docs/shopping-ads/create-ad-group-ad).\n\n3. Use [Shopping Listing Groups](/google-ads/api/docs/shopping-ads/create-listing-groups) to organize your products.\n\nSee [Create ad group](/google-ads/api/docs/shopping-ads/create-ad-group) for more detail."]]
