Google Ads Expert Skill for Claude

Google Ads Expert - Master Paid Search with 80/20 Thinking

> Build profitable Google Ads campaigns by applying Perry Marshall's 80/20 principles to paid search optimization

When to Use This Skill

• Setting up a new Google Ads account from scratch
• Optimizing existing campaigns that are underperforming
• Structuring campaigns for maximum quality score and ROI
• Applying 80/20 thinking to identify high-leverage optimizations
• Scaling profitable campaigns without wasting budget
• Qualifying leads before they click (saving money on bad clicks)
• Prioritizing optimization efforts for maximum impact

Methodology Foundation

| Aspect | Details |

|--------|---------|

| Source | Ultimate Guide to Google Ads, 80/20 Sales and Marketing |

| Expert | Perry Marshall - Pioneer of Google Ads education, 80/20 marketing guru |

| Core Principle | "Most people think traffic is 80% of the battle, but it's really 20%. CONVERSION is 80% of the battle. Once conversion is solid, traffic mysteries solve themselves." |

What Claude Does vs What You Decide

| Claude Does | You Decide |

|-------------|------------|

| Structures content frameworks | Final messaging |

| Suggests persuasion techniques | Brand voice |

| Creates draft variations | Version selection |

| Identifies optimization opportunities | Publication timing |

| Analyzes competitor approaches | Strategic direction |

What This Skill Does

This skill combines Google Ads technical mastery with strategic 80/20 thinking to help you build campaigns that are profitable from the start.

You'll learn to:

• Apply 80/20 to campaigns - Find the 20% of effort that drives 80% of results
• Structure for Quality Score - Organize campaigns for maximum relevance
• Rack the shotgun - Qualify visitors before they cost you money
• Optimize the right things - Peel back the optimization onion correctly
• Scale profitably - Know when and how to increase spend
• Think in conversions - Put conversion ahead of traffic

The result: Campaigns that make money consistently, not just get clicks.

How to Use

Prompt Examples

Help me structure a Google Ads campaign for [business/product] using Perry Marshall's
match type segmentation approach. I want to maximize Quality Score and control.

Apply 80/20 analysis to my Google Ads account. Here are my top 20 keywords by spend:
[list]. Where should I focus my optimization efforts for maximum impact?

Create a lead qualification strategy for my Google Ads campaigns. I sell [product]
and waste money on [type of bad clicks]. How do I "rack the shotgun"?

My campaigns are profitable at $X/day but I want to scale. Use the 80/20 approach
to help me identify how to increase spend without killing ROI.

Prioritize my optimization checklist for [campaign type]. What's the 80/20 order
of operations I should follow before spending more money?

Instructions

The 80/20 Framework for Google Ads

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              80/20 IN GOOGLE ADS                             │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                             │
│  80% of conversions come from 20% of keywords               │
│  80% of costs come from 20% of keywords                     │
│  80% of wasted spend comes from 20% of search terms         │
│                                                             │
│  BUT ALSO:                                                  │
│                                                             │
│  4% of keywords drive 64% of conversions (80/20 of 80/20)   │
│  1% of keywords drive ~50% of conversions                   │
│                                                             │
│  "Find the vital few, ignore the trivial many"              │
│                                                             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Strategic Implication: Don't optimize everything equally. Find your top performers and make them even better. Find your worst performers and eliminate them.

Step 1: The Conversion-First Mindset

Before worrying about traffic, get conversion right.

> "Most people think traffic is 80% of the battle, but it's really 20%. CONVERSION is 80% of the battle."

The Order of Operations:

| Priority | Focus | Why |

|----------|-------|-----|

| 1 | Landing page conversion | Without this, all traffic is wasted |

| 2 | Offer/value proposition | Must be compelling enough to convert |

| 3 | Ad relevance to landing page | Quality Score and conversion both improve |

| 4 | Keyword selection | Target the right searchers |

| 5 | Traffic scaling | Only AFTER 1-4 are solid |

Conversion Benchmarks:

• If conversion rate is <1%, fix the landing page first
• If conversion rate is 2-5%, you can optimize ads
• If conversion rate is >5%, you can start scaling traffic

Step 2: Campaign Structure for Quality Score

Match Type Segmentation:

Separate your keywords by match type into different ad groups or campaigns:

Campaign: [Product Name]
├── Ad Group: Exact Match Keywords
│   └── [keyword] → dedicated ads
├── Ad Group: Phrase Match Keywords
│   └── "keyword" → dedicated ads
├── Ad Group: Modified Broad Match
│   └── +keyword → dedicated ads
└── Ad Group: Broad Match (for discovery)
    └── keyword → catch-all ads

Why This Works:

• Exact match keywords get highest relevance scores
• You can bid aggressively on exact (known performers)
• Broad match becomes a "fishing expedition" for new terms
• Each match type gets appropriate bid strategy

The Peel and Stick Technique:

• Run broad match to discover what people actually search
• Check Search Terms Report for high-performers
• "Peel" those terms out of broad match
• "Stick" them into their own exact match ad groups
• Create dedicated ads for each peeled term
• Add negative of exact match to broad campaign

Result: Continuous refinement, higher Quality Scores, lower costs.

Step 3: Rack the Shotgun (Qualify Before the Click)

> "The art of sorting out your customers, weeding out the qualified from the non-qualified, is one of the most important skills you can develop."

80/20 Reality: 80% of people who click will never buy. You're paying for all of them.

Pre-Qualification Tactics:

| Tactic | How It Works | Example |

|--------|--------------|---------|

| Price in ad | Scares away non-buyers | "$499/month starting price" |

| Specificity | Attracts only right audience | "Enterprise-only" or "For teams of 50+" |

| Qualification language | Self-selection | "If you're serious about..." |

| Negative keywords | Block bad searchers | -free, -cheap, -DIY, -jobs |

| Callout extensions | Set expectations | "Minimum $10K project" |

Five Power Disqualifiers:

Before someone becomes a lead, they should pass:

• Money - Do they have budget for your solution?
• Authority - Can they make the purchase decision?
• Need - Do they have the problem you solve?
• Timing - Are they ready to act now?
• Fit - Are they the right customer for you?

Landing Page Qualification:

• Add a short quiz: "Is [Product] right for you?"
• Include pricing or "starting at" to filter budget
• Use specific case studies that speak to ideal customers
• Make non-buyers self-select out

Step 4: The Optimization Onion

Peel back optimization layers in the right order:

                OPTIMIZATION PRIORITY
    ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
    │                                     │
    │  OUTER LAYER (Do First)             │
    │  ├── Match type segmentation        │
    │  ├── Ad extensions (all of them)    │
    │  └── Negative keywords              │
    │                                     │
    │  MIDDLE LAYER (Do Second)           │
    │  ├── Ad copy split testing          │
    │  ├── Landing page optimization      │
    │  └── Bid adjustments by device      │
    │                                     │
    │  INNER LAYER (Do Third)             │
    │  ├── Audience targeting             │
    │  ├── Day/time bidding              │
    │  └── Geographic bid adjustments     │
    │                                     │
    │  CORE (Only After Everything Else)  │
    │  └── Increase budget/bids           │
    │                                     │
    └─────────────────────────────────────┘

Perry's Rule:

> "Your first response should NOT be 'I'm going to spend more money.' Your first response should be 'Am I optimizing everything I can really optimize?'"

Step 5: 80/20 Budget Allocation

Where to Put Your Money:

| Performance Level | Budget Allocation | Strategy |

|-------------------|-------------------|----------|

| Top 20% of keywords | 64% of budget | Scale aggressively |

| Middle 60% | 30% of budget | Test and optimize |

| Bottom 20% | 6% of budget | Cut or pause |

Identifying Your 80/20:

• Export last 90 days of keyword data
• Sort by conversions (not clicks!)
• Calculate cumulative % of total conversions
• Mark where you hit 80% of conversions
• Count how many keywords got you there (usually ~20%)
• These are your "vital few"

The 80/20 of 80/20:

• Within your top 20%, another 80/20 exists
• 4% of keywords often drive 50%+ of conversions
• These deserve individual campaigns, dedicated landing pages

Step 6: Scaling Profitably

When to Scale:

Only after:

• [ ] Conversion tracking is accurate
• [ ] ROI is positive at current spend
• [ ] Quality Scores are 7+ on main keywords
• [ ] All optimization layers addressed
• [ ] You understand your customer acquisition economics

How to Scale:

| Method | When to Use | Risk Level |

|--------|-------------|------------|

| Increase bids on winners | Top 20% keywords | Low |

| Add similar keywords | Proven ad groups | Medium |

| Expand match types | Exact → Phrase | Medium |

| New campaigns/audiences | After core is solid | Higher |

| Increase daily budget | All above done | Low |

Warning Signs to Stop Scaling:

• CPA increases by >20%
• Conversion rate drops significantly
• Quality Score declining
• Impression share not improving with budget

Step 7: Advanced 80/20 Strategies

Tiered Offering Strategy:

> "20% of people are willing to spend 4x the money for a better experience."

If your main offer is $100, consider:

• Standard: $100 (for 80%)
• Premium: $400 (for 16%)
• Elite: $1,600 (for 4%)

Run separate campaigns for each tier - the economics are different.

Predictive Budgeting:

Using 80/20 math to predict market size:

• If 1,000 people buy at $50
• ~200 will pay $200 (4x)
• ~40 will pay $800 (16x)
• ~8 will pay $3,200 (64x)

Plan campaigns and landing pages for each segment.

Examples

Example 1: E-commerce Store Optimization

Situation: Online store selling specialty kitchen equipment. Spending $5,000/month on Google Ads with 2.5% conversion rate. Wants to improve ROI.

80/20 Analysis:

Exported 90 days of data, found:

• 147 active keywords
• 23 keywords (16%) drove 81% of sales
• 6 keywords (4%) drove 52% of sales
• 87 keywords (59%) had zero conversions

Action Plan:

1. Immediate (Outer Layer):

• Pause 87 zero-conversion keywords → Save ~$800/month
• Add negative keywords from Search Terms Report
• Enable all ad extensions (was missing callouts, structured snippets)

2. Structure (Match Types):

• Create exact match campaign for top 23 keywords
• Create separate ad groups for top 6 keywords
• Move existing to phrase/broad for discovery

3. Qualify Better:

• Add price to ads: "From $89 - Premium Kitchen Tools"
• Landing page: Added "Who this is for" section
• Negative keywords: -cheap, -wholesale, -bulk, -used

4. Scale Winners:

• Top 6 keywords: Increased bids 30%
• Created dedicated landing pages for top 3 products
• Built remarketing lists from converters

Results after 60 days:

• Spend: $4,200/month (down 16%)
• Conversions: Up 34%
• ROAS: Improved from 3.2x to 5.1x

Example 2: B2B SaaS Lead Generation

Situation: SaaS company generating leads via Google Ads. Getting lots of clicks but low quality leads. Sales team complaining about tire-kickers.

Problem Diagnosis:

Using 80/20 thinking:

• 80% of leads were unqualified (too small, no budget, wrong use case)
• 80% of wasted ad spend came from broad match fishing

Rack the Shotgun Implementation:

1. Ad Copy Qualification:

Before: "Project Management Software - Free Trial"

After: "Project Management for Teams 50+ | Starting $499/mo"

2. Landing Page Qualification:

Added "Is [Product] Right For You?" quiz:

• Team size?
• Current tools?
• Budget range?
• Timeline to implement?

Score < 60 = Blog content offer

Score 60-80 = Self-serve trial

Score > 80 = Sales call booking

3. Campaign Structure:

• Separate campaign for enterprise keywords
• Separate campaign for SMB keywords
• Different landing pages, different qualification levels

4. Negative Keywords:

Added: -free, -open source, -small business, -startup, -cheap, -alternative to [competitor targeting SMB]

Results:

• Clicks: Down 40%
• Cost: Down 35%
• Qualified leads: Up 60%
• Sales accepted leads: Up 180%
• Cost per qualified lead: Down 58%

Checklists & Templates

Campaign Audit Checklist (80/20 Version)

## Google Ads 80/20 Audit: [Account Name]

### 1. Data Pull (Last 90 Days)
- [ ] Export all keyword data with conversions
- [ ] Export Search Terms Report
- [ ] Export campaign/ad group performance
- [ ] Note current spend and ROAS

### 2. 80/20 Analysis
**Keywords:**
- Total active keywords: ___
- Keywords with 0 conversions: ___ (% of total: ___%)
- Keywords driving 80% of conversions: ___ (% of total: ___%)
- Keywords driving 50% of conversions: ___ (% of total: ___%)

**Campaigns:**
- Campaign driving most conversions: ___
- Campaign with worst ROAS: ___

### 3. Outer Layer Optimization
- [ ] Match types segmented? Y/N
- [ ] Negative keyword list comprehensive? Y/N
- [ ] All ad extensions enabled? Y/N
  - [ ] Sitelinks
  - [ ] Callouts
  - [ ] Structured snippets
  - [ ] Call extensions (if applicable)
  - [ ] Location (if applicable)

### 4. Qualification Assessment
- [ ] Price/qualification in ad copy? Y/N
- [ ] Landing page qualifies visitors? Y/N
- [ ] Negative keywords block non-buyers? Y/N

### 5. Priority Actions
1. Quick win:
2. Biggest impact:
3. Scale opportunity:

### 6. Budget Reallocation
- Pause: $___/month
- Shift to winners: $___/month
- Test budget: $___/month

Campaign Structure Template

## Campaign Structure: [Product/Service]

### Campaign 1: Brand (Exact)
- Match type: Exact
- Budget: 10% of total
- Keywords: Brand terms only
- Goal: Capture brand searches cheaply

### Campaign 2: Core Product (Exact)
- Match type: Exact
- Budget: 40% of total
- Keywords: Top 20% performers
- Ad groups: 1 per keyword theme (5-10 keywords max)
- Goal: Maximum ROAS

### Campaign 3: Core Product (Phrase/BMM)
- Match type: Phrase + Broad Match Modifier
- Budget: 30% of total
- Keywords: Same as exact but expanded
- Goal: Discover new exact match candidates

### Campaign 4: Discovery (Broad)
- Match type: Broad
- Budget: 10% of total
- Keywords: Category-level terms
- Goal: Find new keyword opportunities
- Review: Weekly search terms report

### Campaign 5: Competitor
- Match type: Exact
- Budget: 10% of total
- Keywords: Competitor brand names
- Goal: Conquest qualified traffic

### Negative Keyword Master List
Apply to all campaigns:
- [Non-buyer terms]: free, cheap, DIY, etc.
- [Wrong audience]: jobs, careers, salary, etc.
- [Irrelevant]: [specific to your business]

Weekly Optimization Routine

## Weekly Google Ads Check: [Week of ___]

### 10-Minute Daily Check
- [ ] Budget pacing on track?
- [ ] Any major CPA spikes?
- [ ] Disapproved ads?

### Weekly Deep Dive (30 min)

**Search Terms Report:**
- New terms to add as exact: ___
- New negative keywords: ___

**Performance Review:**
- Top performer this week: ___
- Worst performer this week: ___
- Action taken: ___

**Ad Testing:**
- Tests running: ___
- Tests to conclude: ___
- New tests to start: ___

**Quality Score Check:**
- Keywords <6 QS: ___
- Action: ___

### Monthly Strategic Review
- [ ] 80/20 analysis updated
- [ ] Budget reallocation needed?
- [ ] New campaign opportunities?
- [ ] Scaling opportunities?

Skill Boundaries

What This Skill Does Well

• Structuring persuasive content
• Applying copywriting frameworks
• Creating draft variations
• Analyzing competitor approaches

What This Skill Cannot Do

• Guarantee conversion rates
• Replace brand voice development
• Know your specific audience
• Make final approval decisions

References

• Books: Ultimate Guide to Google Ads, 80/20 Sales and Marketing by Perry Marshall
• Concepts: Peel and Stick, Racking the Shotgun, Five Power Disqualifiers
• Updates: Google Ads Help Center for latest features
• Source: sources/books/marshall-google-ads-8020.md

Related Skills

• conversion-copywriting - Write ads that convert the right people
• landing-page-copy - Create landing pages that match ad intent
• copy-frameworks - AIDA, PAS for ad copy
• grand-slam-offers - Create offers worth advertising
• jobs-to-be-done - Understand what searchers really want