What to prepare before you sign up
Google Ads is tied to a Google account, so start with an email that belongs to the company, not to an employee or an agency. If a manager leaves and the login sits on their personal Gmail, getting control of your advertising back can turn into a long argument.
Decide in advance what counts as a result: a phone call, a website form, a message in Telegram, an order in the cart. That choice drives the campaign type and the tracking setup. Without a clear goal you can open an account, but you will have nothing to judge the ads by.
Create a Google Ads account step by step
The general sequence is below. Google changes its interface from time to time, so button names may differ, but the logic stays the same.
- Sign in to the right Google account, open the Google Ads page and click Start now.
- Enter your business name and the website or page the ads will point to.
- Pick a goal: calls, leads or visits. If you do not want a ready-made campaign, look for the option to switch to Expert Mode and create an account without a campaign.
- Set the billing country, time zone and currency.
- Add a payment method and confirm the details.
- Review the summary and only then switch anything on.
Currency, time zone and billing: the settings you cannot undo
Account currency and time zone usually cannot be changed once they are set. If you get them wrong, you have to open a new account and lose the history. Choose them deliberately, based on the currency in which you plan budgets and reconcile spend with your accountant, and on where your business operates.
Available payment methods depend on the billing country and currency. Check inside the interface which options are actually offered to you, and do not assume that any card will work. If a payment fails or looks suspicious to the system, the account can be restricted, so the billing profile should match the real details of your company.
Also decide who tops up the balance and how spend is reviewed. One responsible person and a clear routine prevent the situation where ads stop overnight because the funds ran out.
Expert Mode or a simplified campaign
On first login Google pushes you to create a simplified campaign quickly. It is convenient, but you hand over many decisions: where ads appear, for which searches, which ads get assembled. If the cost of a lead matters, it is usually wiser to enter Expert Mode and build the structure yourself: separate groups for each service, negative keywords, location settings and an ad schedule.
For local businesses, geography is critical. A cafe in Yunusabad gains nothing from clicks in a distant region, while an online store that delivers nationwide does want them, though with different delivery terms. This is set manually and has a large effect on spend.
Set up lead tracking before the first campaign
The most common mistake after opening an account is launching ads first and figuring out measurement later. Install the Google tag on your site and set up events: a form submission, a tap on the phone number, a jump to your Telegram bot or channel, a payment through Click or Payme. Link the account to Google Analytics if you use it.
If part of your customers write in messengers or call, plan how to record them: separate numbers, tagged links, a question like “how did you hear about us” in your CRM. Otherwise you will see the spend but never learn which searches bring sales.
Who owns the account and who gets access
The account should belong to your company. Give a contractor access through an invitation or a manager account, and never share your email password. That way you stay in control, can revoke rights at any time and see the full change history.
Ask the specialist for report access from day one: spend, impressions, clicks, leads, cost per lead. If a contractor refuses to show data or insists on running ads from their own account, treat that as a warning sign.
When it makes sense to bring in a specialist
You can open the account yourself in one evening. Building campaign structure, choosing queries in Russian and Uzbek, setting up tracking and avoiding wasted budget in the first weeks is harder. If you lack time to dig into it, the markdev team can handle Google Ads setup for your niche and city. Describe your task and we will suggest where it is best to start.
FAQ
Is it free to create a Google Ads account?
Registration itself costs nothing. Money is charged for clicks or impressions of campaigns you actually launch, that is, for real advertising.
What if I picked the wrong currency or time zone?
These settings generally cannot be edited in an existing account. You would need to open a new one and set everything up again, so check them before confirming.
Do I need a website to run Google Ads?
Most ad formats need a page to send people to, either a website or a landing page. You can open an account without one, but you will not be able to launch search ads.
Can I give a contractor access without sharing a password?
Yes. Access is granted through an email invitation or a manager account. No password is needed, and you can revoke the rights whenever you wish.
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