Smart campaigns vs Search campaigns in Google Ads
By SpendCanary team · Updated
A Smart campaign is Google’s simplest kind of ad: you write an ad, pick a few keyword themes, a location and a budget, and Google does the rest. It’s quick to set up, but Google decides where your money goes, and the extra places it can go (YouTube, partner websites, the Display Network) are where small budgets often leak. A Search campaign gives you that control back.
What a Smart campaign does for you
Google calls Smart campaigns its easy option for small businesses. You choose:
- one goal (calls, website sales or sign-ups, visits, or video views), which can’t be changed later,
- an ad, plus details about your business,
- a handful of keyword themes, a location and a monthly budget.
Google then sets the bids, creates extras like sitelinks and a call button automatically, and tests other versions of your ad built from your website.
What you give up
From Google’s own comparison:
| Smart campaign | Search campaign | |
|---|---|---|
| Where ads show | Google Search, Maps, YouTube, partner websites and the Display Network, automatically | Google Search; search partners and Display are settings you can turn off |
| Keywords | Keyword themes; Google decides which searches match | Your own keywords, with phrase and exact match |
| Bidding | Google manages it; no choice of strategy | You choose: Smart Bidding, Maximize clicks or manual bids |
| Ad extras | Created automatically | You choose them |
| Reports | A simplified dashboard | Down to each keyword and search |
There’s no setting to turn off the Display Network or partner websites in a Smart campaign; Google says you may be able to ask its support team. In a Search campaign, see search partners and Display on Search campaigns.
Keyword themes are not keywords
A keyword theme stands for many similar searches: Google’s example is that “bakery” can match “bakery near me”, “local bakery” and “cake shop”. Google suggests no more than 7 to 10 themes, each up to 20 characters.
You can still see what people searched: the search terms report in a Smart campaign shows the searches that triggered your ads, with clicks and spend, and you can add bad ones as negative keyword themes. Unlike Search campaigns, negative themes don’t block close variants, so add plurals and other spellings yourself.
Budgets in Smart campaigns
You set a monthly maximum (a daily figure times 30.4), and Google says it won’t spend more than that in the month. Google suggests a budget based on typical click volumes for your business type and location; you can change it.
When to switch to a Search campaign
Our view: a Smart campaign is fine to start with. Consider a Search campaign when:
- the search terms report keeps showing searches you don’t sell to,
- you want to stop spending on YouTube and partner websites,
- you know which few searches bring customers and want to bid on exactly those,
- you have conversion tracking and want to judge results by cost per lead.
How to switch
You can’t convert a Smart campaign: Google says a campaign’s type can’t be changed once it’s created. Instead:
- Create a new Search campaign. Search campaigns are created in Google Ads’ Expert Mode; Smart campaigns can only be made in Smart Mode. (If your account is in Smart Mode, look in its settings menu for the option to switch to Expert Mode. Check Google’s current guidance first: as far as we know, the switch can’t be undone, though your Smart campaigns keep working.)
- Use the searches from your Smart campaign’s search terms report to choose your keywords and negatives.
- Set up conversion tracking before you start, so you can compare results.
- When the Search campaign is running well, pause the Smart campaign so the two don’t compete.
What’s changing
Since 23 September 2026, new Smart campaigns can’t be created through the Google Ads API. Existing ones keep running and can still be edited, and Google suggests Performance Max, Search or Demand Gen for new campaigns. Google hasn’t published a date for retiring Smart campaigns in the Google Ads website itself.
Sources
- Google Ads Help: About Smart campaigns, Smart vs other campaign types, Smart campaign ads, Keyword themes, Negative keyword themes, Smart campaign search terms, Smart campaign budgets, Choosing a campaign type, Search partners.
- Google Ads Developer Blog: Changes to support for Smart campaigns in the Google Ads API (23 June 2026, updated 13 August 2026).
Common questions
- How do I know if I have a Smart campaign?
- Smart campaigns use keyword themes instead of keywords and have a simplified dashboard. Google says Smart campaigns can only be created in Smart Mode, the simpler version of Google Ads.
- Can I turn a Smart campaign into a Search campaign?
- No. Google says a campaign’s type can’t be changed after it’s created. You build a new Search campaign and pause the Smart campaign when the new one is running.
- Do Smart campaigns show on the Display Network?
- Yes. Google says Smart campaign ads show automatically on Google Search, Maps, YouTube, partner websites and the Display Network, with no setting to turn the extra networks off.
- Is Google getting rid of Smart campaigns?
- Since 23 September 2026, new Smart campaigns can’t be created through the Google Ads API, and existing ones keep running. Google suggests Performance Max, Search or Demand Gen instead.