“I always encourage people to build out multiple ad groups and I theme them around use cases or features. Build out maybe five ad groups per campaign, get traction, see what's resonating. A really common mistake: the first ad group you create is the one Google runs with, even if another one performs better.”

Run 5 themed ad groups per campaign — Google favorites its first child regardless of later performance

Google doesn't give budget control at the ad group level — the algorithm decides how to distribute spend. But you can influence creative testing by segmenting into themed groups. Five groups gives enough surface area to find a resonant angle without splitting signal too thin. Knowing the 'first child' bias helps: your original ad group often stays dominant regardless of later entrants.