Google Ads Video study plan
Google Ads Video · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Video campaign strategy and setup & Video bidding and budget management
Map every campaign objective (awareness, consideration, action, product feed) to the video formats and bidding strategies it supports, and write a one-line use case for each pairing
Define the difference between Video reach campaigns, Video views campaigns, and Video action campaigns in terms of where ads serve and what the advertiser is buying
Draft a campaign brief template that captures objective, audience, format, bid strategy, budget, and success metric before any build begins
Calculate how a daily budget translates into weekly spend and identify the two settings that can cause spend to exceed the daily amount
Your checkpoint
A one-page objective-to-format-to-bid-strategy decision matrix covering all major video campaign types, plus a blank campaign brief template
Video campaign strategy and setup & Video bidding and budget management
Build a full campaign structure in a practice account: one campaign, two ad groups, three creatives, and audience segmentation applied at the right level
Configure bidding for a views-focused goal and explain when Target CPV is appropriate versus Maximize conversions
Set up budget pacing controls and describe how shared budgets and portfolio bid strategies change allocation across campaigns
Diagnose three common setup errors (misaligned bid strategy, over-narrow audience, missing conversion tracking) and write the fix for each
Your checkpoint
A documented practice-account build with screenshots or notes showing campaign settings, bid strategy rationale, and budget configuration
Video creative and ad formats & Video targeting and audiences
Compare in-stream skippable, in-stream non-skippable, in-feed, Shorts, and bumper formats on length limits, skip behavior, and where they appear
Write the first five seconds of three different hooks for the same product and label which format each hook suits
Explain how companion banners and call-to-action overlays interact with the main video asset
Match each format to the funnel stage it serves best and justify the choice with a metric
Your checkpoint
A format comparison sheet with a hook script for each of three formats, each hook annotated with the funnel stage it targets
Video targeting and audiences
Build audience segments across the three targeting layers: who the viewer is (demographics, affinity, in-market), what they are searching or watching (keywords, topics, placements), and what they have done (remarketing, customer match, similar segments)
Configure a remarketing list from YouTube engagement and explain the difference between channel-based and site-based lists
Apply exclusions and audience expansion settings, then predict the effect on reach and frequency
Identify three audience combinations that would over-restrict delivery and revise each into a workable setup
Your checkpoint
An audience targeting plan for one campaign listing every segment, its layer, its exclusion logic, and the expected reach trade-off
Video targeting and audiences & Video measurement and optimization
Define the core video metrics (impressions, view rate, CPV, cost, conversions, view-through conversions) and state which metric best answers each of four stakeholder questions
Set up conversion tracking for a video campaign and explain the attribution difference between click-through and view-through conversions
Design a brand lift or reach-and-frequency measurement approach and state the minimum data needed to interpret it
Build a reporting template that pairs each campaign objective with the metric that proves or disproves success
Your checkpoint
A measurement plan mapping each objective to its primary metric, secondary metric, and attribution window, plus a reporting template
Video measurement and optimization & Video bidding and budget management
Interpret a view-rate and CPV trend across two weeks and propose two creative or targeting changes that would plausibly improve it
Explain how Target CPA and Maximize conversions behave differently in video action campaigns and when to switch between them
Adjust bids and budgets in response to a frequency that is too high and a conversion volume that is too low, describing the trade-off each adjustment creates
Define the optimization cadence (what to check daily, weekly, and monthly) and the threshold that triggers a change
Your checkpoint
A written optimization log covering three hypothetical scenarios, each with the diagnosis, the action taken, and the expected metric movement
Video campaign strategy and setup & Video creative and ad formats & Video targeting and audiences & Video bidding and budget management & Video measurement and optimization
Complete a full timed practice exam and record the score per domain to expose the weakest area
Re-derive the objective-to-format-to-bid chain from memory without notes and correct any gaps
Rewrite every missed question's underlying concept in your own words rather than memorizing the answer
Identify the two domains with the lowest scores and schedule targeted review for each
Your checkpoint
A scored practice exam with a per-domain error analysis listing every missed concept and the corrected explanation
Video campaign strategy and setup & Video creative and ad formats & Video targeting and audiences & Video bidding and budget management & Video measurement and optimization
Re-test the two weakest domains with focused question sets until each reaches a consistent passing threshold
Review all flashcards or notes on format specs, bid strategy eligibility, and audience layer definitions
Walk through two end-to-end scenarios (a brand awareness launch and a conversion-focused launch) naming the campaign type, format, audience, bid strategy, and success metric for each
Confirm logistics: exam format, timing, and any allowed reference material
Your checkpoint
A final one-page cheat sheet covering the decision chain for each domain, plus two completed end-to-end scenario outlines
Milestones
Week 2: Can build a correctly structured video campaign from a blank account and justify the bid strategy and budget settings without notes
Week 4: Can name every major video ad format with its length limit and placement, and assign the right audience layers to a given objective
Week 6: Can read a metrics report, diagnose underperformance, and prescribe a specific bid, budget, or creative change with a stated expected effect
Week 8: Scores consistently above the target pass threshold on practice sets in all five domains, with no domain below the weakest-area cutoff