I saw a cracking question in a PPC group the other day that I think every ecommerce advertiser should hear the answer to.
It was about structure. Specifically, how to structure campaigns and ad groups when you’re using automated bidding and when you have multiple buyer personas.
The example was from someone selling wheelchairs across the US. They had two very different types of buyers. Let’s call them Person A and Person B.
They were wondering:
Should I keep both buyer types in one campaign, or split them into separate campaigns and ad groups?
Here’s my take.
Organise Ad Groups by Keyword Themes, Not Personas
I know it’s tempting to think in personas. Marketers love them. They’re plastered all over our brand docs and slide decks. But when it comes to Google Ads, personas aren’t the best way to structure your campaigns.
Here’s why.
Google doesn’t optimise based on your ideas of who your customers are. It optimises based on search intent and behaviour. That means if two people — Person A and Person B — are both typing in the same keywords, then Google sees them as the same audience, even if they’re very different in reality.
So, you’re better off grouping ad groups by keyword themes instead of personas.
Let’s take the wheelchair example.
If both Person A and Person B are searching for “foldable wheelchair New York” — they should go in the same ad group.
What you can do inside that ad group is write two different ads — one speaking more to Person A, and one to Person B.
Google’s automation will figure out who prefers which, and serve the more relevant ad based on the user's intent and profile.
You could even get fancy and mix both messages into one responsive search ad. Google will test different combinations of headlines and descriptions and pick what works best for each person.
So in summary:
✘ Don’t split your campaigns by persona.
✔ Split by keyword theme instead.
✔ Include multiple ad variations per ad group, if needed, to speak to different people.
Should You Ever Split Personas into Separate Campaigns?
Only if they’re searching for completely different things.
Let’s say Person A is searching for “ultra lightweight transport wheelchair” and Person B is searching for “electric wheelchair with joystick”. Those are different keyword themes — and they justify their own ad groups, possibly even their own campaigns.
But again, the keyword decides this, not the persona.
If the personas are searching for the same things, keep them in the same campaign.
You’ll get better data density, which is super important when you’re working in a low volume niche (like mobility equipment), and it helps Google’s automated bidding strategies work properly.
Let the Algorithm Work — Don’t Starve It
The original question also raised a fair concern: “Won’t the algorithm get confused if there are multiple buyer types in one campaign?”
And my answer is no, not if you follow the keyword structure rule.
Automated bidding relies on statistical significance to optimise. That means the more data it can gather across a tightly themed campaign or ad group, the better decisions it can make.
If you split things up too much, for example, making one campaign per persona, or per tiny variation, you’re giving each campaign less data.
Less data = less confidence = worse results.
So actually, over-segmentation is more likely to mess up your campaigns than keeping personas together.
What About Landing Pages?
This one’s a bit more nuanced.
Let’s go back to another example from the Q&A:
Someone selling running shoes, basketball shoes, and hiking shoes.
That’s not just a difference in buyer persona, that’s a difference in product.
And when the product is different, you need separate landing pages.
Think of it like this:
Ad groups = split by keyword theme.
Landing pages = split by product or service.
If someone searches for “hiking shoes”, they should land on a page about hiking shoes. Obvious, right?
But if you’ve just got variations of the same product — let’s say a wheelchair with different colour options, or custom accessories — one well-structured landing page might be fine. At least to start.
You can always test more segmented pages later, especially if your traffic justifies it.
Avoid This Classic Mistake
Trying to get too clever with your structure is a mistake I see all the time.
People want to split campaigns by persona, gender, age, behaviour… and every time you do that, you cut your data in half. Or worse.
And that’s a disaster when you’re using automated bidding.
Instead, here’s your simple cheat sheet:
✅ Structure ad groups by keyword theme.
✅ Let personas live inside your ads — either with multiple ads per ad group or through messaging variations in responsive ads.
✅ Match landing pages to the product being searched for.
✅ Only split campaigns when keywords are fundamentally different or you’re targeting different regions.
Conclusion
To sum up:
Don’t split your campaigns or ad groups by buyer persona — structure them around keyword themes.
Let the algorithm do its job by providing it with enough data per campaign or ad group.
Tailor your ads inside the ad group to speak to multiple personas if needed.
Use separate landing pages when the product is different, not just when the customer type is different.
Stick to this approach, and your Google Ads campaigns will be more focused, easier to manage, and a lot more effective.