PPC Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield PPC facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. How does the Google Ads 'maximize clicks' strategy determine bids? → It sets bids automatically to get the most clicks possible within your budget
2. What is the primary goal of the Target ROAS (tROAS) smart bidding strategy? → Achieve a specific return on ad spend by adjusting bids per auction
3. Why might an advertiser use a bid cap with a Maximize Conversions strategy? → To prevent the algorithm from bidding excessively high amounts on individual auctions
4. Which of the following best describes the recommended approach to calls-to-action (CTAs) on a PPC landing page? → Use one primary CTA that repeats consistently and directs to a single goal
5. In WordStream's competitor analysis features, what data is typically surfaced? → Estimated auction overlap and share of voice metrics
6. What is portfolio bid strategy in Google Ads? → An automated bid strategy applied across multiple campaigns, ad groups, or keywords
7. How does WordStream's Smart Ads feature help PPC managers? → It generates ad copy suggestions based on keywords and landing page content
8. In PPC, what does 'marginal ROAS' refer to? → The incremental return generated by spending one additional dollar on ads
9. Which Smart Bidding strategy is most appropriate when the primary goal is to maximize total conversion value within a fixed budget? → Maximize Conversion Value
10. In Google Ads, what does 'Enhanced CPC' (ECPC) do? → It adjusts manual bids up or down based on the likelihood of a conversion for each auction
11. What is the top-down structure of an AdWords account? → Account, campaign, ad group, ad text and keywords and placements
12. Which Google Ads report is most useful for identifying new negative keyword opportunities? → Search Terms report
13. Which campaign setting allows Google Ads to show your ads to audiences slightly beyond your targeted keywords if it predicts a conversion? → Optimized targeting
14. What is the formula for calculating Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)? → Revenue / Ad Spend
15. In Google Ads, which landing page factor is evaluated as part of the Quality Score calculation? → Landing page experience
16. Which factor does NOT directly influence your Google Ads CPC in a search auction? → Your advertiser industry category
17. What is the recommended number of active ads per ad group for testing purposes? → 2 to 3 ads
18. What does the term 'Ad Rank' determine in a Google Ads auction? → The position of an ad on the search results page
19. In WordStream, what happens when you 'graduate' a keyword from a broad match to a more specific match type? → You gain more control over which searches trigger your ad, reducing irrelevant clicks
20. Which PPC metric measures the percentage of people who clicked your ad after seeing it? → Click-through rate (CTR)
21. What does 'campaign priority' control in Google Shopping campaigns? → Which campaign serves an ad first when multiple campaigns could show for the same product
22. Which landing page element should be tested FIRST when starting a conversion rate optimization (CRO) program for a PPC campaign? → The main headline and primary call-to-action
23. What is the primary character limit for a single headline in a Google Ads Responsive Search Ad? → 30 characters
24. Which Google Ads feature allows you to automatically pause low-performing ads and promote higher-performing ones? → Ad rotation set to 'Optimize'
25. What does 'ad strength' indicate in a Responsive Search Ad? → How well the ad's headlines and descriptions are optimized for relevance and variety
26. Which audience targeting option allows you to reach users who have previously visited your website? → Remarketing lists
27. Which bidding approach is best when conversion tracking is not yet set up? → Manual CPC or Maximize Clicks
28. What is the Google Ads 'conversion window'? → The time period during which a click can result in a tracked conversion
29. What minimum amount of conversion data does Google recommend having before switching to a Target CPA bidding strategy? → 30 conversions in the last 30 days
30. What is the purpose of WordStream's 'Ad Text Report'? → To compare performance across different ad variations within ad groups