The S.T.A.B framework introduced by Aaron Young, offers a simple structure for approaching Google Ads optimization.

Interestingly, it didn’t start as a teaching model.

Back in 2017, Aaron was freelancing as Head of Search for three agencies at once. Managing multiple accounts and teams, he needed a consistent way to review campaigns and track what had already been checked.

So he built a checklist.

Over time, that checklist evolved into what he now calls S.T.A.B. It’s a framework built around four core areas where most Google Ads optimizations happen. Review campaigns through those lenses, and you can find patterns around what’s working, what’s holding performance back, and where you can scale.

Here’s how it works.

What is the S.T.A.B method for Google Ads?

The S.T.A.B method is a structured way to review and optimize a Google Ads account.

Instead of scanning dozens of optimization tasks, the framework groups them into four core areas:

• S: Spending & Segmentation
• T: Targeting
• A: Ads & Landing Pages
• B: Bidding

Young argues that most Google Ads improvements fall into one of these four categories.

When you audit an account through these lenses, weak spots become obvious. A campaign may have strong ads but poor targeting. Targeting may work well, but the budget sits in the wrong campaigns.

Rather than chasing dozens of metrics, you focus on four areas and locate the real constraint.

Let’s start with the first one: Segmentation and Spending.

S: Spending & Segmentation

Spending and segmentation often reveal the fastest optimization opportunities.

If campaigns already deliver strong conversions, the simplest change may be a budget increase. When performance holds steady, more spend often leads to more conversions.

The next layer to review is segmentation.

Many accounts place several products or services inside a single campaign. Over time, one segment absorbs most of the budget while another, sometimes profitable, receives very little.

Splitting those segments into separate campaigns allows each area to compete for the budget it deserves.

When reviewing accounts through this lens, answer these questions:

How Optmyzr can help

Most advertisers know something feels off with budgets. The hard part is figuring out where the constraint actually sits.

When strong campaigns hit budget limits

Some campaigns don’t need fixing, they just need room to grow. You’ll often see that the performance is solid, conversions are coming in, but impression share drops as the budget runs out.

At the same time, other campaigns keep spending without delivering the same return.

That’s where you can use Optimize Budgets to identify:

• Which campaigns are capped but performing efficiently
• Which ones are absorbing budget without pulling their weight

From there, it’s a simple shift: move budget toward what’s already working, and stop overfunding what isn’t.

When impression share drops due to bidding

Sometimes the issue isn’t performance, but how tightly you’re bidding. You might have ad groups that are already converting, but they’re not showing up as often as they could. Not because they’re underperforming, but because your ROAS or CPA targets are set too high.

That means you’re missing auctions you could have won.

This is where Optimize Target CPA and Optimize Target ROAS can help.

They help you spot:

• campaigns or ad groups that are already performing well
• but aren’t getting enough visibility due to ad rank

And then suggest small adjustments to your targets, so you can show up more often without overcorrecting.

When strong segments aren’t getting enough visibility

You might have keywords or ad groups performing well, but missing out on impression share because bids aren’t competitive enough. Instead of manually checking this across campaigns, you can use Rule Engine to step in automatically.

For example, you can set a rule (if-this-then-that) to:

• Monitor impression share (or lost IS due to rank)
• Identify where strong performers are losing visibility
• Increase bids when those conditions are met (within your guardrails)

T: Targeting

After you evaluate spend and structure, examine who actually sees your ads.

In search campaigns, this usually starts with search terms and keywords. Which queries trigger your ads? Do they match the intent you want to capture?

Targeting also includes location, device, audience signals, demographics, and time of day. Small inefficiencies across these dimensions can drain budget.

For example:

• Some locations consistently produce higher CPAs
• Certain devices underperform the rest of the campaign
• Ads appear during hours when conversions rarely happen

In these cases, exclusions or bid adjustments often improve efficiency without changing the overall strategy.

Focus on questions like:

Once patterns emerge, the fixes usually remain straightforward.

How Optmyzr Helps Diagnose Targeting Issues

Targeting problems rarely appear in one place. They show up across search terms, keywords, audiences, and competitive pressure. The tools below help surface those patterns faster.

When irrelevant search queries waste budget

Search terms can get out of hand fast.

You start digging through them, and before you know it, you’re scrolling through hundreds (or thousands) of queries trying to spot what’s going wrong.

Search Terms N-Grams helps you cut through that.

Instead of going line by line, you can quickly spot:

• words that show up again and again in wasted spend
• patterns behind high CPCs or low conversions
• and which terms are worth excluding

Pair this with Negative Keyword Finder to spot search terms that should not trigger ads.

At the same time, some valuable queries never become keywords. Some keep driving conversions quietly in the background without ever being promoted.

Use Keyword Lasso to find those keywords you can turn into exact match.

When keywords drive clicks but not results

Some keywords look fine at first glance, they get clicks, they spend budget… but conversions never follow.

Instead of manually hunting them down, our Find Expensive Keywords tool can spot:

• keywords with unusually high CPCs
• or CPAs that sit well above your account average

So you can quickly decide what to pause, adjust, or rethink.

When CPCs suddenly increase

Sometimes costs jump, and it’s not immediately clear why.

It could be new competitors, more aggressive bidding, or shifts in the auction, but digging through raw data doesn’t always make that obvious.

With Auction Insights Visualizer, you can upload your report and quickly see:

• who’s entering the auction
• how often you overlap
• and who’s outranking you

When certain locations underperform

Performance isn’t always consistent across regions.

Some locations drive strong results, while others spend budget without much return.

With the Geo Bid Adjustments tool, you can:

• increase bids where performance is strong
• and scale back in areas that aren’t converting

So your budget naturally shifts toward the regions that truly deliver results.

We have a lot more tools helping with the listed targeting issues, test them today with our 14-day full functional trial!

A: Ads and landing pages

Once targeting works properly, focus on what users see after the ad triggers.

Even perfect targeting cannot save weak messaging or a poor landing page.

A good place to start is the click-through rate. A low CTR often signals that the ad copy fails to resonate with the search query.

In that case, test new messaging, adjust the value proposition, or rewrite headlines.

If CTR looks healthy but conversions remain low, the issue often appears further down the funnel. The landing page experience becomes the next suspect.

Ask these questions:

• Do certain ads consistently underperform?
• Are disapproved or rarely shown ads affecting delivery?
• Do some landing pages receive traffic but struggle to convert?

How Optmyzr helps diagnose ads and landing page issues

Once targeting looks solid, the next question becomes much simpler:

What do users actually see after the ad triggers?

At this stage, performance problems usually show up in two places: the ad itself or the landing page.

Sometimes ads simply fail to grab attention. Other times the ads perform well, but the landing page struggles to convert the traffic.

This is where reviewing creatives and landing pages becomes important.

When ad tests reveal clear winners and losers

Over time, most campaigns accumulate several ad variations. Some consistently outperform others, but the weaker ads often keep running longer than they should.

With A/B Testing for Ads, it’s easier to see which creatives actually win the split test.

Once the data becomes statistically clear, underperforming ads can be paused so the stronger variations receive more traffic.

When ads stop serving due to approval issues

Sometimes performance drops for a much simpler reason: ads stop running.

Disapproved ads or assets can quietly disrupt delivery across campaigns.

The Report on Disapproved Ads and Assets script helps surface these issues quickly.

When landing pages receive traffic but struggle to convert

Sometimes the ads perform well. CTR looks healthy, traffic flows into the campaign, but conversions remain low.

In many cases, the problem sits on the landing page.

Landing Page Analysis helps identify which pages receive traffic but produce weaker conversion rates.

Once those pages appear, they become clear candidates for optimization.

B: Bidding

The final stage of the STAB framework focuses on bidding.

At this point, you have reviewed spend, targeting, and messaging. If performance still falls short, the issue may lie in how aggressively your campaigns compete in the auction.

Bidding strategies can support growth or quietly limit it.

For example, a campaign may perform well but show low impression share because the bidding targets remain too restrictive. In other cases, campaigns gather enough conversion data to support automated bidding.

Ask these questions:

• Do campaigns have enough conversion data for automation?
• Do current tCPA or tROAS targets restrict volume?
• Does impression share drop due to ad rank?

The goal here is not constant bid changes. Instead, confirm that the bidding strategy supports the results you want.

How Optmyzr can help diagnose bidding issues

1. When campaigns are limited by restrictive tCPA or tROAS targets

Sometimes campaigns perform well but struggle to scale because bidding targets are set too aggressively.

Optimize Target CPA helps identify campaigns where relaxing the target could increase volume without dramatically hurting efficiency.

Similarly, Optimize Target ROAS evaluates campaigns where ROAS targets may be limiting spend or impression share.

These recommendations help find the balance between efficiency and growth.

2. When campaigns may be ready for automated bidding

As campaigns gather more conversion data, manual bidding may no longer be the most effective approach.

Using Rule Engine, you can flag campaigns once they reach a conversion threshold that makes them suitable for automated bidding strategies like Max Conversions or Max Conversion Value.

This helps identify when campaigns have matured enough to benefit from automation.

3. When bids need time-of-day optimization

Conversion rates often vary throughout the day.

Hour of Week Analysis analyzes performance by hour and day, then recommends bid adjustments to prioritize the most valuable time periods.

This helps allocate budget toward the hours most likely to convert.

4. When keywords sit below the first page bid estimate

Some keywords perform well but rarely appear because their bids fall below Google’s first page estimate.

First Page Bridger highlights these keywords so you can decide whether raising bids could unlock more impressions.

This is particularly useful in Manual CPC campaigns.

Test the STAB framework in Optmyzr

The strength of Aaron Young’s STAB framework lies in its simplicity. Instead of chasing dozens of optimization tasks or getting lost in metrics, it gives you a clear structure for diagnosing performance issues in Google Ads.

If you’d like to explore more practical strategies like this, check out Aaron Young’s YouTube channel, where he regularly shares insights and walkthroughs on improving Google Ads performance.

And if you want to try the tools mentioned throughout this guide, start a fully-functional 14-day trial today!