What Smart Campaigns Are
Smart Campaigns are Google’s fully automated campaign type for small businesses. You pick keyword themes (broad categories like “bakery” or “dentist”), set a budget, write a few lines of ad copy, and Google handles everything else—targeting, bidding, placements, and optimization. Location settings show your ads to people in your area or searching for your area.
via Google Ads YouTube channel
When They Make Sense
Smart Campaigns are designed for a sole proprietor or small business owner who has no advertising experience and no time to learn. If the alternative is no advertising at all, Smart Campaigns are better than nothing. Google handles the complexity, and the barrier to entry is close to zero.
When They Waste Money
Smart Campaigns give you almost zero control and almost zero visibility. You cannot see individual search terms, set negative keywords, choose match types, adjust bids by device or time of day, or control which websites display your ads. The keyword theme “bakery” might match searches for “bakery job openings” or “bakery equipment wholesale”—neither of which is your customer.
If you are spending more than $1,000 per month, you should be running Expert Mode campaigns. "Digital marketing strategy planning
