You can put together a useful Google Ads toolkit without starting a collection of monthly subscriptions. The trick is deciding what needs doing before looking for something to install.
I'd start with four jobs: research the demand, make the changes, check the tracking, and report what happened. A tool needs to earn its place in one of those jobs. Otherwise, congratulations, you've found another tab to leave open :D
This is a starter kit and a decision guide, not a claim that I've tested every free tool on the internet.
The free Google Ads toolkit at a glance
| Job | Starting point | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Research Search campaign keywords | Google Keyword Planner | Estimates need business context; account setup is required |
| Prepare bulk account changes | Google Ads Editor | Download recent changes and review before posting |
| Manage and check website tags | Google Tag Manager | Configuration still needs a proper test |
| Build a simple performance report | Data Studio, formerly Looker Studio | Check connectors and any separate data costs |
| Repeat a very specific account check | A suitable Google Ads script | Someone must own the code and its output |
These tools cover different parts of the work. Installing all of them does not give you a strategy, and you don't need to use every one just because the price looks friendly.
Google Keyword Planner: start with the customer's problem
Google Keyword Planner is a sensible starting point for Search campaign research. Google's documentation describes keyword suggestions, search estimates and forecasts, and says you need to complete account setup, including billing information, to access basic keyword suggestions. Don't confuse a tool without a separate subscription with anonymous access. Google's access requirements.
Before opening it, write down what the business sells, where it sells it, and what a useful enquiry looks like. Then separate clear buying intent from searches that are merely related to the topic.
For a hypothetical emergency plumber, “boiler repair near me” and “how a boiler works” belong in different conversations. A search estimate doesn't tell you whether the person needs a technician or is helping their kid with homework.
Use the tool to expand and question your starting list. Keep the commercial judgement with the business. If you need other research options, browse the keyword research tools.
Google Ads Editor: make repetitive edits reviewable
Google Ads Editor is Google's free desktop application for downloading accounts, preparing edits offline and uploading changes. It supports bulk editing and sharing proposed changes through exported files. Google Ads Editor overview.
That makes it worth considering when the job is mechanical. Think replacing a landing page URL across a defined group of ads, or preparing a campaign structure for someone else to inspect.
My suggested workflow is to download the latest account state, make one clearly defined batch of changes, inspect a sample and the total affected count, then post the reviewed batch. Keep unrelated jobs separate so the review has a fighting chance.
If the task is “change these URLs”, you probably don't need a new optimisation platform to do it. You need a clear list of URLs and a way to check the change.
Google Tag Manager: useful plumbing still needs checking
Google Tag Manager gives you a central place to manage website tags. Google offers a free version with preview and debugging features. Google Tag Manager overview.
The work around the tool matters just as much. Write down the event you want to measure and the exact user action that should trigger it. Test the successful path, a failed submission and a repeat action before treating the numbers as meaningful.
For example, if a lead form shows a thank-you message without navigating to a new page, “someone opened the contact page” is a poor substitute for “someone submitted the form successfully”. A tidy container cannot make those two actions equivalent.
The free web tool also doesn't mean every related service is free. Implementation help, hosting for a server-side setup and other services are separate decisions. Start with the measurement problem and work out the required setup from there.
Data Studio: build the report around a decision
You might still know this as Looker Studio, which is the name in our imported directory listing. Google brought back the Data Studio name in April 2026 and continues to offer a no-cost edition alongside Pro. Google's naming and edition announcement.
I'd begin with one page: the outcome, the spend associated with it, the meaningful change, and what needs attention. Pick the numbers that support the conversation you need to have.
For a lead generation account, that might mean showing qualified leads alongside platform-reported conversions. If you only have the latter, label it honestly. Don't turn a form submission into a sale by giving the chart a more confident title.
Check the cost and availability of your required data connections before committing to a reporting setup. A free report builder and a paid connector can happily exist in the same workflow.
The reporting category has more options when the simple setup stops being enough.
Scripts: add one when you can name the repeatable job
A script can be a useful next step when you keep doing the same narrowly defined check. Start with a report or alert you can compare against a manual check before considering account changes.
A good task description sounds like: “Every Monday, produce a list of these accounts with yesterday's spend and the expected threshold.” “Optimise everything automatically” is a much harder thing to verify.
Browse scripts and automation tools, then read the setup instructions and maintenance notes for the specific script. Some scripts are paid, some are free, and a directory entry is not a guarantee that a script fits your account.
The scripts versus PPC software guide covers that decision in more detail.
When paying for a PPC tool makes sense
Try this small exercise before signing up:
- Name the task and record how often it happens.
- Time the current process, including checking the result.
- Trial the alternative on the same task.
- Include setup, review and maintenance in the comparison.
- Decide who owns it if the original person is away.
As a hypothetical example, saving two hours a month at an internal planning rate of €60 per hour gives you €120 of time value to compare with the cost. It is a planning assumption, not cash automatically appearing in the bank.
A paid tool can be worthwhile when it makes a repeated job easier to run, review and hand over. Start with the free options in the directory, find the gap, and pay for the gap you can describe.
