OpenClaw for Google Ads: Complete Setup Guide + 10 Ready-Made Skills

Step 01

Install OpenClaw

Install OpenClaw globally via npm, then start the daemon service. The daemon runs in the background and keeps OpenClaw available 24/7 — even after you close your terminal. Installation requires Node.js 18 or later (check with node --version).

If the version prints correctly, you are ready for step 2. On macOS, you may need to grant terminal accessibility permissions.

Step 02

Configure MCP for Google Ads

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is the bridge between OpenClaw and your Google Ads account. Open the config file at ~/.openclaw/config.json and add your Google Ads API credentials. You need four values: developer token, OAuth client ID, client secret, and refresh token. All four are free from the Google Ads API console.

Tip: Start with read-only API scopes. You can add write permissions later once you trust the setup. This prevents accidental bid changes during testing.

Step 03

Add skills to your workspace

Clone the marketing skills repository from GitHub and copy the .md files into your OpenClaw skills folder. Each file teaches OpenClaw one Google Ads task. The 10 skills below are included in the repo — or you can create your own by writing a markdown file with instructions.

You should see 10 .md files listed. If the skills folder does not exist, create it with mkdir -p ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/.

Step 04

Connect WhatsApp or Telegram

Link your preferred messaging app so you can interact with OpenClaw from your phone. Run the connect command and scan the QR code that appears. Once linked, every message you send to the OpenClaw contact triggers the agent.

WhatsApp uses WhatsApp Web authentication. Telegram uses Bot API. Both work equally well — pick whichever app you check more often.

Step 05

Run your first audit

Send a message to OpenClaw through your connected app. If everything is configured correctly, OpenClaw will pull live data from your Google Ads account via MCP, run the audit skill, and return a prioritized list of issues with specific dollar amounts.

Expect the first audit to take 30–60 seconds as OpenClaw pulls and processes your campaign data. Subsequent requests are faster because the agent caches account structure.

Skill 01

Wasted Spend Audit

Scans every search term that spent money without converting in the last 30 days. Outputs a ranked list of wasted terms with exact dollar amounts and recommended negative match types. Google’s own benchmarks show 28% of search ad clicks come from irrelevant queries — this skill finds them in under 2 minutes.

Skill 02

CPA Diagnosis

Identifies the root cause when your cost per acquisition spikes. Checks 6 common causes systematically: bid strategy drift, search term leakage, Quality Score drops, competitor entry, landing page degradation, and audience saturation. Returns severity ratings and estimated CPA impact of each fix.

Skill 03

Quality Score Check

Pulls Quality Score data for all keywords and breaks it into three components: expected CTR, ad relevance, and landing page experience. Identifies which keywords have the highest improvement potential — a 1-point QS increase reduces CPC by 13% on average. Outputs a fix-priority list sorted by spend impact.

Skill 04

Search Term Analysis

Analyzes your search terms report to find high-intent queries you are not bidding on and low-intent queries bleeding budget. Groups terms by intent category (transactional, informational, navigational) and recommends which to add as exact-match keywords and which to negative. Accounts averaging $50K+/month in spend typically uncover 15–30 missed opportunities per audit.

Skill 05

Negative Keyword Mining

Goes deeper than the wasted spend audit. Cross-references your search terms against your product catalog, landing pages, and competitor terms to find patterns of irrelevant traffic. Builds a structured negative keyword list organized by match type (exact, phrase, broad) and campaign. Marketers who run this monthly recover 8–15% of their total ad spend.

Skill 06

Budget Reallocation

Analyzes spend efficiency across all campaigns and recommends specific dollar shifts from underperformers to top performers. Uses marginal CPA analysis — not just average CPA — to avoid the common mistake of over-funding campaigns that have already hit diminishing returns. Outputs exact amounts to move, not percentages.

Skill 07

Ad Copy Generator

Generates responsive search ad (RSA) variations based on your top-performing headlines and descriptions. Analyzes which messaging angles drive the highest CTR and conversion rates in your account, then produces new combinations that maintain those patterns while testing fresh angles. Includes character-count validation for all Google Ads headline (30 char) and description (90 char) limits.

Skill 08

Weekly Report

Generates a structured weekly performance summary and sends it via WhatsApp or Telegram every Monday at a scheduled time. Covers spend, conversions, CPA, ROAS, top 3 wins, top 3 concerns, and 3–5 action items for the coming week. Written in plain language for stakeholders who are not PPC experts. Replaces 2–3 hours of manual reporting.

Skill 09

Anomaly Alert

Monitors key metrics (CPC, CPA, CTR, conversion rate, spend) against rolling 30-day baselines and sends an alert when any metric deviates by more than 2 standard deviations. Catches problems that daily check-ins miss: gradual CPC creep, slow conversion rate decay, or sudden impression share loss. Most anomalies go unnoticed for 7–14 days without automated detection.

Skill 10

Competitor Analysis

Pulls auction insights data and identifies your top competitors by overlap rate, position-above rate, and impression share gap. Recommends where to increase aggression (you are close to winning), where to defend (competitors gaining share), and where to retreat (not cost-effective to compete). Includes estimated budget needed to close each competitive gap.