In this article, common Google Ads mistakes that lead to wasted budget and poor performance are identified, spanning issues with tracking, keywords, campaign settings, automation, and budget allocation. For each mistake, practical and easy-to-implement solutions are provided, empowering advertisers to optimize their accounts, enhance results, and maximize their Google Ads investment.
We’ve all been there. You jump into a Google Ads account, ready to work your magic, only to find it’s a mess. Over the years, I’ve audited many accounts, and a few recurring errors keep showing up. These aren’t small issues; they often waste your budget and hurt performance. Let’s look at the common Google Ads mistakes I see and how to fix them.
The Basics: Getting Them Right (or Wrong!)
- Conversion Tracking? More Like Guessing: Many accounts have inconsistent conversion tracking. If your tracking is bad, all your data is wrong. This means you’ll make bad choices based on bad info.
Fix: Check your conversion tracking. Make sure all key actions (form fills, sales, calls, etc.) are tracked correctly on your site and in Google Ads. Use Google Tag Assistant to check. - Ignoring Exact Match: It’s easy to forget about exact match. But it’s still strong. In 2024, Optmyzr found that exact match keywords usually have the highest ROAS and CTR, showing they are precise and relevant. Exact match connects you with people searching for exactly what you offer. This often leads to better conversions and cost control.
Fix: Use exact match for your main, high-intent keywords to reach the right people. - Bad Campaign Settings: Quick checks often show wrong campaign settings. This means you might be showing ads in the wrong areas, at the wrong times (like when you’re closed!), or on the wrong websites (like showing search ads on the Display Network by accident). These basics must be right.
Fix: Check your campaign settings often. Make sure your targeting fits your customers, your ad times match your business hours, and your network choice fits your goals.
Keywords: Taming the Search Term Jungle
- Missing Your Best Performers: Do you know the search terms that bring conversions? Are you bidding on them as exact or phrase match? Often, no! WordStream notes that even with different match types, you’ll likely match irrelevant searches. Finding these gems in your search term reports is key.
Fix: Check your search term reports often. Find high-converting searches and add them as exact or phrase match keywords for better control. - The Broad Match Trap: Broad match can help you find new things, but without care and negative keywords, it wastes money on irrelevant searches. Search Engine Land warns against using broad match without target CPA/ROAS bidding, as Google has too much freedom without a clear goal.
Fix: If you use broad match, use strong negative keyword lists and watch your search terms to block bad matches. Think about using Target CPA or ROAS bidding to guide Google. - Negative Keywords: Unintentionally Limiting Your Reach: This is common. Old, bad, or no negative keyword lists are frequent. Search changes, so should your negatives. Things change over time, so when you add new keywords, make sure your old negative keywords aren’t blocking them.
Fix: Check and update your negative keyword lists often. Think about irrelevant terms that might trigger your ads and add them at the campaign and account levels.
Automation: Using It Wisely
- Blindly Following Google’s Advice: Google’s Recommendations can help, but they aren’t always best for you. Google’s recommendations are sometimes in your best interest. They are always in Google’s best interest. Always think about how suggestions fit your goals.
Fix: Look at recommendations carefully. Understand the impact before using them, and don’t be afraid to ignore those that don’t fit your plan. - The Auto-Apply Trap: This feature can cause big problems if you aren’t careful. I’ve seen Google’s auto-apply settings wreck accounts before. It can make changes you don’t want, hurting good campaigns.
Fix: Unless you have a good reason and watch it closely, it’s best to keep auto-apply off and control changes yourself. - AI is a Tool, Not a Genius: Smart Bidding and other AI tools are strong, but they don’t replace strategy. I strongly warn against “pairing Smart Bidding with the wrong goal. You need to match your bidding to your real business aims.
Fix: Understand how Smart Bidding works and pick the right strategy for your goals. Watch performance and don’t just rely on automation without your own checks and changes.
Ads and Budget: Getting the Most for Your Money
- Old Ad Copy: Are your ads the same as months ago? In PPC, that hurts clicks. Not having an ad copy testing strategy can hurt your results in a real way. Testing ads helps you find what people like, improve your Quality Scores, and get more clicks and conversions.
Fix: Test your ads regularly. Create new versions with different headlines, descriptions, and calls to action. Check the results and improve your best ads. - Underfunded Campaigns: You can’t get big results with a tiny daily budget. If your daily budget is too low, Google can’t get the results you need to prove your ad spend is worthwhile. If your budget often stops your ads from showing for good searches, you’re losing conversions and data.
Fix: Make sure your daily budgets let your ads show for relevant searches all day. Check your potential reach and raise budgets so you aren’t limited.
In Conclusion:
These aren’t hard, advanced tricks. These basic best practices are often missed. If you look for and understand these common Google Ads problems, you can greatly improve your campaigns and avoid wasting money. Stop the leaks, fix these problems with the advice given, and watch your results get better.
