Google Ads can be a powerful tool for businesses seeking immediate results and measurable growth. However, common mistakes often lead to wasted budgets and disappointing returns. Here are the top 7 Google Ads mistakes that could be killing your ROI—and how you can fix them.
Why it hurts: Without accurate conversion tracking, you have no real way to measure which ads, keywords, or campaigns are actually delivering results. This leads to guesswork and wasted investment.
How to avoid it:
Set up conversion tracking for every campaign.
Regularly audit your tracking setup to ensure consistent attribution methods and correct event measurement.
Use Google Tag Manager or similar tools for more robust tracking.
Why it hurts: Broad match keywords can trigger your ads for loosely related search terms, resulting in irrelevant clicks and wasted spend.
How to avoid it:
Pair broad match keywords with a detailed list of negative keywords.
Test using exact and phrase match keywords to increase relevance and control costs.
Why it hurts: Not excluding irrelevant search terms means you'll pay for clicks from users with little-to-no intent to buy from you.
How to avoid it:
Build and maintain a robust negative keyword list.
Review search terms regularly to identify new negatives.
Use tools to automate negative keyword discovery and proactively protect your budget.
Why it hurts: Running ads across too wide a geographic area means serving impressions to people who are unlikely to become customers, wasting precious ad dollars.
How to avoid it:
Set your location targeting at the campaign level and use “Presence” instead of “Presence or Interest” for local campaigns.
Exclude regions where your product or service is not offered.
Regularly audit your location settings.
Why it hurts: The majority of searches now happen on mobile devices. Ads or landing pages not optimized for mobile lead to poor user experience and low conversion rates.
How to avoid it:
Ensure your ads and landing pages are fully responsive.
Use bid adjustments for mobile when performance data justifies it.
Test how your ads appear and function across different devices.
Why it hurts: Google’s automated “optimization” suggestions often work in Google's interest, not yours. Blindly applying all recommendations can harm account performance.
How to avoid it:
Turn off auto-apply for recommendations.
Carefully review each recommendation, accepting only those that align with your specific goals and metrics.
Why it hurts: Stale or generic ad copy fails to engage your audience or differentiate you from competitors, reducing click-through and conversion rates.
How to avoid it:
Continuously A/B test headlines, descriptions, CTAs, and creatives.
Incorporate audience pain points and value propositions in your copy.
Use ad extensions to boost engagement and provide more information.
Avoid these common Google Ads mistakes to ensure that every dollar spent is contributing to your business goals. With careful monitoring, strategic testing, and ongoing optimization, you can transform wasted spend into substantial ROI gains.