- Google Ads
- optimisation
- method
Why your Google Ads campaign isn't working: the causes, in order
A Google Ads campaign that spends without results almost always has one of these six causes. Where to look first, and what the dashboard doesn't show.
Published on · Joh · 6 min read
On Google, people are looking for you. That is the advantage of this kind of advertising over every other: the demand already exists. So when a campaign spends and brings nothing in, it is frustrating, and the reaction is almost always the same: raise the bids, or add keywords.
That is rarely the right lead. Here are the causes I find most often, in the order I look for them.
1. The searches are the wrong ones
This is cause number one, and it doesn't show in the keyword list. It shows in the search terms: what people actually typed before clicking. You often find "plumber salary", "electrician training", "how to unblock a drain yourself", "free". Every one of those clicks is paid for, and none will become a customer.
On the accounts I take over, job, training and DIY searches go into negative keywords from launch, then every week when I read the search terms. It is never-ending work, and it is the one that saves the most money.
2. The ad and the page don't say the same thing
The ad promises "on site within the hour", the click lands on the home page, which talks about the company's history. The person looks, doesn't find it, leaves. Google sees that, and charges you more for the next clicks. A landing page that repeats the ad's promise often changes more than a new bid.
3. Conversions aren't counted
Many tradespeople get calls from Google Ads without the account knowing. If calls and forms aren't reported, Google doesn't know what works, and its automated bidding optimises at random. Before saying a campaign brings nothing in, you need to be sure you can count what it brings in.
4. Area and hours
A campaign shown 60 km away when you work within 20, or at night when nobody answers after 7 pm. These are simple settings, often left on default, that make you pay for clicks you can never serve.
5. Automated bidding without data
Google's automated strategies need conversions to learn. On a small account with three a month, they fumble around, and they fumble around with your money. The right setting depends on conversion volume, not on what Google recommends by default. How much budget to plan.
6. Performance Max spending elsewhere
Performance Max runs on search, but also on YouTube, Gmail and partner sites. Without guardrails, a large share of the budget can go on placements that look nothing like someone searching for a plumber.
What the dashboard doesn't tell you
A high cost per click can come from competition, the page or the ad. A low conversion rate can come from the page, the searches or the tracking. A single number never points to the cause: you have to follow the journey back, from the search typed to the signed customer.
And sometimes the conclusion is that Google isn't the right channel for your trade, because nobody searches for what you sell. Meta or Google, depending on your business.
Further reading: SEA, explained simply and Google Ads agency or freelancer.
Is your Google Ads campaign spending without results? Book a free 30-minute call, and we'll open your search terms together.