Top 7 Mistakes Businesses Make When Running Google Ads

Google Ads can be a game-changer, but for many businesses, it feels like a money pit. The truth is, while the platform is incredibly powerful, it’s also easy to get wrong. You can be spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars without seeing a single sale or qualified lead. The difference between success and failure often comes down to avoiding a few common, yet critical, mistakes.

If you’ve ever felt frustrated with your Google Ads performance, this guide is for you. Here are the top seven mistakes businesses make and how to fix them, so you can start seeing a real return on your investment.

1. Not Defining Your Campaign Goals

This is the most fundamental mistake you can make. Many businesses start a campaign with a vague goal like “get more sales.” But “more sales” is not a measurable campaign objective within Google Ads.

• Why It’s a Mistake: Without a clear, measurable goal, you can’t optimize your campaign or determine its success. You’re simply throwing money at clicks without a plan.
• The Fix: Before you even choose a keyword, define your primary objective. Is it to drive traffic, increase phone calls, get a form submission, or make a direct purchase? Each of these goals requires a different campaign setup and bidding strategy.

2. Ignoring Keyword Match Types

Keywords are the foundation of your campaign, but how you use them matters. Google offers three main match types: broad, phrase, and exact. Using only broad match can lead to huge amounts of wasted ad spend.

• Why It’s a Mistake: Broad match keywords show your ad for loosely related searches. For example, if you use “web design” as a broad match keyword, your ad might show up for “web design courses” or “web design jobs”—searches from people who aren’t looking to hire a company.
• The Fix: Be strategic. Start with phrase match for more control, and use exact match for your most valuable, high-intent keywords. Use broad match sparingly and only with negative keywords to filter out irrelevant searches.

3. Sending All Traffic to Your Homepage

Your homepage is a general hub for your entire business. It’s not designed to sell a specific product or service.

• Why It’s a Mistake: When a user clicks your ad for “men’s leather wallets” and lands on your generic homepage, they have to navigate to find the product they were interested in. This adds friction and often leads to a high bounce rate.
• The Fix: Create a dedicated landing page for each ad group. This page should be highly relevant to the user’s search query, focusing on a single product or service with a clear CTA. The goal of the landing page is simple: convert the visitor.

4. Writing Weak and Uncompelling Ad Copy

Your ad copy is your chance to stand out from competitors. Generic, boring copy won’t attract clicks.

• Why It’s a Mistake: If your ad copy doesn’t speak to the user’s need or problem, they have no reason to click. A weak headline or a lack of a clear value proposition is a wasted opportunity.
• The Fix: Use compelling headlines that grab attention. Focus on the benefits, not just the features. Include your primary keyword and a strong CTA like “Get a Free Quote” or “Shop Now.” Don’t forget to highlight what makes you unique, whether it’s free shipping, a 24/7 support line, or a special discount.

5. Ignoring Your Quality Score

Your Quality Score is a metric from 1-10 that Google uses to measure the relevance of your keywords, ad copy, and landing page. A higher score means lower ad costs and better ad placement.

• Why It’s a Mistake: A low Quality Score can kill your campaign. It means you’ll have to pay more for each click to rank, while your competitors with higher scores pay less.
• The Fix: Improve your Quality Score by ensuring your keywords, ad copy, and landing page content are highly relevant to each other. Use a dedicated landing page for each ad group, and make sure your ad copy is compelling and keyword-rich.

6. Not Using Ad Extensions

Ad extensions are extra pieces of information you can add to your ad, such as phone numbers, location details, additional links, and more.

• Why It’s a Mistake: Ad extensions increase your ad’s visibility and give users more ways to interact with your business, all at no extra cost. Not using them means you’re missing out on free real estate on the search results page.
• The Fix: Use extensions relevant to your business. Common ones include Sitelink Extensions (links to other pages), Callout Extensions (highlights benefits like “Free Shipping”), and Location Extensions (shows your address).

7. Failing to Track Conversions

This is the number one reason businesses lose money on Google Ads. Without conversion tracking, you have no idea which keywords, ads, or campaigns are actually making you money.

• Why It’s a Mistake: You’re flying blind. You might be getting clicks, but if none of them are turning into leads or sales, your money is being wasted. You can’t optimize what you can’t measure.
• The Fix: Set up conversion tracking immediately. This can be as simple as adding a piece of code to your website that fires when a user completes a desired action, like filling out a form or making a purchase. This data is essential for calculating your ROI.

Avoiding these common mistakes is the fastest way to turn your struggling Google Ads campaign into a profitable marketing channel.