Stop Wasting Your Ad Budget – Fix These Google Ads Mistakes

Stop Wasting Your Ad Budget – Fix These Google Ads Mistakes

1. You’re Targeting the Wrong Keywords

If you’re targeting broad or irrelevant keywords, you might be attracting a lot of clicks, but from people who aren’t actually interested in your product or service.

For example: If you sell handmade leather wallets but you're bidding on “leather,” you’re opening the floodgates to people looking for jackets, furniture, or even just leather care tips. Waste of clicks, Isn’t it?

Fix it:

• Use long-tail keywords that are specific to what you offer.

• Regularly review your Search Terms Report.

• Add negative keywords to filter out junk traffic.

2. Your Ads Aren’t Matching Search Intent

Imagine this, Someone Googles best yoga mats for beginners and your ad pops up for Premium Fitness Equipment – 40% Off. See the mismatch? If your ad doesn’t speak directly to the user's intent, it gets ignored or worse, clicked and then abandoned.

Fix it:
Craft ad copy that speaks to exactly what people are searching for. Use their language, answer their query, and highlight what makes your offering the solution they need.

3. Your Landing Page is Letting You Down

You’ve written the perfect ad. The user clicks and ends up on a page that takes forever to load, looks like it was made in 2010, or worse, doesn’t even talk about the thing you advertised. Your landing page will be an issue. If it’s not optimized, you’re burning money.

Fix it:

• Make sure your landing page is fast, mobile-friendly, and relevant.

• Keep the design clean, with a clear CTA.

• Match your landing page content to the ad message.

4. You’re Not Using Ad Extensions

Ad extensions are free real estate on the SERP. They make your ad bigger, more informative, and more clickable. Yet, so many campaigns run without them!

Fix it:
Use all relevant ad extensions:

• Sitelink extensions (extra links to different pages)

• Callout extensions (extra text highlights like “Free Shipping”)

• Structured snippets, call extensions, and location extensions if relevant

5. Your Budget Is Too Low (or Too High in the Wrong Places)

Budget always matters. But it’s not just about how much you spend, it’s where you spend it. Spreading your budget too thin across multiple campaigns? You’ll struggle to gain traction. Pumping too much into the wrong keyword? You’re just buying expensive regrets.

Fix it:

• Focus your budget on high-performing campaigns.

• Start small, test, and scale based on results.

• Use automated bidding if you’re unsure about manual bids.

6. You're Ignoring Data (Or Not Tracking Anything)

How do you know what's working if you're not measuring it? If you haven’t set up conversion tracking, you’re flying blind.

Fix it:

• Install Google Ads conversion tracking and Google Analytics.

• Set up goals, like form submissions, calls, purchases.

• Use data to refine your strategy and budget allocation.

Don’t just set it and forget it. Dive into your reports weekly!

7. Your Quality Score is Trashing Your Performance

Google rewards relevance. If your ad, keyword, and landing page don’t all align, your Quality Score drops and your cost-per-click (CPC) goes up.

Fix it:

• Ensure tight relevance between keywords, ads, and landing pages.

• Improve click-through rates with better copy.

• Speed up your landing page and enhance the user experience.

8. Your Audience Targeting Is Too Broad (or Too Narrow)

Trying to reach everyone? You’ll reach no one. Going too niche? You might not reach enough people to make an impact.

Fix it:

• Use audience insights to refine your targeting.

• Experiment with remarketing, in-market audiences, and custom segments.

• Combine keyword and audience targeting for laser-focused ads.

9. You’re Not Testing Anything

Running the same ad forever is like wearing the same shirt to every party, eventually, it just doesn’t work.

Fix it:

• A/B test your headlines, descriptions, CTAs, and visuals (if running Display ads).

• Rotate ads and let Google optimize for best performance.

• Refresh creatives regularly to avoid ad fatigue.

10. You Need Expert Help

Sometimes, the issue isn’t the platform, it’s the lack of time, strategy, or expertise. Running Google Ads looks easy, but behind the scenes, it needs regular monitoring, testing, and tweaking. That’s where the pros come in. 

Final Destination

Google Ads can be a game-changer, but only if it’s done right. Whether it’s targeting, tracking, or creative, small missteps can lead to big losses. The good news? Most of these problems have simple fixes. So take a step back, review your campaigns, and tweak what’s not working.

If you're tired of guessing and want actual results, it might be time to call in the best digital marketing agency in Kochi. We’ve helped businesses of all sizes make the most of their ad budgets, not just on Google, but also through Social Media Marketing in Kochi and beyond. So Connect with Mantra Now..