Google Ads promises targeted traffic, qualified leads, and measurable return on investment. Yet countless businesses find themselves pouring money into campaigns that simply don’t deliver. You’ve set up your ads, watched your budget disappear, and wondered why the phone isn’t ringing and the enquiries aren’t flowing. The frustration is real, and you’re not alone—but the good news is that most Google Ads problems have identifiable causes and fixable solutions.
Understanding why your Google Ads aren’t working requires looking beyond surface-level metrics and examining the entire customer journey from search to conversion. Let’s explore the most common reasons campaigns underperform and, more importantly, how to fix them.
You’re Targeting the Wrong Keywords
One of the most frequent mistakes in Google Ads campaigns is poor keyword selection. Many businesses either target keywords that are too broad, too competitive, or simply not aligned with what their customers actually search for.
Broad keywords like “marketing” or “plumber” might generate impressions, but they’re expensive and often attract irrelevant clicks. Someone searching “marketing” could be looking for a university course, a job, or marketing services—and you’re paying for all those clicks regardless of intent. Conversely, targeting only branded terms (your company name) means you’re paying for people who were already looking specifically for you.
The Fix: Conduct thorough keyword research focusing on intent. Look for keywords that indicate someone is ready to buy or enquire, such as “emergency plumber in Essex” or “digital marketing agency near me.” Use Google’s Keyword Planner to identify search volumes and competition levels. Include a mix of broader terms (for awareness) and specific long-tail keywords (for conversion). Most importantly, use negative keywords extensively to exclude irrelevant searches. If you’re a residential plumber, add “jobs,” “courses,” and “salary” as negative keywords to avoid wasting money on job-seekers.
Your Ad Copy Isn’t Compelling Enough
Even with perfect keywords, weak ad copy will kill your campaign’s performance. If your ads look identical to every competitor’s, or if they’re vague and generic, potential customers have no reason to click on yours rather than someone else’s.
Many businesses write ad copy that focuses on what they do rather than what problems they solve or benefits they deliver. “We provide digital marketing services” tells customers nothing compelling. It doesn’t differentiate you, address their pain points, or give them a reason to choose you over the next ad in the list.
The Fix: Write ad copy that speaks directly to your customer’s needs and clearly differentiates your offering. Highlight specific benefits, unique selling points, or special offers. Use numbers and specifics where possible—”15 Years’ Experience” or “Same-Day Service Available” are more compelling than vague claims. Include emotional triggers and urgency where appropriate. Test multiple ad variations to see which messaging resonates most strongly with your audience. Ensure your headline directly addresses the search query, and use ad extensions (callouts, sitelinks, structured snippets) to provide additional information and take up more screen space.
Your Landing Page Doesn’t Match Your Ad
Perhaps the most critical—and most overlooked—element of Google Ads success is the landing page experience. You might have perfect keywords and brilliant ad copy, but if people click through to a generic homepage or a page that doesn’t deliver on your ad’s promise, they’ll leave immediately. Google tracks this behaviour through metrics like bounce rate and time on site, and poor landing page experiences increase your costs whilst decreasing your ad positions.
A disconnect between your ad and landing page creates confusion and erodes trust. If your ad promises “Free Quote on Kitchen Installations” but your landing page is a general services page with no mention of free quotes or a clear way to request one, visitors feel misled.
The Fix: Create dedicated landing pages for each ad group or campaign that directly align with your ad copy and the user’s search intent. If your ad promotes a specific service, the landing page should focus exclusively on that service. Include a clear, prominent call-to-action that matches your ad’s promise. Remove navigation menus and other distractions that might lead visitors away from converting. Ensure the page loads quickly (under three seconds), works perfectly on mobile devices, and provides all the information someone needs to make a decision. Include trust signals like testimonials, accreditations, and guarantees. The landing page should feel like a natural, seamless continuation of the ad experience.
Your Budget Is Too Small or Poorly Allocated
Google Ads requires sufficient budget to gather meaningful data and compete effectively. Many businesses set arbitrary daily budgets without considering their industry’s cost-per-click rates or the budget needed to generate statistically significant results.
If your daily budget is £10 but your average cost-per-click is £8, you’re getting one or two clicks per day—nowhere near enough to optimise your campaigns or generate consistent leads. Additionally, spreading a limited budget across too many campaigns or ad groups means none of them receive enough investment to perform well.
The Fix: Research realistic cost-per-click rates in your industry and location. Calculate how much you can afford to pay for a customer acquisition (considering your profit margins and lifetime customer value) and work backwards to determine an appropriate budget. If you can only afford a small budget, focus it on a narrow set of high-intent keywords rather than spreading it thin across multiple campaigns. Consider starting with a larger budget initially to gather data quickly, then optimise and potentially reduce spend once you’ve identified what works. Be prepared to invest properly—Google Ads isn’t a platform where you can achieve significant results with minimal investment.
You’re Not Tracking Conversions Properly
Astonishingly, many businesses run Google Ads campaigns without proper conversion tracking in place. They can see clicks and costs but have no idea which keywords, ads, or campaigns actually generate enquiries, phone calls, or sales. Without this data, you’re essentially flying blind—you can’t optimise campaigns because you don’t know what’s working.
Some businesses track only website conversions whilst ignoring phone calls, which can account for a significant portion of leads, particularly in service industries. Others track all form submissions equally, not distinguishing between valuable enquiries and spam or irrelevant contacts.
The Fix: Set up comprehensive conversion tracking immediately. Install Google Ads conversion tracking code on your website to track form submissions, phone calls, and other valuable actions. Use Google Analytics to gain deeper insights into user behaviour and conversion paths. Track different conversion types separately so you can see which campaigns drive phone calls versus form enquiries. Import offline conversions if customers often enquire online but purchase or book offline. Once tracking is in place, give your campaigns time to gather sufficient data (at least 30-50 conversions) before making major changes. Use this data to focus budget on high-performing keywords and pause underperforming elements.
You’re Targeting Too Broad a Geographic Area
Location targeting mistakes often cause campaigns to underperform, particularly for local businesses. Targeting an entire country when you only serve a specific region wastes budget on clicks from people you can never convert into customers.
Even if you specify a location, Google’s default settings include people “interested in” your target location, not just those physically located there. This means you might pay for clicks from someone in London researching services in Manchester, even though you only serve Manchester and they have no intention of using your services.
The Fix: Carefully configure your location settings to target only areas you actually serve. For local businesses, use radius targeting around your service area rather than selecting entire regions. Go into advanced location settings and change from “presence or interest” to “presence only”—this ensures you’re only targeting people actually located in your target area. Consider adjusting bids based on location performance, increasing investment in postcodes that convert well whilst reducing spend on areas that don’t. Create separate campaigns for different service areas if your business model or services vary by location.
You’re Not Being Patient Enough
Google Ads isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it platform, but neither is it something you should constantly tinker with. Many businesses make dramatic changes too quickly, before gathering sufficient data to make informed decisions. Conversely, some set up campaigns and never touch them, missing opportunities for optimisation and improvement.
Google’s algorithms need time to learn and optimise, particularly with automated bidding strategies. Making major changes every few days resets this learning process and prevents campaigns from reaching their potential.
The Fix: Allow campaigns to run for at least two to four weeks before making significant changes (unless something is obviously broken). Make one change at a time so you can attribute performance improvements or declines to specific actions. Review performance weekly but only make adjustments when you have statistically significant data supporting the change. Focus on incremental improvements rather than complete campaign overhauls. Keep detailed notes about changes you make and when, so you can understand what works and what doesn’t over time.
Moving Forward
Most Google Ads problems aren’t mysterious—they’re the result of common, fixable mistakes. The key is systematic diagnosis: check your keyword targeting, audit your ad copy, scrutinise your landing pages, review your tracking, and ensure your budget and settings are appropriate for your goals.
If you’ve tried these fixes and still struggle, it might be time to consult with a Google Ads specialist who can provide an expert audit and ongoing management. Google Ads can deliver exceptional results, but only when every element of your campaigns is properly configured and continuously optimised. Don’t let your advertising budget continue disappearing without results—identify the problems and fix them systematically, and you’ll likely see dramatic improvements in your campaign performance.
