5 Common Google Ads Mistakes Draining Your Budget

Did you know? The average Google Ads account wastes 76% of its budget on search terms that never lead to conversions. Fixing these mistakes can slash your costs and boost results.

Key Issues Draining Your Budget:

• Wrong Audience Settings: Targeting too broadly or missing key demographics.
• Missing Negative Keywords: Paying for irrelevant clicks without filtering them out.
• Poor Ad Timing: Running ads 24/7 instead of focusing on peak hours.
• Bad Bidding Choices: Over-automation or setting unrealistic CPA/ROAS targets.
• Poor Mobile Setup: Ignoring mobile users or slow-loading pages.

Quick Fixes:

• Use precise audience targeting and custom intent options.
• Build a negative keyword list and review search terms weekly.
• Schedule ads for high-conversion times and adjust bids throughout the day.
• Monitor automated bidding and set realistic goals based on data.
• Optimize for mobile with fast-loading pages and tailored ad copy.

By addressing these five mistakes, you can reduce wasted spend, improve ROI, and get better results from your campaigns.

Google Ads Mistakes: Avoid These 5 Common Errors

1. Wrong Audience Settings

Getting your audience settings right is key to making the most of your ad budget. Targeting the wrong audience can lead to wasted clicks and little to no conversions. Let’s look at the most common audience targeting mistakes that can drain your budget.

Too Wide Audience Range

The default "Presence or interest" geographic targeting setting can quickly eat up your budget. This setting shows ads to people physically in your target area and those just browsing content related to that location. For example, a Chicago restaurant using "Presence or interest" might show ads to a New Yorker researching Chicago travel. While informative for the New Yorker, they’re unlikely to convert into a customer. To avoid this, switch to the "Presence" setting, which ensures your ads only reach users physically located in your service area.

Missing Demographics Filters

Demographic targeting is often overlooked but can significantly improve how well your ads perform. Google Ads provides detailed filters to help you refine your audience:

Demographic Filter	Targeting Options	Best For
Life Events	Graduation, Moving, Marriage	Time-sensitive offers
Detailed Demographics	College Students, Homeowners, Parents	Long-term characteristics
Custom Intent	Keywords, URLs, Apps	Signals of purchase intent

Using these filters can help you connect with the right people at the right time.

Unused Custom Intent Options

Custom intent audiences are a powerful tool that often goes untapped. They let you create custom segments based on keywords, websites visited, or app usage to focus on users with high intent. For example, instead of broadly targeting "fitness enthusiasts", a luxury gym could create a custom segment targeting users who visit premium fitness websites, use high-end fitness apps, or search for personal training services. This approach ensures your ads are shown to people more likely to engage or convert.

2. Missing Negative Keywords

Skipping negative keywords can drain your budget on irrelevant searches. A well-thought-out negative keyword strategy helps filter out unqualified traffic, boosting campaign performance and ROI. Here's how to structure your approach for better results.

No Negative Keyword Strategy

Many advertisers start campaigns without a clear plan for negative keywords. To avoid wasting ad spend, begin with 50–100 negative keywords when launching your campaign. Here's a helpful breakdown of how to structure them:

Level	Purpose	Example Usage
Account-wide	Block irrelevant terms across all ads	Free, DIY, YouTube tutorials
Campaign	Filter out traffic irrelevant to a specific campaign	Competitor names, incompatible products
Ad Group	Refine targeting for specific products or services	Size variations, color options

Skipping Search Term Reviews

Regularly reviewing your Search Terms report is key to identifying costly, non-converting queries. As Google Ads explains, "Negative keywords let you exclude search terms from your campaigns and help you focus on only the keywords that matter to your customers".

To make the most of your budget:

• Check your Search Terms report weekly
• Flag queries with high costs but low or no conversions
• Refine your negative keyword list to account for irrelevant variations and common misspellings

Basic Match Type Usage

Negative keyword match types help you control when your ads appear. Here's how they work:

Match Type	Function	Example
Negative Broad Match	Blocks searches containing all terms in any order	"running shoes" blocks "shoes for running" and "men's running shoes"
Negative Phrase Match	Prevents ads when terms appear in the exact sequence	Blocks the phrase with additional words before or after
Negative Exact Match	Stops ads for search queries that exactly match the keyword	Only blocks the precise term entered

Using a mix of match types ensures your ads reach the right audience. For instance, if you sell luxury watches, you might use a negative exact match for "watch repair" and a negative broad match for "cheap watches" to focus on qualified buyers.

To keep your strategy effective:

• Create separate negative keyword lists for different campaign types
• Update your lists based on performance data
• Monitor metrics like CTR and conversion rates
• Regularly review search terms to uncover new negative keyword opportunities

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3. Wrong Ad Timing

Poor ad scheduling can eat through your advertising budget without delivering results. Knowing when to display your ads is key to improving ROI and reaching your audience effectively. Let’s take a closer look at how timing mistakes can drive up costs.

Always-On Campaigns

Running ads non-stop might seem like a good idea, but it often wastes money during periods when conversions are low. Use historical data to pinpoint the hours when your audience is most active and focus your budget there.

Time Zone Errors

Scheduling ads without considering your audience's time zones can hurt your campaign's performance. For instance, a dog-sled touring business in Alaska found its ads performed best between 8:00 AM and 11:00 AM on Tuesdays. By adjusting their schedule to match this window, they saw a noticeable boost in conversions. Double-check your account’s time zone settings and align your ad schedule with your audience’s peak activity.

Static Bids Throughout the Day

Using the same bid amounts all day ignores changes in user behavior. Instead, adjust bids based on performance throughout the day. For example, a business with a base max CPC bid of $1.00 added a +10% adjustment during peak hours (8:00 AM to 10:00 AM on Tuesdays), increasing the bid to $1.10 when traffic was highest. Dive into 'Day and Hour' data to raise bids during busy times and lower them during slower periods.

4. Bad Bidding Choices

Fine-tuning your bidding strategy is just as important as timing your ads. Poor bidding decisions can quickly eat up your Google Ads budget without delivering the desired results.

Over-Automation

Automation can simplify campaign management, but relying entirely on Google’s automated recommendations without oversight can lead to wasted spending. Michelle Morgan, Co-Founder of Paid Media Pros, highlights this issue:

"Google claims its system is smart enough to know what conversions you want and optimize for them without much input - but with over a decade of experience, I recommend reviewing automated suggestions rather than relying on them completely."

For accounts with fewer than seven weekly conversions, consider testing manual bidding strategies to maintain better control.

Wrong CPA/ROAS Targets

Setting incorrect CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) or ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) targets can hurt campaign performance. When switching from a Maximize strategy to a Target strategy, use data from the last 30 days to set realistic goals. To get the best results:

• Monitor performance trends, excluding any delays in recent conversions.
• Adjust targets gradually, allowing 1–2 conversion cycles for results.
• Keep ROAS targets at or below historical averages.

Missing Bid Adjustments

Failing to adjust bids for devices, locations, or audiences can mean missed opportunities. For example, imagine a campaign with a $1.00 base bid. If you increase bids by 20% for California but decrease them by 50% on Saturdays, the final bid for a Saturday search in California would drop to $0.60. Here’s the math: $1.00 + ($1.00 × 20%) = $1.20, then $1.20 × 50% = $0.60.

For e-commerce brands, using a Target ROAS (tROAS) bidding strategy has shown to boost both conversion rates and ROAS by over 40%. Additionally, when using Target CPA strategies, remember that device bid adjustments tweak the CPA target value rather than the bids themselves.

Up next, we’ll discuss how mobile setup impacts campaign performance and budget effectiveness.

5. Poor Mobile Setup

Optimizing for mobile is crucial for your campaign's success. Ignoring mobile users can lead to wasted ad spend and missed opportunities.

Desktop-Only Content

Treating mobile users the same as desktop users is a mistake. Mobile users often have different goals and behaviors. To improve mobile performance:

• Tailor ad copy for mobile: Keep it concise and action-oriented.
• Make phone numbers clickable: Simplify the process for users to contact you.
• Use mobile-friendly sitelinks and location extensions: Help users find what they need quickly.
• Create mobile-optimized landing pages: Ensure pages load well on smaller screens.

Slow Mobile Pages

Page speed is a make-or-break factor for mobile campaigns. Google reports that 53% of mobile users abandon a site if it takes longer than three seconds to load. Yet, the average mobile page takes 15 seconds to load.

A real-life example? Greenweez increased mobile conversions by 80% after speeding up their pages by five times using AMP. Faster pages mean happier users and better results.

Wrong Mobile Bids

Mobile bid adjustments let you tweak bids specifically for mobile devices, ranging from -90% to +900%. A -100% adjustment completely excludes mobile ads. To get the most out of mobile bidding:

• Analyze cross-device conversion data.
• Factor in offline actions like store visits or phone calls.
• Adjust bids at both the campaign and ad group levels.
• Keep a close eye on mobile metrics.

Mobile users often jump between devices during their buying journey. By tracking key actions - like website conversions, cross-device conversions, app installs, and calls - you can fine-tune your bidding strategy. Aligning your mobile and desktop strategies ensures your campaigns work together effectively and efficiently.

Conclusion: Fix These Mistakes to Save Money

Addressing the issues outlined earlier can make a noticeable difference in your campaign’s performance. Refining audience settings, managing negative keywords, optimizing ad timing, rethinking your bidding strategy, and fine-tuning mobile setups can all lead to better efficiency and a stronger return on investment (ROI).

Most small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) dedicate only 15–30 minutes per week to account management. However, true optimization requires more time and focus. As Igor Ivitskiy, PhD, explains: "Success comes when you develop optimization strategies tailored to your business (sales cycle length, average order value, additional back-end sales) rather than blindly copying other people's success stories".

Common Mistakes and Solutions

Mistake Area	Key Solution	Expected Impact
Audience Settings	Use segmented customer lists and tailored campaigns	Better targeting and higher conversion rates
Negative Keywords	Conduct regular search term analysis	Minimized spend on irrelevant clicks
Ad Timing	Schedule ads based on peak performance hours	Higher ROI during optimal times
Bidding Strategy	Use smart bidding with custom ROAS/CPA targets	Improved budget allocation
Mobile Setup	Optimize for mobile content and speed	Enhanced user experience and conversions

Build a Solid Optimization Routine

To keep your campaigns on track, focus on these regular tasks:

• Review key metrics like CTR, CPC, conversion rates, and order value to guide adjustments.
• Test multiple ad copy variations (2–4 per ad group) to find what works best.
• Expand and refine your negative keyword lists.
• Ensure landing pages are relevant and load quickly.
• Use ad extensions to provide additional information and improve visibility.

Investing time in these areas can help you maximize your ad spend and achieve better results.

Related posts

• How to Reduce Google Ads Spend Without Sacrificing Results
• 8 Best Practices for Google Ads Budget Management