The Top 10 Google Ads Mistakes Businesses Make (And How to Avoid Them)
Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords) can be one of the most effective forms of online advertising. When managed properly, it puts your business in front of people actively searching for what you offer. However, many businesses waste budget, miss opportunities, or give up on Google Ads entirely because of avoidable mistakes.
If you’re running Google Ads campaigns — or thinking about starting — here are the top 10 Google Ads mistakes businesses make, and what you should be doing instead.
1. Not Having a Clear Goal
One of the biggest Google Ads mistakes is launching campaigns without a clear objective. Before spending any budget, you need to know exactly what success looks like.
Your goal might be to generate leads, drive online sales, increase brand awareness, or promote a specific service. That goal should influence campaign structure, bidding strategy, keywords, ad copy, and landing pages. Without a clear goal, optimisation becomes guesswork.
2. Targeting the Wrong Audience
Google Ads offers powerful targeting options, but campaigns often fail because the audience is too broad or poorly defined. Effective targeting starts with understanding who your ideal customer is, what problem they are trying to solve, and how they search.
Refining targeting by location, demographics, device, and search intent can significantly improve click-through rates and reduce wasted spend.
3. Choosing the Wrong Keywords
Keywords are the foundation of any Google Ads campaign. Choosing keywords that are too broad, irrelevant, or overly competitive is a common and costly mistake.
Strong keyword research and structure sit at the heart of effective PPC and Google Ads management, helping campaigns attract the right traffic rather than just more traffic.
4. Writing Weak or Irrelevant Ad Copy
Your ad copy is what convinces users to click. Even with strong targeting, poorly written ads will struggle to perform.
Effective Google Ads copy is clear, specific, relevant to the keyword, and focused on benefits. Strong calls to action and ongoing ad testing are essential for improving performance across Google AdWords campaigns.
5. Setting an Unrealistic Budget
Budgets that are too small limit optimisation, while budgets that are too large can lead to unnecessary spend before issues are identified.
A realistic Google Ads budget should be informed by average cost per click, competition, campaign goals, and expected conversion rates.
6. Not Tracking Conversions Properly
Without conversion tracking, it’s impossible to know whether your Google Ads campaigns are delivering real value.
Understanding which types of Google Ad campaigns drive enquiries, sales, or calls relies entirely on accurate conversion tracking and meaningful data.
7. Ignoring Negative Keywords
Negative keywords prevent your ads from appearing for irrelevant searches. Failing to use them leads to wasted budget and low-quality traffic.
Regularly reviewing search term reports and adding negative keywords is one of the simplest and most effective optimisation steps.
8. Not Using Ad Extensions
Ad extensions allow you to add extra information to your ads, such as phone numbers, locations, sitelinks, and callouts.
They increase ad visibility, improve click-through rates, and provide users with more reasons to choose your ad over competitors.
9. Failing to Use Ad Scheduling
Ad scheduling allows you to control when your ads appear. Many businesses waste budget advertising at times when their audience is unlikely to convert.
Pairing ad scheduling with a broader understanding of how businesses reach the top of Google helps align paid and organic strategies more effectively.
10. Not Using Automation Effectively
Google Ads automation can save time and improve performance, but only when used strategically.
Automation can support bidding, ad rotation, and budget pacing, but it should always be monitored and guided by clear objectives and performance data.
Final Thoughts
Google Ads can deliver strong results when campaigns are structured, tracked, and optimised correctly. By avoiding these common mistakes, businesses can improve performance, reduce wasted spend, and get more value from their advertising budget.
If you’re currently running Google Ads campaigns — or considering starting — and want a clearer picture of what’s working and what isn’t, get in touch for a free account review.
