Google Ads: 10 common mistakes that waste your budget

Broad research terms attract volume and rarely convert. Split by intent so buying queries are funded separately from curiosity.

Broad match without discipline buys everything vaguely related. Use tighter matching for proven queries and treat broad match as controlled exploration.

The ad should repeat the searcher's language, state the offer, and set an accurate expectation. Generic copy lowers relevance, which raises what you pay for the same position.

If the ad promises a specific service, the page must deliver that service above the fold, with one obvious next action. The homepage is almost never the right destination.

Without trustworthy conversions, automated bidding optimises towards the wrong thing and reporting measures traffic instead of outcomes. Track meaningful actions once, with realistic values.

Value-based automation needs conversion history. Starting there with a handful of conversions produces expensive volatility; earn the data first.

Without negatives you pay for job seekers, free-alternative hunters and competitor research. Review search terms regularly and exclude what will never convert.

Mixed budgets hide performance. Split by intent, margin and geography so each can be judged and funded independently — and keep branded terms separate so cheap brand clicks do not flatter the rest.

"What is X" and "buy X" need different ads and different pages. Serving both the same funnel wastes the budget on the first and loses the second.

Cheap clicks and high click-through rates are not results. Judge campaigns on cost per acquisition and return on ad spend against real margin, and scale only what clears the bar.

Fix tracking and structure before spending more. Neither costs media budget, and both change what every other decision is based on.