Avoid These Expensive Adwords Account Mistakes & Save Money!

​​​​You know when you're pouring money into your Google Ads campaign, hoping to see amazing results and a flood of new leads? But instead of watching your business soar, you're left scratching your head wondering why your bank account is dwindling while those conversions remain frustratingly elusive. It feels like you're making "expensive adwords account mistakes", right?  Well, trust me, I've been there.

Hi, my name is Lonnie Ayers, and I am Google Certified Ads consultant, and I have managed millions of dollars in Google Ad Spend.  For over a decade, I've lived and breathed the world of online advertising, and let me tell you, expensive adwords account mistakes happen.   They happen to the best of us, even to digital marketing guru's. Sometimes these expensive adwords account mistakes stem from subtle oversights or those 'set-it-and-forget-it' moments.

So let's demystify these common, costly adwords mistakes and pitfalls and empower you to get your Google Ads firing on all cylinders.

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Why is my Google Ads Campaign Draining my Budget?

I totally understand this question.  Let's explore several reasons why your Google Ad Dollars might be disappearing like they worked for Houdini.  By getting a handle on these key areas, you'll be well on your way to a more profitable and efficient Google Ads experience.

Ignoring the Power of Negative Keywords: A Costly Mistake

This is a big one, and often overlooked. Negative keywords, my friend, are your secret weapon against budget bleed. They're like those 'Do Not Enter' signs for irrelevant traffic. Imagine you’re that company, “Quantify Towels” who manufactures those plush Turkish towels. Without negative keywords, someone searching for "cheap kitchen towels" might see your ad, click on it (costing you money.), and bounce right back because they were looking for something completely different. Ouch. 

But by adding "-cheap" and "-kitchen" as negative keywords, you tell Google, "Hey, only show my ad to folks who are actually interested in the kind of luxury towels I'm selling." Result? Highly targeted traffic and a much healthier ROI. Remember, it's not just about getting clicks; it's about attracting the right audience. This is where a keyword research tool like SEMRush will be an indispensable tool. SEMRush will help you discover valuable keyword insights that will make your ad campaigns incredibly effective.

Falling Into The Broad Match Trap: Another Expensive Adwords Account Mistake

Okay, imagine this: you're super excited to sell your awesome new line of "men's running shoes" so you naturally bid on that keyword phrase. Sounds logical, right? But with Google’s default setting of “Broad Match," your ad might show up for searches like "basketball shoes for men" or even "best-looking shoes for men.”

Yikes. Now, unless you're also in the market of basketball shoes or winning fashion contests for footwear, that's wasted clicks and a budget going for a jog...in the wrong direction.

Remember when I talked about Broad Match, Phrase Match, and Exact Match? Think about it – do you really want to show your handcrafted, premium-priced running shoe ads to people looking for bargain-basement "cheap men's running shoes?" Nope. And that’s where being strategic with your match types comes in.

This way, you laser-focus your targeting on customers who genuinely want what you're offering. No more straying into irrelevant territory. It is possible that your target audience may search a certain way and you need to find those searches with tools like Google Trends.

The Homepage Hijack: Are you Guilty of This Google Adwords Mistake?

Alright, this one's a classic. I’ve seen this time and time again. Let's say you sell those fantastic "winter hats" in a sea of cozy products on your website. Someone searches specifically for "winter hats for men," clicks your ad...and lands on your generic homepage. Not cool. Remember those 70% of internet users who use mobile devices? Those screens are smaller, and attention spans are even shorter online.

It has been my experience over the years that most online users leave if you do not provide them with the information that answers the intent of their query instantly. Do this right, you're guiding your customers right to the good stuff – making it easy peasy for them to buy. It’s all about creating those seamless user experiences. The data from WebFX shows an average conversion rate for B2B services is about 3%.

Faulty Conversion Tracking

This is one of the most costly mistakes I see both small business and huge enterprise class business' make.  What does faulty conversion tracking mean though?

Google Analytics 4 - Never Quite Right

In the not too distant past, Google Analytics was a mature and stable product.  It worked.  But in the world of 'Google', change is constant.  So, they sunsetted Google Analytics 3 and replaced it with Google Analytics 4.  It is a completely different analytics platform.  But you must get the configuration right on this beast or your conversion tracking won't actually be doing what it's supposed to be doing - informing the Google Artificial Intelligence (AI) system how the clicks it's sending your way are converting. I consider not having the setup on this 100% mistake number 1 in most accounts!

Google Conversion Actions Not Setup Properly

While Google Analytics 4 requires a lot of different settings to work correctly, you would be surprised how many accounts I open up and there are no conversion actions defined within the Google Ads Account.  This requires a few simple steps to set up within Google Ads, but then you must implement the tracking code, either via Google Tag Manager or directly on your site.  For many small business owners, this is wee bit technical.  So it doesn't get done.  Ultimately, it means your click costs will be much higher.

No GCLID Feedback Loop

This one is a 'must do right' that many, many businesses completely screw up.  What is it?  It's the mechanism you have to set up to tell Google which click resulted in a sale.  For lead generation businesses, i.e., those who generate a lead on line, but close the sale offline (Google calls this Offline Conversion Tracking), often long after the conversion happens, this is about the only way you're going to get profitability on your Google Ad Spend.  It's also the only way the AI can optimize for sales.

Account Structure

A Google Ads account can be a very complex and confusing jungle - unless you methodically structure it for ease of use.  That boils down to Account - Campaigns - Ad Groups - Ads.  

Not Using the Right Campaigns for the Goal

There are a variety of campaign types you can use within a Google Ads Account. One of the common mistakes we encounter in new Google Ads Accounts is using every campaign type, without really. aligning them with the goals of the business. But for many business', a search campaign will be the most common and appropriate adwords campaign type - but not always.

Not Using Ad Extensions

Ad extensions and site links are sort of like 'pitch hitters', meaning that if a user search term doesn't quite match with the headlines or descriptions of your ad, you may still be able to capture the click using one of these often under used elements. Plus they take up more screen space, helping defeat competitors.

Poorly Defined Ad Groups

I've seen completely random Ad Groups in an account, with no rhyme or reason as to their setup.  That means both that your search terms, landing pages and most likely, quality score, are going to be sub-optimal.  That means you will either suffer low click-through rates, or receive clicks from irrelevant searches from people clicking on what is a relevant keyword to them, but not to you.

Not Avoiding Irrelevant Searches

This one is kind of an outcome of all of the above.  But if your account is not structured properly, your conversion tracking isn't actually tracking properly, or your keyword research is off, you're going to end up spending more to make a sale than you need to (if you make a sale at all).  So here's some more tips'n'tricks to use to improve your Google Ads outcomes and avoid irrelevant searches.  I would consider this to be a mini-optimization roadmap - hint, hint.

Set up the Cost Per Sale Metric in Your Google Ads Analytics

This one can be a little tricky, but if you're telling Google which click resulted in a sale and how much that sale was worth to you, either in total revenue or profit, then this little trick can supercharge your results.  Name it CPS, it's a custom metric, and just follow the prompts to set it up.  After all, almost universally, when I ask my clients what their goal is for a campaign, it is sales, profitable sales, pure and simple.

Use the Google Editor to Identify Search Terms at Scale

While the Google Editor can be a bit intimidating at first, with a little practice, you'll wonder where Google has been keeping this power user tool.  When you get your account plugged in, you'll want to run a full update and look at the search terms report.  Here's where you can find what is working and what is draining money, and with a simple click of the button, update your negative keyword report.  I find it makes it far easier to find if relevant keywords are being used to trigger my ads. Here's a view of the tool you see upon entry.  Keep in mind, it is frequently updated.

Learn How to Fully Exploit the AI

Google has been rolling out its AI to every layer of the Google Ads stack.  While many Google Ads Consultant's have avoided it, I have seen it increase lead generation in one of my major accounts by 23X!  By using to improve my ad copy, and to uncover what Google thinks my dedicated landing page is about, then providing it feedback via GCLID, almost like magic, once it hits that magic 30 or so conversions, it does an amazing job in zeroing in on the right audience.

Dedicated Landing Pages

While you cannot see the landing page inside your account, you can definitely see what Google thinks of it - via the Quality Score.  That's why optimizing landing pages is one of the key Google Best Practices.

Good Web Design is a Prerequisite for Google Ads Success

That said, don't be intimidated.  There are plenty of existing web page designs which you can and should leverage, but they must be customized for your business.

Different Landing Pages for Different Target Keywords

I like to create a dedicated landing page for every ad, if not every keyword.  Yes, that means I create a lot of landing pages.  But it is also means I can create highly relevant Google Ads, and I can target different ads to different stages of the buyer's journey.  This is an investment that is well worth making.  But they each much be good quality if they are to be successful.

Use Video if You Want to Excel

With a limited advertising budget, one of 'low hanging fruits' available is to use embedded video on both landing page and within your responsive search ads (RSA). Video ads campaigns have proven to be highly effective, but it does take a lot of high-quality video to find which ones resonate with your audience.  I've tested videos as embedded videos on Landing Pages and as elements of Google RSAs.  After creating dozens of shorts, I can truly say, that when you get everything else right, the video can yield amazing results.

Conclusion

Navigating the ins and outs of Google Adwords and steering clear of those pricey pitfalls might seem overwhelming at times, right? I want to let you know –– we've all been there. However, don’t fret. Remember you have complete control to make the most of this marketing powerhouse. 

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