Broad keywords, missing negatives, and untracked conversions waste budget every day. Here's where to look first.
Google Ads can be one of the most reliable sources of high-intent leads. It can also burn through budget without anyone noticing. Most of the waste we find falls into a handful of categories.
The usual suspects
- Broad match keywords matching searches that have nothing to do with your service.
- No negative keyword list, so you pay for “jobs”, “free”, and “DIY” searches.
- Conversion tracking that counts page views instead of real enquiries.
- Performance Max campaigns running without guardrails or proper signals.
- Ads sending everyone to the homepage instead of a relevant landing page.
Manage it like your own budget
Review the search terms report weekly, tighten match types, and make sure every conversion you track represents real business. Small, regular adjustments compound into a much lower cost per lead.
If you can't see where the money's going, it's probably going somewhere it shouldn't.
