4 Google Ads Mistakes That Could Be Killing Your Budget—And How to Fix Them Fast

Running Google Ads? Whether you’re a business owner doing it yourself or a marketer working with an agency, you know every rupee counts. Yet, so many campaigns bleed money due to a few basic—but killer—mistakes. The good news? Once you know what to look for, you can fix these TODAY.

Grab a coffee, because these are the four Google Ads mess-ups you simply can’t afford to make!

1. Picking the Wrong Google Ads Conversion Event

The very first blunder? Optimizing your google ads campaign for the wrong action. Many still follow old-school advice: start with awareness or landing page views, shift to clicks, then conversions. That’s now outdated! Google’s algorithm is smarter than ever—it knows who’s ready to buy.

Pro Tip: Start straight with conversion-focused campaigns. Optimize for LEADS or PURCHASES, not just clicks or landing page views. Clickers and viewers aren’t necessarily buyers; Google can now target genuine prospects from Day 1. The right conversion event attracts the right audience—don’t waste money on “surfers” and “clickers.”

2. Ignoring the Search Terms Report & Not Adding Negative Keywords

Another budget drain? Failing to check (and act on) your search term reports. You should do this every single day when your campaign is new. Without adding negative keywords, you’ll pay for clicks from totally irrelevant traffic.

Pro Tip: Go into your Search Terms Report daily, spot what’s not relevant, and add those as negative keywords. This tightens targeting and stops you from paying for the wrong audience.

3. Not Tracking Impression Share & Top of Page Position

It’s not enough for your ad to show once or twice—you need to know how often you’re showing up, and where.

• Impression Share: How many times your ad appeared versus how many times it was eligible to show.

• Top of Page Impression Share: How often did your ad appear at the top spots?

• Absolute Top: How often were you the very FIRST result?

  
  

Pro Tip: Check these in the left sidebar insights. If your impression share is low, you’re missing lots of potential customers. If your top-of-page rate is weak, your bids or quality score may be too low.

4. Ignoring Keyword Quality Score

Your keyword quality score is EVERYTHING—it’s the secret to paying less per click for better ad placement.

• Ad Relevance: Does your ad copy match your keyword?

• Landing Page Experience: Is the destination page relevant and high quality?

  
  

Pro Tip: Make sure the main keyword is in both your ad and your landing page. Check your quality score in the columns section; aim for 8/10 or higher. Improve copy and landing pages for low-scoring keywords—you can cut your costs by up to 90%!

Bonus: TRACK Consistently

Don’t just “set and forget”! In the early days, check your campaign almost daily. Track, tweak, and optimize—no agency can do this properly without your close involvement.

In Summary

Getting Google Ads right isn’t about being perfect—it’s about being proactive with the basics:

• Choose the right conversion event (leads or purchases)

• Use your search terms and negative keywords to your advantage

• Monitor impression share and position constantly

• Always improve keyword quality scores

  
  

Share this with anyone running paid campaigns, and let’s stop Google Ads budgets from going up in smoke.

Let’s make your advertising budget work harder—and see smarter results, fast!

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Maneesh Konkar is an MBA from IIM Bangalore with over 24 years experience in sales & marketing. He runs Direction One, which is into online courses, sales & marketing training & digital marketing agency services.

Connect with him at directiononeonline7@gmail.com