Google Ads can be your biggest revenue driver or your fastest money pit.
Here are the most common (and costly) mistakes small businesses make when trying to get Google Ads right:
1. Poor Keyword Targeting
Using too broad match types wastes budget fast
Skipping negative keywords leads to irrelevant traffic
Throwing unrelated keywords into one ad group kills ad relevance
2. Messy Campaign Structure
No separation between products or services = no optimization control
Ignoring SKAGs limits ad copy precision
Running only one type of campaign means you miss valuable placements (Search, PMax, Shopping, Dynamic)
3. Neglecting Audiences
Forgetting about past converters means no retargeting power
Ignoring email lists leaves warm leads untouched
Not watching the competition? You’re handing them your sales
4. Weak Ad Copy
No A/B testing = no data on what actually works
Boring headlines don’t get clicks — or customers
5. Targeting Mistakes
Wrong location or language settings? You’re showing up in the wrong places
No device strategy? You’re missing mobile-first buyers
6. Budget Mismanagement
Stretching your budget across too many campaigns waters everything down
Wrong bid strategies lead to overspending with little return
7. No Conversion Tracking
If you can’t measure it, you can’t scale it
Misconfigured tags = bad data = bad decisions
8. Bad Landing Pages
If your site is slow or off-topic, users bounce — and your ad spend goes with them
9. “Set It and Forget It”
Google Ads isn’t a slow cooker. You can’t just launch and hope.
Weekly optimization = better ROI, plain and simple
10. Misreading Metrics
CTR isn’t ROI. Clicks don’t mean conversions
No segmentation = no strategic insights
Want your first campaign to succeed — or fix one that’s been draining your budget?
We’ll show you exactly how we do it for our clients at Sprout Media.
Start here: www.thesproutmedia.com/contact
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