18 Google Ads Mistakes from Experts you HAVE to Avoid! (2023)

We curated the top Google Ads mistakes you might be making in your Google Ads campaigns from Google Ads experts and SaaS founders. Let’s GO!

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Note: SaaSwrites is a curated growth marketing hub and resource built to help SaaS founders grow their products. We sincerely thank all our experts for their constant value addition to this world.

I burned $700 to get one paying customer. But that doesn't say anything about Google Ads, it is about me. I didn't have the right experience and made a lot of mistakes. So, experiment a lot with the fixed budget and only then double down on what works.” Dmytro Krasun

Most of the times, when your Google Ads does not work, it’s due to some of these common mistakes. Before you begin your next Google Ads campaign, make sure you DO NOT repeat these mistakes:

Jackson Blackledge shares 8 mistakes you need to avoid if you want to crush it with Google Ads:

1. Not Tracking Conversion Correctly

Some clients have no tracking set up at all.

Others do, but they have it set up wrong.

Testing is 10x harder when your data isn’t accurate.

Take time in making sure you’re tracking as well as possible.

2. Using Too Many “Smart” Features

Google is smart, but you shouldn’t give it too much control.

Its recommendations are a great example.

Some are good, but some aren’t.

Turn off the “auto-apply recommendations” and assess them as they come up.

3. Not Understanding Keyword Match Types

The three types are broad, phrase, and exact.

None are right or wrong.

They’re just tools, but if you use them wrong, you’ll do damage.

Study them so you know the right time to use the right tool.

4. Not Using Negative Keywords

Everyone knows about targeting keywords, but many don’t know about negative keywords.

These are the words and phrases you tell Google not to show your ads for.

They help you increase relevance and quality score.

5. Not Doubling Down On Winners

If you get great results with an…

Angle

Product

Location

Audience

It’s usually best to invest more in it going forward.

6. Not Testing Enough

Testing is the foundation of ads success.

Lots of people don’t test at all, or they only do when their profits are waning.

You should be testing and optimizing constantly to stay ahead of the game.

7. Focusing On Ads Only

The best ads in the world won’t make you profitable if everything else about your business sucks.

Optimize your offers, landing pages, checkout pages, and back-end marketing too.

You need all of them to maximize your results.

8. Thinking DIY Is Cheaper

I have respect for anyone who tries to study and practice on their own.

With that said, doing so often costs more in the long run.

If you have the money, invest in a pro.

Especially if that pro has “no profit, no pay” pricing (like me).

Ishan Khatri shares 5 Google Ads mistakes that make you NOT Get 100% from your PPC campaigns:

9. Incorrect Google Ads setup

Tracking multiple conversion events.

When you don’t specify to Google which conversion event to track, Google counts every single conversion.

Because of that, you might be overcounting the total number of purchases & misinterpreting the data.

Running Display & Video Ads with a low advertising budget

They work great in terms of raising brand awareness but if you don’t have a large advertising budget and your primary goal is to boost sales, just avoid them.

10. Not analyzing your checkout funnel

You can have the best ads in the world, but if the customers who land on your website find it hard to complete a purchase, they won’t buy.

Focus on improving your “Add to Cart”, “Checkouts” etc.

11. Facebook & Google Ad Copy

Always mention the price and free shipping. It positively impacts the ROAS

The same applies to using social proof.

Sometimes Emojis add a friendly & approachable tone to your copies.

12. Not taking the impact of ads on organic results into account

Always use conversion-optimized campaigns not brand awareness campaigns because it will still organically increase brand awareness.

With more brand keyword searches, you will have more organic conversions.

13. Not learning from your competitors

When you find that one competitor in your space that is big and fast-growing, you should look at their ads and marketing strategies.

And if you find something that is functioning well, there is no shame in copying good-performing ads.

Ishan continues saying he has made over $5M for clients using Google Ads. Here are 5 Common Mistakes To Avoid If You Want Google Ads To Print Money For You:

14. Geotargeting

There’s a sneaky menu a lot of people forget - Location options.

This shows default location setting that Google will show outside your target, based on the user ‘showing interest’.

If the interest-based location is useless, go back to settings and select “Presence”.

15. Revisiting Ad Schedule Modifiers

People set up ad schedule bid modifiers and forget about it.

Performance during the time of day can change seasonally.

Revisit it at designated intervals with good data samples to make sure you stay relevant during the prime times of the day

16. Not Utilizing Experiments for Testing

Another sneaky Google setting that makes it tough on users.

To get started, choose the Campaign you want to create a test for and hit the “Drafts” button in the right.

From there, you can create a non-running version of the Campaign

17. Lack of Bidding Strategy

There are reasons accounts still use manual bidding.

Often, there are more complex business metrics that determine the relative worth of a click – metrics that Google can’t see, or take into account.

18. Watching Partner Performance

By default, a new search campaign will have Google Search Partners checked as a placement.

Sometimes partner sites generate some nice, low CPAs.

Make sure if you launch with it, you take a look as data accrues to see how it’s doing, like below:

Moz shares its own 4 Google Ads mistakes to avoid:

Too many keywords

Picking the right match type

Only one ad per group

Keep display & search separately

Some More Google Ads Resources:

Read the expert guide on how to Optimize your Google Ads

Read the 50+ Google Ads Expert Tips to Nail Your SaaS Google Ads campaign

Dive deep into 25+ Google Ads Strategies for SaaS that can bring 50X TROAS!