Top 7 reasons you’re not getting results with your Google Ads

Google Ads can be one of the most powerful tools for driving leads and sales—when done right. But after 15+ years of reviving underperforming, budget-draining campaigns, I can confidently say most business owners are making the same handful of mistakes.

If you’re spending money on Google Ads but not seeing the return, here are the top 7 reasons why your campaigns might be falling flat (and what to do instead).

1. You’re Using the Wrong Keyword Match Type

One of the most misunderstood settings in Google Ads is keyword match type—and it’s often the root cause of poor performance.

Here’s a quick breakdown:

• Broad Match: Tells Google to show your ad for loosely related searches. If you’re advertising for “women’s red cowboy boots,” your ad could appear for “red sneakers,” “cowboy jackets,” or other unrelated terms. This burns through your budget fast.

• Phrase Match (“like this”): Only shows your ad when the search includes your phrase in the same order.

• Exact Match ([like this]): Only shows your ad for searches that match your keyword exactly.

Pro tip: Start with phrase match for more control and better targeting.

2. Your Campaign Structure Is a Mess

When we take over a struggling account, campaign structure is almost always the first thing we fix.

A simple and effective structure looks like this:

• One campaign per service or offer

• Ad sets broken out by specific services or product groups

• Only 3–5 high-intent keywords per ad set

• Ads written specifically for the keywords and service within each ad set

The key? Relevance. When your structure is clean, your ads perform better—and Google rewards you for it.

3. Your Ads Lack Relevance

Speaking of relevance… if your ad copy doesn’t align with the keywords and landing page it’s tied to, Google will dock your Quality Score, and your ads will underperform.

What we often see: One generic ad set stuffed with 50+ keywords and one vague ad trying to do it all.

What works: Focused ad sets, tightly themed keywords, and tailored ad copy that speaks directly to the searcher’s intent.

4. You’re Sending People to Your Home Page

Unless your home page is a high-converting landing page (and most aren’t), stop sending ad traffic there.

If your ad is about a specific product or service, then the landing page should match that exact offer. Make it easy for the visitor to take the next step without digging.

✅ Ad about “women’s red cowboy boots”? Take them straight to the boots.
❌ Don’t make them navigate a generic homepage to find what they clicked for.

5. Your Budget Is Too Small

A lot of business owners underestimate what it takes to get traction with Google Ads.

Here’s the math:
If your daily budget is $50 and your average cost-per-click is $5, you’re only getting 10 clicks per day. That’s not much data to optimize with—and likely not enough volume to convert consistently.

The takeaway: Don’t expect big results on a shoestring budget. Spend enough to give your campaign room to perform.

6. You’re Listening to Google Ad Reps

This might sound harsh, but… if you’re taking strategy advice from Google’s ad reps, there’s a 99% chance your account is a mess.

Google reps are incentivized to get you to spend more money, not to optimize for your ROI. We’ve taken over countless accounts “optimized” by reps, and they were almost always bleeding cash.

Friendly advice: Don’t answer that call.

7. You’re Following Google’s “Recommendations”

Inside your Google Ads dashboard, you’ll see something called an Optimization Score—along with a list of suggested changes.

Our advice? Ignore most of them.
While some might be helpful, the majority are generic, automated suggestions designed to increase ad spend—not improve performance.

Instead, focus on what actually drives results: strong campaign structure, intent-based keywords, relevant ads, and strategic landing pages.

Ready to Stop Wasting Money on Ads That Don’t Work?

If your Google Ads aren’t producing results, we can help turn things around. Schedule a free strategy call by clicking below and let’s make your ads profitable again.