Google Ads can be one of the best ways for a local business to get enquiries. It can also quietly burn through hundreds of pounds a month without much to show for it.
After nearly 10 years running paid ads, these are the five problems I see most often. If any of them sound familiar, your budget could be working a lot harder.
1. You don’t know what a lead costs you
If you can’t answer “how much does each enquiry cost me?”, that’s the first thing to fix. Without tracking, you’re judging your ads on clicks, which tells you almost nothing about whether they bring in work.
What to check: In your Google Ads account, look at the “Conversions” column. If it’s empty or shows zero, calls and enquiries aren’t being tracked.
The fix: Set up tracking for phone calls from your ads, calls from your website, and form submissions. Then you’ll know your real cost per lead.
2. You’re paying for the wrong searches
This is the biggest money-waster of all. Your ads might be showing for searches like:
- “roofing felt B&Q”
- “how to bleed a radiator”
- “electrician jobs near me”
None of those people are going to hire you.
What to check: In your account, go to Insights and reports → Search terms. This shows the actual searches people typed before clicking your ad. Most people are shocked the first time they look.
The fix: Add the irrelevant words as “negative keywords” so your ads stop showing for them, and check this list regularly.
3. Your ads show in areas you don’t cover
By default, Google can show your ads to people who are “interested in” your area, not just people who are actually there. That can mean paying for clicks from the other side of the country.
What to check: Go to your campaign’s Locations settings and look at the location options.
The fix: Set it to show ads to “People in or regularly in your targeted locations”, and only target the towns you’re happy to travel to.
4. Google’s automatic settings are running the show
Google makes it very easy to switch on automatic features, such as auto-generated ads, broad match keywords and “Display Network” placements. Some of these can work well in the right account, but switched on without care they often spend money on low-quality clicks.
What to check: Look for campaigns that include the Display Network, ads you didn’t write yourself, and lots of broad match keywords.
The fix: Keep search campaigns on search only, write your own ads, and only use automation once tracking is in place and you have enough data.
5. Your website lets the ad down
You can have great ads and still get few enquiries if the page people land on is slow, hard to use on a phone, or makes it unclear how to get in touch.
What to check: Open your website on your phone. Can you see what you do, where you work, and how to call you within a few seconds?
The fix: Make sure your phone number and a quote form are easy to find, the page loads quickly, and it matches what the ad promised.
What fixing these can do
In one roofing account I manage, tightening up search terms, bids and ads brought in 28% more leads in a month on exactly the same budget, and the cost per lead fell by 24%. Nothing fancy, just fixing the basics.
Want me to check your account?
My £150 Ads Audit goes through your account properly, including all five of these, and gives you a clear list of what to fix, in order of importance. You can make the changes yourself, or I can do it for you.