I've audited 50+ Google Ads accounts spending $10K+/month. 95% make the same 7 mistakes. Here's what I found.

★★★ signal-strong r/ppc · ↑ 130 · 💬 96 · 2025-10-14 · kw: PPC management · open on reddit ↗

Tool

Google Ads

Issue

PPC managers across 50+ accounts spending $5K–$50K/month experience broken or missing conversion tracking (one HVAC company ran 8 months with zero tracking), overly broad keyword match types ($47/click for irrelevant queries like 'roof of mouth surgery'), missing negative keyword lists (landscaping business wasting 40% on job seeker searches), single ad per ad group preventing algorithm optimization, and neglected search term reports allowing non-buyer-intent clicks ('free plumbing advice') to drain budgets.

Cost

$2K–$40K/month per account (landscaping example: $2K/month from job seeker queries alone; HVAC/roofing accounts with thousands wasted on irrelevant clicks; one overhauled account: $8K/month with 12 leads → 38 leads via fixes)

Recommendation

Implementation of proper conversion tracking setup, keyword match type audits, negative keyword list creation, multi-ad testing per ad group, weekly search terms report review, audience layering for display/remarketing, and continuous campaign monitoring/evolution. none

extracted with

anthropic/claude-haiku-4.5 · 2026-05-08

Body

I've been managing PPC campaigns for home service and professional service businesses for years, and I keep seeing the same patterns in underperforming accounts. Last month alone, I audited accounts spending anywhere from $5K to $50K/month, and the results were shocking - most were literally burning money on fixable mistakes. Here are the 7 mistakes I see in almost every failing Google Ads account: 1. Conversion Tracking is Broken (or Non-Existent) You'd be surprised how many businesses spend thousands without knowing which ads actually generate leads. I recently found an HVAC company that had been running ads for 8 months with zero conversion tracking. They were optimizing blind. 2. Keyword Match Types Are Too Broad Saw a roofing company paying $47/click for "roof" (broad match). They were showing up for "roof of mouth surgery" and "roof rack installation." Thousands wasted on irrelevant clicks. 3. Negative Keywords List? What's That? One landscaping business was spending 40% of their budget on job seekers searching "landscaping jobs near me." A simple negative keyword list would've saved them $2K/month. 4. Single Ad Per Ad Group Google's algorithm needs data to optimize. Running one ad per group means you're never testing, never improving. I see this in 80% of accounts. 5. Ignoring Search Terms Report This is literal gold. Every week, check what people actually searched to find you. I found a plumber showing up for "free plumbing advice" - not buyer intent. 6. No Audience Layering Display and remarketing campaigns with zero audience targeting. Just spraying ads everywhere hoping something sticks. One client was showing home renovation ads to teenagers. 7. Set It and Forget It Mentality The biggest one. Someone set up their campaign 2 years ago and never touched it. Markets change, competition changes, costs change. Your campaigns need to evolve. The Results When These Are Fixed: The most recent account I overhauled went from spending $8K/month with 12 leads to $8K/month with 38 leads. Same budget, 216% increase in conversions. If you're running Google Ads and any of this sounds familiar, you're probably leaving money on the table. I'm not selling anything here - just wanted to share what I've learned. Happy to answer questions if anyone's dealing with these issues.