Keyword problems
The most common reason Google Ads campaigns don’t convert is that they’re targeting the wrong keywords — specifically, keywords that attract informational intent rather than commercial intent. Someone searching “what is SEO” is learning, not buying. Someone searching “SEO agency London pricing” is about to make a decision. These two searches are not equally valuable, and bidding equally on both is a waste of budget.
The other keyword problem is excessive use of broad match without proper negative keyword management. Broad match gives Google enormous latitude to match your ads to tangentially related searches. Without rigorous Search Terms Report analysis and negative keyword additions, you can easily spend 40–60% of your budget on completely irrelevant traffic.
Go to your Search Terms Report right now. Filter for the last 30 days. Sort by cost. Look at the top 20 search terms driving spend. For each one, ask: would someone searching this buy from us? Every “no” is a negative keyword you need to add today.
Landing page mismatch
Message match between your ad and your landing page is one of the most overlooked conversion factors in PPC. When someone clicks an ad for “emergency plumber London” and lands on a homepage with a generic headline about your company history, there’s a mismatch — and the visitor’s instinct is to go back and try a competitor who speaks more directly to their need.
Every significant keyword theme should have a dedicated landing page that echoes the specific promise of the ad. If you’re bidding on “Google Ads management for law firms”, the landing page should be specifically about Google Ads for law firms — not a generic PPC services page.
“We run an audit of every new client account. The most common finding, by a long way, is homepage traffic. Sending Google Ads clicks to a homepage is almost always a mistake. Build the right landing page and CPA drops immediately.”
— Jamie Richards, Head of Paid Media, Synap GrowthAd copy that doesn't convert
Most Google Ads copy is written to be inoffensive rather than compelling. It describes the product or service without differentiating it. It uses generic CTAs like “Learn More” instead of specific, benefit-led calls to action. And it fails to address the buyer’s specific anxieties or objections.
- Lead with the benefit, not the feature — Not “SEO services in London”, but “Rank #1 for the keywords that drive revenue”
- Use numbers where possible — “98% client retention” is more compelling than “trusted by businesses”
- Address the objection — “No lock-in contracts” removes a common reason not to engage
- Match the search intent precisely — Emergency queries need urgent language; research queries need educational copy
Conversion tracking errors
You cannot optimise an account without accurate conversion data. Yet a significant proportion of UK Google Ads accounts have tracking errors — duplicate conversions counting the same lead multiple times, missing conversions from broken tag implementations, or incorrectly configured conversion windows.
The specific fix depends on your setup, but the starting point is always the same: go to Tools > Conversions and audit every active conversion action. For each one, check the status (should be “Recording conversions”), the attribution model, the conversion window, and whether it’s set as a primary or secondary conversion action. If you’re seeing conversion counts that seem too high or too low relative to what your CRM or backend shows, you almost certainly have a tracking problem.
Wrong bidding strategy
Google’s automated bidding strategies (Target CPA, Target ROAS, Maximise Conversions) are powerful — but they require sufficient data to function correctly. A campaign generating fewer than 30–50 conversions per month doesn’t have enough data for Google’s algorithm to make reliable bidding decisions. Running Target CPA on a low-conversion-volume campaign typically results in either very restricted delivery or wildly inconsistent CPAs.
For new campaigns or campaigns with low conversion volume, Manual CPC or Maximise Clicks (with a CPC cap) is often more effective while you build data. Once you’re consistently generating 50+ monthly conversions, transition to a smart bidding strategy and give it 4–6 weeks to fully optimise before evaluating performance.