Google Ads sounds simple: put up an ad, customers come. In practice, many business owners lose money they didn’t need to lose. I see it regularly with my clients – and often it’s not a lack of creativity, but basic mistakes.

Mistake 1: No negative keywords

You’re paying for clicks but getting no inquiries? Often it comes down to negative keywords you haven’t excluded.

Example: You’re a dentist in Borchen, Germany, and you run ads on “dentist.” Google also shows your ad for:

“dentist training program”
“dentist without a license”
“dentist costs reviews”

These people will never book. But they cost you real money.

Solution: Consistently define who you do NOT want to reach. Add terms like “training,” “test,” or “costs” as negative keywords.

Mistake 2: Targeting that’s far too broad

“Run my ads nationwide” – I hear that a lot. It’s rarely a good idea.

I had a heating contractor from Paderborn who was running ads across all of Germany. 70% of his clicks came from Bavaria. His budget would have delivered 3x more local inquiries if he had limited it to his own region, North Rhine-Westphalia.

Limit your geographic targeting to your actual service areas. That’s not being stingy – that’s being smart.

Mistake 3: Ad copy that doesn’t sell

Many people write ad copy the way they write their website homepage. That doesn’t work.

Wrong: “Our agency offers comprehensive services in the digital space.”
Right: “More phone calls in 30 days – free analysis.”

Ads have to solve a concrete problem or name a clear benefit. Why should someone click on your ad and not your competitor’s?

Mistake 4: No conversion tracking

This is the most common problem – and the most expensive one.

Without tracking, you’re flying blind. You see clicks, but not:

Who called
Who filled out a form
Who bought

What you need: Google Analytics 4 plus conversion tracking in Google Ads. Yes, it takes time to set up. But without it, you simply don’t know what’s working.

Mistake 5: Too many keywords per ad group

An ad group with 50 keywords? Google can’t target the ads properly that way.

Better: Small, thematically focused ad groups with 5–12 keywords – each with ad copy that matches.

My takeaway

Google Ads is not a mystery. Most mistakes come from a lack of monitoring and a lack of focus. Usually you don’t need more budget – you need the right targeting.

If you run your own ads, check your account against these points. If Google Ads is eating too much of your time or driving you up the wall, get in touch. I’ll analyze for free where your money is leaking out.