5 Common PPC Mistakes That Drain Your Budget (And How to Avoid Them)

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising can be a game-changer for businesses looking to drive more traffic and conversions from their online efforts.

However, without a careful approach, it’s easy to see your budget disappear faster than a plate of biscuits at a team meeting.

The mindmap diagram below is my recap on common PPC mistakes I see all the times:

PPC Mistakes

I chose the five that will impact your results the most.

• Not Using Negative Keywords

Negative keywords are like the bouncers of your PPC campaigns.

They help keep irrelevant searches at bay, ensuring your ads only appear to people genuinely interested in what you’re offering.

Not using negative keywords means you’re likely paying for clicks that will never convert.

Fix: Regularly review your campaign’s search terms report to find irrelevant queries. Add these as negative keywords to refine your targeting and improve campaign efficiency.

• Ignoring Match Type Settings

Match types dictate how closely a user’s search query needs to match your keywords before your ad is shown.

Using broad match without restrictions can lead to your ad appearing for loosely related searches, wasting precious budget on uninterested clicks.

Fix: Employ a mix of match types, including exact and phrase match, to gain better control over who sees your ads.

This way, you can strike a balance between reach and relevance.

• Overlooking Conversion Tracking

If you’re not tracking conversions, you’re basically flying blind.

Without conversion tracking, you won’t know if those clicks are turning into leads, sales, or sign-ups, making it impossible to calculate your return on investment (ROI).

Fix: Set up conversion tracking for all your key actions, whether that’s purchases, sign-ups, or enquiries.

This insight allows you to see which keywords and ads are performing best and allocate your budget more effectively.

• Forgetting About Ad Extensions

Ad extensions are a fantastic way to make your ads bigger and more informative without extra cost.

They can improve your ad’s visibility and click-through rate (CTR) by providing additional information and links to your audience.

Fix: Use all relevant ad extensions available, such as sitelink, callout, and structured snippet extensions.

These provide extra paths for potential customers to interact with your ad and learn more about your offerings.

• Failing to Test and Optimise

PPC isn’t a “set and forget” kind of deal. Markets, consumer behaviour, and your competition are always changing.

Not regularly testing and optimising your ads means you could be missing out on better performance and lower costs.

Fix: Regularly run A/B tests on your ads, trying different headlines, descriptions, and landing pages.

Analyse performance data to see what’s working and make adjustments accordingly.

This iterative process can lead to significant improvements in campaign performance over time.

By sidestepping these common pitfalls, you can ensure your PPC campaigns are not just a drain on resources but a potent tool in your marketing arsenal. Remember, every penny counts, so spend wisely and always look for ways to optimise your campaigns for the best returns. Happy advertising!