Most Google Ads accounts aren't underperforming because of bad ad copy. They're underperforming because of structural decisions made early on that nobody revisited.

1. Broad match without the data to support it

Broad match can work well — but only once an account has enough conversion data for Google's algorithm to optimise against. Turning it on too early, before there's a meaningful conversion history, often means paying for traffic that was never going to convert.

2. Conversion tracking that counts the wrong thing

It's common to find accounts "optimising" toward form submissions that were never qualified, or phone clicks that were never answered. If the tracked conversion isn't tied to a real business outcome, every optimisation built on top of it compounds the wrong signal.

3. No negative keyword discipline

Search term reports are usually checked once, at setup, and rarely again. Without an ongoing negative keyword routine, budget quietly leaks to searches that were never going to convert.

The fastest way to lower cost per lead usually isn't a bigger budget — it's removing the spend that was never going to convert in the first place.

How to audit your own account

  • Pull the search terms report for the last 90 days and flag irrelevant queries
  • Check what's actually defined as a "conversion" in your account, and whether it ties to a real lead
  • Review match type distribution against how much conversion data the account actually has

If this sounds like your account, a structural audit usually surfaces savings faster than any bid strategy change would.