PPC advertising offers businesses a fast, measurable way to reach high-intent audiences through platforms like Google Ads and Meta Ads. While the model is effective, poor execution often leads to wasted spending and missed opportunities.
Many campaigns underperform due to avoidable setup, targeting, and optimisation mistakes. Recognising these issues early allows marketers to make informed decisions that improve results and maximise returns.
Table of Contents
Key Takeaways
- PPC campaigns require ongoing monitoring, not a one-time setup.
- Minor oversights can lead to wasted ad spend and poor results.
- Clear goals, accurate tracking, and audience alignment are essential for success.
- Strong copy and user-focused landing pages improve engagement and conversions.
- Consistent optimisation backed by data drives better performance over time.
How Often Should You Optimise Your PPC Campaigns?
PPC campaigns perform best when monitored and refined regularly. Market trends, user behaviour, and competitive activity can shift quickly, causing even well-planned campaigns to lose relevance or efficiency over time.
Ongoing optimisation helps ensure your ads remain competitive, budgets are allocated effectively, and performance stays aligned with your goals. Without consistent updates, campaigns risk delivering lower ROI, overspending, or missing valuable opportunities.
Here’s the frequency recommendation in optimising your PPC Campaigns:
| Frequency | What to Do |
| Daily | Monitor performance during launch phases or time-sensitive promotions |
| Weekly | Review key metrics like CTR, conversions, and spend trends |
| Bi-weekly or Monthly | Adjust bids, keywords, targeting, and ad creatives based on performance data |
10 Common PPC Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Before launching or scaling any PPC campaign, it’s important to look beyond the basics and assess what could be holding your ads back. Below are 10 common PPC mistakes to avoid and practical ways to fix them.
1. Not Setting Clear Campaign Goals
Without defined goals, PPC campaigns can easily drift off track—leading to inconsistent messaging, inefficient targeting, and unclear performance metrics. It also makes measuring success or justifying ad spend difficult.
How to fix:
- Set SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) before launching any campaign
- Determine what success looks like, e.g. cost per lead, return on ad spend, number of sign-ups
- Align campaign objectives with your overall business or marketing goals
- Use conversion tracking to measure goal completion accurately
2. Targeting the Wrong Audience
Even the best ads won’t perform well if they’re shown to the wrong people. When audience targeting is too broad or misaligned, it often leads to high impressions but low engagement or conversions. It wastes your budget and skews performance data, making it harder to identify what’s working.
How to fix:
- Analyse past customer data to define ideal audience segments
- Use detailed targeting filters such as location, device, interests, and behaviours
- Exclude irrelevant demographics or audience groups that don’t convert
- Continuously refine targeting based on campaign results and insights from analytics
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3. Poor Keyword Strategy
A poor keyword strategy often results in irrelevant clicks, wasted budget, and low conversions. Overusing broad keywords, neglecting search intent, or failing to include negative keywords can severely limit your PPC effectiveness.
How to fix:
- Build keyword lists around high-intent, relevant search terms
- Use a balanced mix of match types (exact, phrase, modified broad) to control reach
- Continuously review search term reports to remove underperforming or irrelevant queries
- Add negative keywords to filter out unrelated traffic and prevent wasted clicks
4. Ignoring Ad Extensions
Skipping ad extensions limits your ad’s visibility and reduces its appeal. Without them, your ads may look less informative or credible compared to competitors. Extensions also increase click-through rates by offering more reasons to engage.
How to fix:
- Enable relevant extensions such as sitelinks, callouts, call, and structured snippets
- Highlight key offerings like free shipping, discounts, or service categories
- Match extensions to user intent at each stage of the funnel
- Monitor extension performance and update regularly to stay relevant
5. Weak Ad Copy
Ad copy is the first impression users get—if it fails to grab attention or communicate value, they’ll scroll past. Vague headlines, lack of clear benefits, or missing CTAs can lead to poor engagement and low click-through rates.
How to fix:
- Focus on user pain points and how your offering solves them
- Write headlines that are clear, specific, and benefit-driven
- Include strong calls to action like “Get a Quote” or “Shop Now”
- Test multiple versions to see which message resonates best
Learn more about how to create a compelling ad copy using AI today and watch as your engagement soars!
6. Not Using A/B Testing
Running only one version of an ad gives you no room to learn or improve. A/B testing helps reveal what your audience actually responds to, turning minor tweaks into big performance wins. It’s a simple way to boost results through data-backed decisions.
How to fix:
- Draft multiple ad variants with slight differences in copy or format
- Test elements like headline tone, value propositions, and CTA phrasing
- Keep experiments focused, one change per test for clarity
- Let data guide your creative direction, not guesswork
7. Failing to Optimise Landing Pages
A poorly designed landing page can break the user journey even if your ads are well-crafted. Slow loading speed, mismatched messaging, or cluttered layouts often frustrate visitors and lead to high bounce rates.
How to fix:
- Match your landing page headline and content with the ad promise
- Prioritise mobile optimisation and fast loading times
- Use clean layouts with clear CTAs and minimal distractions
- Incorporate trust signals like reviews, certifications, or guarantees
8. Setting and Forgetting Campaigns
Leaving campaigns untouched can lead to declining performance and pointless use of funds. As trends shift, your ads need regular updates to stay effective. Ongoing monitoring helps maintain momentum and spot issues early.
How to fix:
- Review campaign performance weekly and flag unusual changes in key metrics
- Rotate ad creatives and refresh copy to avoid fatigue
- Adjust bids, budgets, and audience segments based on recent trends
- Set up automated rules or alerts to catch overspending or sudden drops early
9. Not Tracking Conversions Properly
Conversion tracking errors create blind spots in understanding campaign performance. Poorly configured tracking or missed conversions can result in misleading data, making it difficult to gauge true ROI.
How to fix:
- Verify your Google Ads and Analytics tracking setups regularly
- Implement clear conversion goals, including forms, purchases, or phone calls
- Test conversion actions periodically to ensure they register correctly
- Utilise Google Tag Manager for reliable tracking implementation
10. Ignoring Mobile Users
A large share of ad traffic comes from mobile, yet many campaigns still overlook how users experience ads and landing pages on smaller screens. Poor mobile layouts, slow load times, or unresponsive elements can quickly turn potential customers away—no matter how good the ad is.
How to fix:
- Design landing pages with a mobile-first approach
- Use concise headlines, large buttons, and easy-to-read formatting
- Test ad previews and user flows specifically on mobile devices
- Optimise loading speed and reduce page elements that slow performance
Conclusion
Every decision in a PPC campaign has a direct impact on performance and budgeting. Overlooking details like targeting, copy, or tracking can quickly lead to underwhelming results. Avoiding these common pitfalls gives your ads a stronger foundation to succeed.
Want better returns from your PPC campaigns? Partner with Newnormz digital marketing agency for data-driven strategies, smart optimisation, and measurable growth. Contact Newnormz today!
