Most local business owners who tell us Google Ads doesn’t work have tried it for a few months, spent real money, and gotten a trickle of calls — some of them junk. It’s a frustrating experience. It’s also usually diagnosable. Work through these in order; the first ones are the most common.
1. You can’t see what’s working
If conversion tracking is missing or counts the wrong things, everything else is guesswork. Check Goals → Conversions. Your primary conversions should be calls (with a minimum length) and submitted forms — not page views, button clicks or “engagement.” If your account counts the wrong things, Google’s automated bidding is optimizing for the wrong things too.
2. Your ads show for the wrong searches
Open the search terms report. If you see job seekers, DIY questions, supply stores or services you don’t offer, your keywords are too broad or your negative list is too thin. This single report fixes more accounts than anything else.
3. The landing page doesn’t match the search
Someone searched for one specific service and landed on a general home page, a slow page or a page where the phone number is buried. Each service you advertise should have a page about that service, with calling and quote requests one tap away on a phone.
4. The budget is spread too thin
A modest budget across ten services and twenty towns means none of them get enough clicks to learn anything. Focus on your best one or two services and your core area, then expand from what works.
5. Calls aren’t being answered
Missed calls are paid-for leads that go to a competitor. Check your call tracking for unanswered calls, and set your ad schedule to the hours someone can pick up.
6. Location settings are too loose
Make sure location targeting is set to people in or regularly in your targeted areas, not people who are merely “interested in” them.
7. Automation was switched on too early
Performance Max, broad match and fully automated bidding need good conversion data. Without it, they spend freely on whatever is easiest to “convert.” Start with focused Search campaigns and add automation later.
8. Leads aren’t followed up quickly
Form leads that wait hours for a reply often book with someone else. Fast follow-up is part of advertising performance, even though it happens outside Google.
Still stuck?
If you’ve worked through these and results are still poor, the issue may be the offer, the market or the economics of the service you’re advertising. That’s worth knowing too. Our list of seven common budget leaks goes deeper on the account settings above.
Cole Mello is the founder of Altura Marketing Group. He studied marketing at Washington State University and manages Google Ads, Local Services Ads and Meta campaigns for local service businesses. About Altura