Google Ads Troubleshooting Guide

Something's wrong with your campaigns. Results are declining, costs are rising, or performance has completely stalled. This comprehensive troubleshooting guide helps you diagnose the root cause and implement the fix.

What You'll Master

• Diagnostic frameworks for identifying performance problems
• Step-by-step fixes for the most common Google Ads issues
• Click fraud detection and 8 manual defense strategies
• 14 proven strategies to reduce rising costs
• How to evaluate Google's recommendations (which to trust, which to ignore)
• Decision trees for quick problem resolution

The Core Truth: Most Google Ads problems have predictable causes and proven solutions. Stop guessing—use systematic diagnosis to identify the issue and targeted fixes to resolve it.

The Performance Problem Categories

Problem Type	Symptoms	Primary Causes
Spending Issues	Campaign won't spend, budget underspent	Target too aggressive, low volume
Cost Issues	CPC/CPA rising, ROAS declining	Competition, targeting, quality
Conversion Issues	Clicks but no conversions	Landing page, tracking, traffic quality
Quality Issues	Low Quality Score, ad disapprovals	Relevance, landing page, CTR
Fraud Issues	High CTR, low conversion, spike patterns	Click fraud, bot traffic
Plateau Issues	Flat performance despite optimization	Audience fatigue, market saturation

The Diagnosis Process

1. Identify the symptom — What's actually happening?
2. Check the timeframe — Sudden change or gradual decline?
3. Compare to baseline — What was normal performance?
4. Isolate the variable — Which campaign, keyword, or setting?
5. Test the hypothesis — Verify the cause before fixing

Problem: Budget Not Being Used

Symptoms:

• Daily budget significantly underspent
• Campaign shows "Limited by budget" but doesn't spend
• Impressions near zero

Diagnostic Checklist

Check 1: ROAS/CPA Target Too Aggressive

• If target ROAS is 600% but achievable is 300%, campaign won't spend
• If target CPA is $20 but achievable is $50, campaign won't spend

Fix: Lower or remove target. Let Google establish baseline, then set target at achievable level.

Check 2: Keywords Too Restrictive

• Very low search volume keywords
• Extremely narrow exact match only
• Too many negative keywords blocking traffic

Fix: Expand keyword coverage, add phrase match variants, review negative keyword list for over-blocking.

Check 3: Geographic Targeting Too Narrow

• Small geographic area with limited search volume
• Combined with niche keywords = near-zero impressions

Fix: Expand geographic targeting or accept low volume.

Check 4: Ad Disapprovals

• Ads disapproved by policy
• Campaign has no active approved ads

Fix: Navigate to Ads tab, check for disapprovals, fix policy violations.

Check 5: Bid Strategy Learning Phase

• New campaigns take 1-2 weeks to exit learning
• Performance and spending is unpredictable during this phase

Fix: Wait. Don't make changes during learning phase.

Problem: Campaign Spending Too Fast

Symptoms:

• Budget exhausted by mid-morning
• Ads stop showing before business hours end
• Missing peak conversion periods

Diagnostic Checklist

Check 1: Budget vs. CPC Mismatch

• $50/day budget with $10 average CPC = only 5 clicks before budget gone

Fix: Increase budget or lower bids (though smart bidding limits bid control).

Check 2: Broad Match Keyword Expansion

• Broad match triggers for many unintended searches
• Budget burns on irrelevant queries

Fix: Tighten match types, add negative keywords aggressively.

Check 3: Ad Schedule Not Set

• Ads running 24/7 when conversions only happen during business hours
• Overnight traffic consumes budget without converting

Fix: Set ad schedule to focus budget on converting hours.

Why Costs Rise

Structural Factors (You Can't Control):

• More advertisers competing for same inventory
• Automation expands competitive overlap
• Industry-wide CPC inflation (3-10% annually)

Account Factors (You CAN Control):

• Poor Quality Score
• Broad targeting attracting low-quality traffic
• Inadequate negative keywords
• Suboptimal bid strategies

The Critical Mindset Shift

Stop obsessing over CPC. Focus on ROAS.

Scenario	CPC	Conv. Rate	CPA	ROAS
A (seems good)	$2	1%	$200	2.5x
B (seems bad)	$10	10%	$100	5x

Scenario B has 5x higher CPC but 2x better ROAS because of higher conversion rates.

Foundational Strategies (Do These First)

1. Tighten Conversion Tracking

• Clean up duplicate and low-value conversions
• Set one primary conversion action
• Verify events fire accurately
• Implement server-side tracking

2. Use Smart Bidding (Always)

• Manual bidding cannot compete with Google's AI
• Recommended: Target ROAS or Target CPA
• For new campaigns: Maximize Conversions (until 30+ conversions)

3. Better Creative

• Engaging creative → Higher CTR → Better Quality Score → Lower CPC
• Creator-led ads achieve 2-5x higher CTR than corporate ads
• 30-50% lower CPCs compared to traditional advertising

4. Aggressive Negative Keywords

• Weekly search terms audit
• Add irrelevant terms as negatives
• Account-level negative keyword list: free, cheap, DIY, tutorial, jobs

5. Reallocate Budget to High-ROAS Campaigns

• Most advertisers split budget equally despite performance variance
• Shift 20-30% from low-ROAS to high-ROAS campaigns
• Immediate 20-40% ROAS improvement

Advanced Strategies

6. Feed Optimization (Shopping/PMax)

• Optimize product titles with brand, model, features
• Enhanced descriptions for better ad copy
• Custom labels for segmentation

7. High-Value Audience Prioritization

• Upload segmented customer lists by LTV
• Use high-value customers as audience signals
• Google learns to find more profitable customers

8. Exclude Non-Buyers

• Create audience: visited site, spent 5+ minutes, didn't purchase
• Exclude from PMax and remarketing
• Stop wasting budget on tire-kickers

9. GA4 Predictive Audiences

• Import "Likely purchasers" from GA4
• Target users predicted to convert
• Bridge gap for new Google Ads accounts

10. Ad Schedule Micro-Optimization

• Analyze CPA/ROAS by hour of day
• Exclude poor-performing hours
• Focus budget on high-converting time slots

11-14: Additional Strategies

• Vertical Video Format: YouTube Shorts 66% cheaper CPV than standard video
• Geographic Refinement: Exclude high-CPA, low-ROAS regions
• Cheaper Placement Exploitation: Gmail and Discover cheaper than Search/YouTube
• Smarter Remarketing Windows: Shorten to 7-14 days for higher conversion rates

Warning Signs of Click Fraud

Indicator 1: Clicks Spike Without Conversion Spike

• Normal: 50% click increase = ~50% conversion increase
• Fraud: 50% click increase, conversions flat
• Result: Conversion rate crashes

Indicator 2: Unusually High CTR from Specific Locations

• Normal CTR: 2-8%
• Fraud pattern: One location shows 15-25% CTR
• Cause: Click farms or competitor offices

Indicator 3: Repeated Clicks from Same IPs

• Normal: Most IPs click once, occasionally 2-3 times
• Fraud: Same IP clicks 10+ times daily
• Action: Export click data, analyze patterns

Indicator 4: Spike in Bounce Rate / Short Sessions

• Normal bounce rate: 40-70%
• Fraud pattern: Bounce rate spikes to 85-95%
• Session duration drops from 2 minutes to 5 seconds

Defense 1: IP Address Exclusions

• Identify suspicious IPs (5+ clicks without converting)
• Add to Account Settings → IP Exclusions
• Effective for high-CPC industries

Defense 2: Geographic Targeting Adjustments

• Analyze performance by location
• Exclude or reduce bids for high-fraud regions
• Focus on core markets with lower fraud rates

Defense 3: Ad Scheduling

• Bot activity highest overnight (10 PM - 6 AM)
• Run ads during business hours only
• Reduces fraud exposure significantly

Defense 4: Device Bid Adjustments

• Higher fraud on cheap Android devices and tablets
• Lower fraud on desktop and premium mobile
• Reduce bids 30-70% on high-fraud devices

Defense 5-8: Additional Defenses

• High-Value Customer Bidding: Optimize for premium customers; fraudulent clicks don't convert as high-value
• Placement Exclusions: Review Display/YouTube placements monthly; block mobile game apps
• Frequency Capping: Limit impressions to 3-5 per day per user
• Comprehensive Negative Keywords: Broad searches attract more bots; target 100+ negatives

When to Consider Third-Party Tools

• Spending $5,000+/month
• High-CPC industry ($10+ per click)
• Clear fraud symptoms persist

Popular Tools

Tool	Monthly Cost
ClickCease	$60-$300
PPC Protect	$50-$500
Fraud Blocker	$20-$200

ROI Example

Metric	Value
Monthly spend	$10,000
Fraud rate	15%
Fraud cost	$1,500/month
Tool cost	$150/month
Fraud reduction	60%
Net savings	$750/month

Recommendations to Implement

Recommendation	Why Implement
Add Assets to Your Ads	More testing combinations, higher CTR, zero downside
Fix Disapproved Ads	Critical—disapproved ads mean zero impressions
Enable Enhanced Conversions	Improves conversion attribution accuracy
Fix Conversion Tracking Issues	Bad tracking = bad bidding decisions

Recommendations to Evaluate Carefully

Recommendation	When to Accept	When to Reject
Increase Budget	Campaign hitting targets and limited by budget	Just want more spend without performance justification
Remove Redundant Keywords	True duplicates with no purpose	Intentional variants for control
Switch to Broad Match	High conversion volume, strong tracking	Low volume, poor conversion tracking

Recommendations to Usually Reject

Recommendation	Why Reject
Expand to Search Partners	Lower quality traffic, minimal volume benefit
Use Optimize Targeting	Removes audience control in favor of Google's judgment
Add New Keywords (Auto-Generated)	Often too broad or irrelevant
Lower CPA/Raise ROAS Target	Makes Google's job harder, reduces volume

The Rule: Implement recommendations that align with YOUR strategy. Dismiss those that primarily benefit Google's revenue goals over your performance goals.

Problem	Most Likely Cause	Quick Fix
Campaign won't spend	Target too aggressive	Lower or remove ROAS/CPA target
Budget exhausted early	Broad match + no negatives	Add negative keywords, tighten match types
CPC rising	Low Quality Score	Improve ad relevance and landing page
Clicks but no conversions	Landing page issues	Audit landing page, check tracking
Sudden performance drop	Tracking broke	Test conversion tracking immediately
High CTR, low conversions	Click fraud	Review IPs, locations, schedule ads
Flat performance	Audience fatigue	Refresh creative, expand targeting
Quality Score dropped	Landing page changed	Review recent website changes