8 Mistakes Killing Your Google Ads Performance (+ How to Fix Them)

If your company is struggling with Google Ads performance, you’re not alone. The platform has become increasingly expensive and competitive, forcing marketers to work harder (and spend more money) for the same results.

That’s a challenging reality to communicate to your C-Suite.  

But here’s the thing: while many brands are seeing diminishing returns, others are thriving. The initial assumption is usually “they have more budget” or “it’s our industry”—but the biggest issue is execution. The most successful campaigns avoid critical mistakes that drain budgets and tank conversion rates.

To help improve your Google Ads campaigns’ performance, we’re bringing you insights from two of Foundation’s paid marketing experts. They know the exact pitfalls that drain budgets and tank conversion rates, how to avoid them, and how to optimize for better results.

But first, let’s look at the state of play in the Google Ads landscape. 

Google Ads Performance in 2025: Climbing CPC, Tanking CTR, and Shifting Budgets

Google remains one of the most powerful platforms for B2B marketing. It allows brands to capture buyers at the exact moment they’re looking for solutions (high intent) and occupy valuable online real estate at the top of the SERPs. Unfortunately, it’s also an increasingly difficult channel to master. 

The numbers from a recent DreamData study paint a challenging picture for B2B advertisers: non-branded search ad CPCs jumped 29% from $4.13 to $5.34 between August 2024 and July 2025, while CTRs dropped 26% from 5.47% to 4.04%. This double squeeze means you’re paying more for fewer clicks.

Foundation CEO Ross Simmonds notes that the SaaS industry is particularly impacted by this CPC inflation: “The paid search landscape has changed significantly with the influx of venture funding. Many well-funded competitors are overinflating CPCs by spending aggressively to maintain market presence, regardless of ROI.” 

For example, two email cybersecurity companies, Mimecast and Barracuda, have very different approaches to paid search spending thanks to the latter’s extensive private equity backing. Barracuda has much more money to throw at Google Ads than and it shines through in the difference in channel performance.

At the same time, marketers are quietly shifting budgets away from non-branded search. The Dreamdata study shows allocation dropped from 38.10% to 32.83% as returns become harder to justify. Yet non-branded Google Search still commands the second-largest share of B2B marketing budgets at an average of 35.53%, second only to LinkedIn.

So, Google Ads spending is changing, particularly for non-branded keywords. The increasing costs are scaring away B2B investment in paid search, which means there are opportunities for brands who avoid costly mistakes. 

Now I’ll hand the reins over to two paid marketing experts for a closer look at common mistakes that can lead brands away from Ad profitability. 

8 Mistakes Killing Your Google Ads Performance 

Now, before we get into the most common and impactful Google Ads mistakes, we need to make a few introductions. 

Meet Daniela Poblete, Content Marketing Specialist and Search Engine Marketing wiz, and Ben Dankiw, Foundation’s Director of Strategy and a digital advertising vet of 15+ years. Between the two, there are decades of experience in handling search ads for major B2B brands, particularly in the SaaS sector.

I recently interviewed them about the biggest mistakes bringing down brands’ Google Ads performance. Here’s their list of critical mistakes brands are making that you can avoid:

• Ignoring conversion tracking
• Generic landing pages
• Weak above-the-fold creative
• Poor smart bidding 
• Low-intent keyword targeting
• Poor audience targeting
• Weak ad copy
• No post-click optimization

1. Ignoring Conversion Tracking & Attribution

According to both Ben and Daniela, this is one of the biggest mistakes companies make with Google Ads. Why? Because without accurate conversion tracking and first-party data, you’re essentially flying blind and wasting money in the process.

“You can’t improve what you can’t measure. When the algorithm doesn’t get the right conversion signals, advertisers unintentionally reward the wrong clicks and then wonder why performance tanks.”

— Daniela Poblete, Content Marketing Specialist

Google Ads campaigns increasingly rely on machine learning algorithms, called Smart Bidding, to optimize automatically. Your job as a marketer is to feed these algorithms the right data. If your tracking is broken or incomplete, the algorithm optimizes for the wrong goals.

It’s not all bad news in paid search land, though. 

According to Wordstream’s benchmarks, 65% of industries saw better conversion rates in 2025. And, despite the rising costs, the average conversion rate was 7.52% across all industries (B2C and B2B). This suggests that smart optimization and accurate tracking can overcome the headwinds of increasing CPCs. As one industry expert put it: “Costs are rising, but so is performance—a smart strategy beats cheap clicks.”

Remember: accurate data is the foundation of everything else. Get this wrong, and every other optimization effort is built on sand.

2. Sending Traffic to Generic Web Pages Instead of Dedicated Landing Pages

Sending ad traffic to your homepage or general website pages might seem logical, but it’s a conversion killer. 

Your homepage serves too many purposes. It’s designed as a broad entry point for various audience segments, offering information about your company, products, values, and blog content. This general-purpose design works for organic visitors who want to explore, but it dilutes the sharp, targeted message your ad delivers. Generic pages introduce friction, distractions, and unrelated paths that increase bounce rates and reduce conversions.

Even more importantly, home (and solutions) pages fail to control the sales funnel and prevent “leak” — losing people at various points in the journey. 

When someone clicks on your ad, they arrive with a specific intent. They clicked because your ad promised something. Your job is to nurture that intent with a tailored experience, not overwhelm them with options.

According to Daniela, “If your ad promises a solution in two seconds, but your landing page takes two minutes to explain it, then you’ve already lost the sale.”

Here’s how to replace those generic pages with a landing page that inspires action:

• Create dedicated landing pages for each major use case. Match the page to the ad’s promise and the user’s intent. If your ad is about “reducing customer churn,” your landing page should focus exclusively on that outcome, not on your full product suite.
• Remove navigation and distractions. Anything that doesn’t directly support your conversion goal needs to go: strip complex navigation menus, remove blog post links, eliminate general product tours, and simplify pricing displays. 
• Match ad copy keywords with landing page headlines. If someone searches for “Zoom alternatives” and clicks your ad, the landing page headline should immediately acknowledge this intent. Consider using dynamic text replacement to personalize headlines based on search queries.
• Test page variants based on funnel stage. Create different landing pages for top-of-funnel (awareness), middle-of-funnel (consideration), and bottom-of-funnel (decision) campaigns. Someone researching “how to improve team collaboration” needs different messaging than someone searching “Slack alternatives pricing.”
• Focus on a single conversion goal. Whether it’s starting a free trial, booking a demo, downloading a resource, or signing up for a webinar, the page should focus entirely on that one action.

This level of specificity boosts conversion rates and improves your ad relevance score, potentially lowering your CPC. More importantly, it creates a seamless experience that aligns the expectations set by your ad with the actions users are prompted to take on the page.

3. Weak Above-the-Fold Experience

When visitors land on your page, their first impression happens above the fold. This space is prime real estate, and it determines whether users stay engaged or bounce.

Here’s why Ben thinks having a strong above-the-fold experience is so crucial for programmatic advertising: “Paid media traffic does not operate the same as organic search. Don’t assume they’ll scroll. Win your audience’s attention and drive action from your first impression.” 

As for optimizing the above-the-fold experience of your ads, here’s how our paid search team approaches it: 

• Lead with a clear, benefit-driven headline. It should connect directly to search intent. If someone searched for “reduce customer churn,” your headline should address that specific pain point, not just say “Welcome to [Company Name].”
• Display social proof early. Customer logos, G2 review scores, testimonials, or user statistics build immediate credibility. “Trusted by 10,000+ SaaS companies” or “4.8/5 on G2” should be visible without scrolling.
• Use a contrasting, high-visibility CTA. Your call-to-action button should stand out visually. Use action-oriented language like “Start Free Trial” or “Book a Demo” rather than generic “Learn More.” Test different CTA colours and positions — small visual changes can increase click-through rates by up to 20%.
• Show the product in action. Use relevant product screenshots or demo videos that illustrate your solution, not stock imagery. People need to visualize how your software solves their problem.
• Address the specific pain point from your ad. Create continuity between your ad message and what people see first on the page. If your ad promised “30% faster team collaboration,” that benefit should be front and center above the fold.

Capturing attention immediately is even more important now that AI Overviews are pushing ad blocks down the page. If the AIO appears first, your ad position drops, meaning fewer eyes on your carefully crafted message. 

Think of the above-the-fold area as your elevator pitch. You have seconds to communicate what problem you solve, why you’re the best at solving it, and what users should do next.

4. Smart Bidding Strategies That Actually Work

Many advertisers either rely on Smart Bidding too early (without sufficient data) or avoid it entirely. Both approaches leave money on the table. The right approach involves a transition from manual bidding to programmatic advertising:

• Start with manual CPC bidding. This allows you to test different bid levels, gather baseline conversion data for your industry, and understand your true impression share. It also allows you to set a maximum CPC limit that aligns with your specific strategy. 
• Transition to automated bidding strategically. Once you have sufficient conversion data (at least 30-50 conversions in 30 days), consider moving to Target CPA or Target ROAS bidding.
• Test your target manually first. Before switching to automated bidding, calculate your target CPA based on your actual data. If performance drops after switching, be ready to revert to manual bidding while gathering more data.
• Segment bidding by funnel stage. Use higher bids for bottom-of-funnel campaigns (brand alternatives, comparison keywords) and lower bids for top-of-funnel awareness campaigns.
• Pair Smart Bidding with audience layering. Give Google better conversion signals by combining automated bidding with remarketing lists and similar audience segments. This helps the algorithm understand which audience characteristics correlate with conversions.
• Feed the algorithm quality data. This circles back to mistake #1. Smart Bidding is only as good as your conversion tracking. Import offline conversions from your CRM so the algorithm learns which clicks turn into revenue, not just form fills.

Smart Bidding can dramatically improve campaign efficiency when implemented correctly. The key is patience — building sufficient conversion data before letting automation take control. Once you have the foundation of accurate tracking (mistake #1) and quality landing pages (mistake #2), Smart Bidding becomes a powerful lever for scaling performance. 

But even the best bidding strategy can’t compensate for targeting the wrong audience with the wrong keywords.

5. Running Ads on Low-Intent Keywords

Broad, generic keywords attract researchers and tire-kickers, not buyers. This wastes budget on clicks that rarely convert. Here are some of the best high-intent keywords that B2B businesses typically target with their Google search ads:

• Brand alternatives. Consumers often explore alternatives before making a decision. Target keywords like “Zoom alternatives,” “Slack competitors,” or “HubSpot vs Salesforce.” These users are solution-aware and in the consideration phase.
• Solution-based keywords. Terms like “best SaaS billing platform” or “enterprise project management software” indicate purchase intent. However, validate performance using your CRM data to ensure these keywords actually drive conversions.
• Problem-focused keywords. Many potential customers know their pain points but not the solution. Target queries like “how to reduce customer churn SaaS” or “ways to improve remote team productivity.” Create content that positions your product as the answer.
• Regularly audit your Search Terms report. Review what actual queries trigger your ads and add irrelevant terms to your negative keyword list. Exclude terms like “free,” “jobs,” “training,” or “definition” if they don’t align with your goals.
• Use exact match or phrase match for conversion-driven ad groups. Broad match can work for discovery, but tighten your match types for campaigns optimizing toward trials or demos.

Keyword intent is the difference between profitable campaigns and budget drain. The brands that focus on high-intent terms and ruthlessly prune low-performers create a foundation for sustainable growth. This is the exact process Ramp has used for their paid search strategy, decreasing their number of target keywords from around 20,000 to 6,500 over the last two years. 

Remember: more traffic isn’t better—more qualified traffic is. The next step is to ensure that high-intent clicks reach the right people at the right time through strategic audience targeting.

6. Poor Audience Targeting & Segmentation

Without proper audience segmentation, your optimization relies solely on keywords. This means you risk missing valuable signals that could improve performance.

Here are some of the audience targeting best practices recommended by Ben and Daniela:

• Use Observation Mode first. Apply audiences under “observation” rather than “targeting” initially. This lets you gather performance data without restricting reach. Once you identify high-performing segments, switch to “targeting” mode to focus your budget.
• Exclude irrelevant demographics. For enterprise SaaS, the 18–24 age group often includes students or researchers without purchasing authority. Analyze your existing customer demographics to inform precise targeting.
• Layer audiences for precision. Create composite audiences that combine remarketing lists, firmographic data (company size, industry), and intent signals. For B2B SaaS, consider using LinkedIn data through GA4 or Customer Match to mirror your ideal customer profile.
• Segment by purchase stage. Create different audience segments for awareness, consideration, and decision stages. Someone who visited your pricing page is further along than someone who only read a blog post. Treat them differently.
• Test Search Partners and Display Network carefully. Start with the Google Search Network where users actively seek solutions. Test Search Partners and Display Network separately, analyzing performance data to determine their value for your campaigns.

Audience targeting transforms good campaigns into great ones by layering behavioural and demographic insights onto keyword intent. When you combine high-intent keywords with precise audience segments, you create a multiplier effect that improves both click-through and conversion rates. 

But don’t get too comfortable yet. Even the most targeted campaign fails if your ad copy doesn’t compel users to click in the first place.

7. Writing Ads That Don’t Convert

Most companies spend enormous effort on keyword research and bidding, but neglect their ad framework and copy. There’s an art and science to effective copywriting, and the ad is your first impression. Make it count.

In a podcast episode on Google Ads mistakes, Foundation CEO Ross Simmonds discusses the four-part ad framework brands can use to improve conversion rates:

Here are a few pro tips from Daniela and Ben on how to improve ad copy and increase the efficacy of your ads: 

• Mine customer reviews for language. Dive deep into reviews of both your product and competitors’. Look for recurring themes, pain points, and phrases that resonate. Incorporate this language into your ad copy for better relatability.
• Test dynamic keyword insertion carefully. While it can boost CTR, it may reduce ad quality if keywords get inserted inappropriately. Use it selectively.
• A/B test continuously. Test different value propositions, CTAs, and social proof elements. Small changes can significantly impact click-through and conversion rates.

Compelling ad copy is your first impression and your competitive advantage in the crowded SERP. This 4-part ad framework gives you a systematic approach to crafting ads that drive clicks from the right people. But getting the click is only half the battle — what happens after the click determines whether you’ve wasted money or generated revenue.

8. Overlooking Post-Click Optimization & Lead Nurturing

Too many marketers stop optimizing once they get the click. But the journey from click to customer has many stages, and each one needs attention. Here’s how our team approaches these critical behind-the-scenes elements: 

• Track behavior beyond conversions. Monitor scroll depth, session duration, time on page, and CTA interaction rates in GA4. Use heatmaps (Hotjar, CrazyEgg) to identify where users drop off or get confused.
• Optimize your forms. Shorter forms generally convert better — up to 30% improvement in some cases. Consider using multi-step forms that progressively collect information without overwhelming users upfront.
• Don’t neglect lead nurturing. The work doesn’t end when someone fills out a form. Many SaaS marketers overlook the critical importance of lead nurturing and marketing-to-sales integration:
  • Implement speed-to-lead processes. Research shows that contacting a lead within 5 minutes versus 30 minutes can increase conversion rates by 100x. Set up immediate follow-up systems.
  • Provide multiple contact options. Enable text/WhatsApp/iMessage reminder options. Different prospects prefer different communication channels.
  • Listen to sales calls. Regularly review recordings to identify gaps in messaging, common objections, or questions that should be addressed earlier in the funnel.
  • Create value-driven follow-up sequences. Don’t just send generic “checking in” emails. Provide helpful resources, case studies, or insights that move prospects closer to a decision.
  • Ensure seamless marketing-to-sales handoff. Your Google Ads marketing funnels should feed directly into your sales pipeline with clear context about where the lead came from and what they were interested in.
• Ensure fast load speeds. Slow landing pages increase bounce rates, raise your CPC, and hurt Quality Score. Optimize images, minimize scripts, and test load times on mobile devices.
• Personalize dynamically. Use tools like Unbounce Smart Traffic or Google Optimize to personalize landing page content based on ad source, audience segment, or other attributes.

Post-click optimization is where most advertisers lose money. You can have perfect targeting, bidding, and ad copy, but if your lead nurturing process fails or your forms are broken, you’re still burning budget. The most successful Google Ads campaigns view the entire customer journey as a single, integrated system where every touchpoint matters.

Fix Costly Mistakes and Improve Your Google Ads Performance Now

Google Ads performance is evolving, but it’s still a critical channel. 

While costs are rising across the board, brands that avoid these eight critical mistakes consistently outperform their competitors. Success requires a holistic approach: accurate conversion tracking, dedicated landing pages, optimized above-the-fold experiences, strategic bidding, high-intent keywords, precise audience targeting, compelling ad copy, and seamless post-click optimization. 

Each element amplifies the others, creating campaigns that deliver sustainable ROI even as the landscape becomes more competitive. 

Ready to transform your Google Ads performance? Foundation’s paid marketing experts help some of the biggest B2B brands optimize campaigns for maximum ROI. Contact us today to audit your current paid search strategy and identify opportunities for improvement.