Where does your Google Ads budget leak away? A checklist

In Google Ads for local businesses we explained what Google Ads is and how to set up a first campaign. This article goes a step further: what goes wrong in practice once a campaign is running? Anyone who has taken over an ad account knows the picture: a good part of the budget goes on clicks that never become customers. That is rarely ill will; it is settings nobody has checked. Below are six places where budget often leaks away, what Google's documentation says about them and how to check them. We name no percentages or expected savings, because those depend entirely on your account.

1. You do not look at the search terms

The most important report in a search campaign is the search terms report. Google explains that a search term is what someone types and a keyword is what you as an advertiser add. The report shows which actual searches triggered your ad and how they performed. Google's own example is clear: a florist who sells tulips and uses the broad keyword “flowers” sees that the ad also appears for searches for red roses and purple orchids, flowers they do not sell. Without reading this report you pay for searches you never intended.

How to check: open the search terms report for the past period, sort by cost and look at the terms that cost money but produce nothing. For each term ask: would I want this person as a customer?

2. You do not use exclusions, or they do not work

You add irrelevant search terms as a negative keyword. Google describes that this stops your ad from showing for people looking for something you do not sell. Two things are good to know:

• Exclusions are not automatically broad. According to Google, negative keywords do not match close variants: if you exclude “flower”, you do not automatically exclude “flowers”. So add singular, plural and synonyms that are relevant to you.
• Too many exclusions can narrow your reach. The goal is not the longest possible list, but filtering out what really does not fit, such as “free”, “job” or “do it yourself” if that is not your business.

There are also exclusion lists you can apply at account level, handy if you have several campaigns.

3. The keyword match type is too broad

The search terms report also has a “match type” column. Google explains that the types (broad, phrase, exact) determine how close a search has to be to your keyword and that close variants, such as singular/plural, abbreviations and variants with the same meaning, are also included. A broad keyword can trigger search terms that do not fit your offer. Limit that by choosing specific keywords per product or service, and check which match type produces the best searches in practice. That is not a fixed rule but a routine: look, adjust, look again.

4. The location setting does not match your reach

For a local business the location seems obvious, but the setting is subtler than a map radius. Google describes that location targeting by default reaches both people who are in or regularly in your target area and people who have shown interest in that area; this is called “Presence or interest”. The alternative is “Presence”, which limits itself to people likely to be in your area. Google recommends broad targeting as a best practice for Search, but also notes that “Presence” can make sense if you only want to reach people in specific locations. Google also warns that location detection is not 100% accurate in every situation. For a business that works only on site (a plumber, a hairdresser) that may be the choice to check. For a business that also attracts customers from outside the area, the default may work well. So look in your report at where your conversions really come from before you change the setting.

5. You do not measure what counts

This is the worst leak, because you cannot see from it that things are going wrong. Google explains that you define yourself what is valuable for your business (a purchase, a sign-up, a phone call) and that conversion measurement shows which ads and keywords lead to it. Without conversion measurement a campaign steers on clicks, not on customers. Google's automated bidding strategies also need that data. Check:

1. What is set as a conversion? Is it really an enquiry, or do page views or button clicks count that say little?
2. Are phone calls counted? Google supports measuring calls as a conversion.
3. Is the measurement point set up correctly? Test it by making an enquiry yourself. With a new site you want to do this before launch, see Preparing a website project.
4. Is consent handled properly? Google points out that advertisers in the EEA must take into account that the EU consent rules apply and that Consent Mode must be set up correctly. We wrote about cookies and consent in cookies and GDPR for your website and in privacy-friendly web analytics.

6. Bidding and the campaign are changed too often

Google describes that automated bidding (Smart Bidding) has a learning period, generally seven to fourteen days, and that you should avoid too-frequent changes during that time. Anyone who adjusts every day keeps pulling the system out of its learning curve. Give a change time, judge over a reasonable period and then change, not on the basis of one day. That also goes for judging results: a few clicks say nothing.

And the landing page?

The Quality Score in Google Ads is a diagnostic at keyword level. Google explains that it is based on three components: expected click-through rate, ad relevance and landing page experience, each rated below, at or above average compared with other advertisers. It is a tool to see where you run into a problem, not a dial you turn. A poor landing page experience usually means the page does not match the search or is too slow. On loading speed, see the metrics in Web Vitals (web.dev), and on building a page that produces enquiries read A landing page that produces enquiries.

A monthly routine of half an hour

• Look at the search terms report and add exclusions.
• Check whether the conversions match the enquiries you receive yourself.
• Compare cost per conversion per campaign, not just clicks.
• See whether the location and schedule still match where your customers come from.
• Note changes and the date, so you know later what had which effect.

When it is time to look for help

If after a few months you still do not know which ads lead to enquiries, there is probably something wrong with the measurement and not with the ads. That is a good moment for a second pair of eyes. We help with Google Ads, including the pages visitors land on. Book a free intro call.

Sources

Reviewed on 28 October 2026 against the sources below. Rules and guidelines change; this article is general information, not legal or tax advice.

• About the search terms report (Google Ads Help)
• About negative keywords (Google Ads Help)
• About advanced location options (Google Ads Help)
• About conversion tracking (Google Ads Help)
• About Quality Score (Google Ads Help)
• Web Vitals (web.dev)

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