Google Ads campaigns can be a goldmine for achieving leads, sales or awareness — but only if you’re operating and optimizing in the right ways for your goals.   

Paid search success is an art and science that requires proactive planning and near-constant optimization. Launch with a subpar strategy, and you’ll be left with an overspent budget and underwhelming results.  

So, how can you ensure your campaigns deliver profit-boosting outcomes and avoid tossing your ad dollars into a digital black hole? Ask yourself these seven questions. 

Are You Targeting an Audience That Aligns with Your Ideal Customer?

It’s not about getting as many people as possible to click — it’s about getting the right people to click. Quality dominates quantity, so grouping audiences based on the following factors in alignment with your business goals is paramount for weeding out low-quality leads and improving ad relevance and quality scores. 

  • Demographics: Assess categories like age, gender, income and other criteria making up your ideal customer persona, noting that certain industries like housing and healthcare have targeting limitations. 
  • Location: Optimize for physical location while avoiding overlapping or too-wide radiuses. Distinguish between presence (people physically in your area) and interest (people outside the area but interested.) 

Is Your Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) Consistent? 

Vanity metrics like clicks and impressions only tell part of the story; ROAS is the ultimate measure of success. Generally, your Google Ads campaign should yield at least a 2:1 ratio — making $2 for every $1 spent — but this heavily depends on your industry. For example, ecommerce products targeted toward the masses typically yield higher ROAS than a B2B service offering that’s strategically aimed at a smaller audience of business leaders. 

Seasonal spikes happen, but your base ROAS should stay relatively consistent. If ad spend doesn’t translate to real dollars in your pocket, it’s time to rethink your strategy.

Are You Sending Traffic to a Custom Landing Page or the Homepage?

Google should know you’re providing visitors with a clear digital pathway, and visitors should know they’re in the right place with distraction-free messaging. Driving traffic to your homepage rather than a targeted landing page makes ads less effective for two big reasons: 

  • Ad Quality Scores: Google prefers landing pages that align with the ad content. This fulfills search intent, providing the right information right away. Relevant landing pages win bids because they’re centered around offering genuine solutions — not simply getting clicks. 

Do You Understand How Bidding Strategies Impact Performance?

Not all bidding strategies are created equal. The right approach depends on your goals. You may aim to: 

  • Maximize Clicks: This type of Google Ads campaign helps generate awareness and website traffic. Think: Opening new locations in a new city. 
  • Maximize Conversions: Conversion-driven campaigns prioritize sales and leads. Think: Securing signups and purchases via form submission.
    Within conversion bidding strategies, you can further focus on objectives like: 
    • Target ROAS: For profitability-driven campaigns 
    • Target CPA: Cost per action, ideal for lead generation 
    • Maximize Conversion Value: eCommerce-focused, driving higher-value purchases 

You’ll know you’ve chosen the right bidding strategy when it helps you meet particular KPIs aligned with your desired outcome. 

Have You Performed a Google Ads Competitor Analysis? 

Minding your own business is a poor paid search practice. A Google Ads competitor analysis provides insights into your outranking share to capture more market, answering questions like:  

  • Who’s bidding on the same terms and beating you?  
  • How often do competitors’ ads overlap with yours? 
  • Should you change your keywords and find a new niche? 

Beyond keywords, pay attention to competitors’ ad creative to stand out in a sea of sameness.

Are You Getting Transparent, Regular Reporting?

A “set-it-and-forget-it” approach post-launch isn’t enough if you want your budget to work smarter and harder. Frequent campaign monitoring will clarify what resonates, what doesn’t and what to fine-tune. Analytics reporting helps you: 

  • Align keywords with business goals and brand messaging 
  • Make data-driven, real-time decisions to avoid blindly spending 
  • Encourage transparent conversions about budget or targeting tweaks 
  • Compare long-term ad quality and success 

You should analyze new reporting data every two weeks — and typically adjust campaign content, keywords and audiences even more often than that. 

Are You Regularly Testing and Updating Ad Creatives?

Google likes fresh content as much as people do. Optimizing and A/B testing messaging and creative based on past campaign learnings supports high engagement — even if someone sees your ads multiple times. 

And if you want higher-intent clicks, don’t just rely on standard search ads. Instead, meet users where they’re at in the sales cycle — are people just browsing or ready to make a purchase? Explore other types of Google Ads  for broader impact: 

  • Display Ads: Top-of-funnel ads generating brand awareness, web traffic and increased reach based on a user’s previous online behavior and interests. Remarketing tactics are especially effective here, as well. 
  • Traditional Search Ads: A mid-funnel strategy focused on form fills, signups and securing high-quality leads. Ads can also be tailored for awareness and conversions, when appropriate. 
  • Performance Max Ads: Bottom-of-funnel ads appearing on several channels, typically geared toward direct conversions and sales. 

Level Up Your Next Google Ads Campaign with Digital Experts

If you answered “no” to any of these questions, we can help maximize ad spend, refine targeting and optimize for high-intent conversions (without the guesswork) as a certified Google Partner. 

It starts with an audit. Whether you need a current Google Ads campaign assessment or start-from-scratch strategy, let’s chat!