The costliest mistake in Google Ads is sending traffic to a landing page that does not continue what the ad promised. Google measures this in Quality Score with three components: expected clickthrough rate, ad relevance and landing page experience. A high CTR with a high bounce rate means the ad attracts but the page does not convince.
A Google Ads campaign can spend its budget in a day and not bring in a single customer. The publish button almost never fails: something fails before (the search intent, the page where the click lands) or after (what you measure). These are the seven mistakes we see most and how to fix them, with a 10-minute review at the end.
1. Sending the click to a bad landing page
It is the costliest mistake. The person clicked with a clear intent: they want what the ad said. If they land on the general home page, an endless catalog or a message that does not continue the promise, they leave.
Diagnosis: high CTR and high bounce rate at the same time. The ad attracts, the page does not convince. Fix: one specific page per offer, with the same message as the ad, a single action and the button in plain sight. If you advertise “invisible braces”, the page talks about invisible braces, not about the whole clinic.
An illustrative example, made up to explain: an ad that says “Invisible braces in Santiago” and sends people to the home page, where the first message is “Welcome to our clinic”. The person is looking for an answer and finds a greeting. The fix is a page that opens with “Invisible braces in Santiago” and the WhatsApp button in plain sight.
2. Not measuring the conversion
If Google does not know what a sale is for you, it optimizes for clicks. Set up as a conversion what matters: a call, a WhatsApp message, a form or a purchase, and check that it records before spending. Test it yourself: send a message from your phone and verify that it appears in the conversions report.
3. Ignoring Quality Score
Quality Score is a diagnostic tool that estimates, per keyword and on a scale of 1 to 10, how useful your ad and your page are to the person searching. It has three components, each rated “above average”, “average” or “below average”:
| Component | What it indicates | How to improve it |
|---|---|---|
| Expected clickthrough rate | Likelihood that people click when it shows | Headlines with the keyword and a concrete benefit |
| Ad relevance | How well it matches what the user is looking for | Group keywords by theme and write one ad per theme |
| Landing page experience | How relevant and useful the page is | Content consistent with the ad, fast and readable on mobile |
4. Using keywords that are too broad
A broad keyword attracts searches that are not yours. Two habits prevent it.
The search terms report. It shows the real searches that triggered your ads and which keyword matched each one. Google suggests using it for two things: refining your keywords toward what you actually sell and adding the searches that do not help you as negatives. Its own example: someone who sells eyeglasses and sees that “wine glasses” triggers their ad can add “wine” as a negative. Check it every week.
Negative keywords. According to Google Ads Help, you can exclude terms in broad (the default), phrase or exact match. They do not cover close variants: if you exclude “free”, you may have to add “freebie” and “gratis” separately. For a clinic or a local store, start with “free”, “jobs”, “course” and “market price”, if they do not match what you sell.
5. Letting a single campaign do everything
Mixing products, cities and goals in one campaign makes it impossible to see what works. Separate by service or by goal. Each campaign with its own budget and message.
6. Forgetting the location setting
If your business serves one city, Google can also show your ads to people who show interest in that location even if they are not there. Google Ads Help distinguishes two settings: “Presence or interest”, which reaches people in the area and people who have shown interest in it, and “Presence”, which only reaches people physically there. Google recommends the first on Search for its reach; the second is better when only people in your area are useful to you.
Decide based on what you can serve: a clinic that only sees patients from Santiago gains nothing from clicks from abroad.
7. Changing everything every two days
The system needs data to learn. If you change ads, budget and keywords every day, you never know what caused what. Change one thing, wait one or two weeks with enough data and compare.
One extra point, outside the platform: when a person writes on WhatsApp or fills in a form, someone must reply quickly. If the ad brings messages nobody answers in time, the platform is not to blame. Connect it with the WhatsApp Business guide to serve people and with how to sell more with WhatsApp Business to close.
A 10-minute review for your campaign
- Does every ad point to a page that continues its message?
- Is there a conversion set up and verified with your own test?
- Which Quality Score component is below average?
- Did you review last week’s search terms and add negatives?
- Does the location setting match who you can serve?
- Does someone reply within minutes when a message arrives?
If you have not tried organic yet, validating the message first may be cheaper: read organic marketing for your business. And if you want us to review your account and tell you where the budget is going, message us on WhatsApp.
Sources
Accessed on October 25, 2026.
- Google Ads Help, About Quality Score.
- Google Ads Help, Negative keywords.
- Google Ads Help, Search terms report.
- Google Ads Help, Location targeting options.
Frequently asked questions
What is Google Ads Quality Score?
It is a 1-to-10 scale per keyword that estimates the quality of your ads and your landing page compared with those of other advertisers. It has three components: expected clickthrough rate, ad relevance and landing page experience.
Why do I get many clicks but few sales?
Almost always for one of three reasons: the landing page does not answer what the ad promised, the offer does not match the search intent, or the conversion (message, call, purchase) is not measured properly.
What should I measure first in a campaign?
The conversion that matters to you: a call, a WhatsApp message, a form or a purchase. Without it, Google optimizes for clicks and you pay for visits, not for customers.
How much budget do I need to start on Google Ads?
Enough to get useful data: several clicks a day on the keywords that matter to you. If your budget does not reach that, start with few keywords and a single city.
What are negative keywords?
They are terms you exclude so your ads do not show for searches that do not help you. Google Ads allows them in broad, phrase and exact match, and they do not include close variants, so you have to add synonyms, singulars and plurals.
Which location setting should I use if my business is local?
Google recommends "Presence or interest" on Search for its reach. If only people physically in your area are useful to you, choose "Presence". Decide based on who you can serve, not out of habit.