Google Ads Mistakes That Waste Your Budget
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Google Ads Mistakes That Waste Your Budget

The 12 Google Ads mistakes we see burning budgets in Kenya and globally — and how to fix each one this week.

24 February 20269 min readBy MM Digital Marketing Editorial
Key Takeaways
  • 80% of wasted spend comes from 3 mistakes: no negatives, no tracking, wrong landing page.
  • Weekly optimization compounds — set-and-forget destroys ROAS.
  • PMax is powerful but needs the right feed and creative to work.

The 12 costly mistakes

  • 1. Broad match without negative keywords
  • 2. Sending all traffic to the homepage
  • 3. No conversion tracking
  • 4. Ignoring search terms report
  • 5. One ad group with everything crammed in
  • 6. Weak or missing ad extensions
  • 7. No audience layering
  • 8. Wrong campaign objective for the goal
  • 9. No mobile-specific bid strategy
  • 10. Ignoring Quality Score
  • 11. Set-and-forget — no weekly optimization
  • 12. Not testing PMax against Search campaigns

The fix — weekly optimization ritual

Every Monday: pull search terms, add negatives, pause losers, scale winners, refresh 1 ad per ad group, review Quality Score, and check landing pages.

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Frequently asked questions

How much can I save by fixing these mistakes?

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Most accounts we audit cut wasted spend by 30-50% within 60 days — while lifting conversions.

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