Setting up a Google Ads campaign can be tricky, especially for beginners or small businesses trying to maximize ROI with limited budgets. 

Here are common mistakes people make when setting up a Google Ads campaign:

1. Poor Keyword Targeting

• Too Broad: Using broad match keywords without modifiers can waste budget on irrelevant searches.

• No Negative Keywords: Failing to add negative keywords results in ads showing for unrelated queries.

• No Keyword Grouping: Dumping too many unrelated keywords into one ad group weakens ad relevance and Quality Score.
  

2. Ignoring Campaign Structure

• Messy Structure: Not separating campaigns/ad groups by product, service, or audience type makes optimization harder.
  Not Using SKAGs (Single Keyword Ad Groups): This limits control over ad copy relevance and testing.

• Having only one type of campaign, while ignoring the power of others: Your pay-per-click strategy should include a mix of campaign types, such as search, shopping, performance max, and dynamic, because in this way you will have more visibility and more placements to cover

3. Ignoring The Power of Audiences and Audience Signals

• Not Using Audiences That Coverted In The Past: This is an important tool for remarketing, so be mindful about including these audiences in your campaigns. 

• Ignoring Competition: You might lose potential customers, who instead of buying your product, will buy the competition’s.

• Not Using Email Lists: Client databases are an important asset you shouldn’t neglect in your marketing strategy. 
  

4.  Not Testing Ad Copy

• No A/B Testing: Running a single version of ad text doesn’t allow for performance comparison.

• Weak Headlines/Descriptions: Generic or unclear copy leads to low CTR.
  

5. Targeting Errors

• Wrong Location Settings: Ads may show outside your service area if geographic settings are too loose.

• Language Mistakes: Targeting the wrong language or not accounting for bilingual audiences.

6. Budget Mismanagement

• Spreading Budget Too Thin: Too many campaigns with low budgets dilute performance.

• No Bid Strategy Alignment: Using an automated strategy like Maximize Clicks when conversions matter most.
  Ignoring Daily Budget Limits: Can lead to overspending if not capped properly.
  

7. No Conversion Tracking

• Not Installed or Configured: Without tracking, you can't measure success.

• Wrong Attribution Window or Type: Leads to misleading performance data.
  

8. Not Optimizing for Devices

• Ignoring Mobile Performance: Failing to adjust bids or create mobile-friendly ad copy/landing pages.

• Not Using Call Extensions or Mobile-Specific Features: Misses opportunities on mobile-heavy traffic.
  

9. Weak Landing Pages

• Slow or Irrelevant Pages: High bounce rate and low Quality Score.

• Not Matching Search Intent: Users leave if the landing page doesn’t reflect the ad promise.
  

10. Set It and Forget It

• No Ongoing Optimization: Campaigns need regular review to remove underperforming keywords, adjust bids, and test new ideas.

• No Use of Insights or Recommendations Tab: Missing Google's machine-learning-based suggestions.
  

11.  Misreading Metrics

• Focusing Only on Clicks or CTR: High clicks mean nothing if they don’t convert.

• No Segmentation: Without breaking down performance by device, location, or demographic, you miss optimization opportunities.