Google Ads not converting? Here's why

Because something between the search and the sale is broken. Either the wrong people are clicking, the right people aren't finding what they expected, or the account can't see the conversions that are happening.

The fix is rarely a bigger budget. More money into a leaky account buys more of the same leak.

Check this before anything else. If Google can't see your enquiries, calls and sales, it can't tell good clicks from bad ones, and nor can you.

Submit a test enquiry and make a test call, then see whether they show up in Google Ads. Check you're counting the right action, such as a sent form, not a page view. In the UK, Consent Mode needs to be set up properly, or conversions from people who accept cookies can go missing too.

Often, yes. Open the search terms report for the last month. It shows the real searches behind your clicks, and it usually holds a few surprises: people looking for jobs, free versions, DIY help or something else entirely.

Add the ones that won't buy as negative keywords. If broad match keywords are pulling in too much, tighten them, or pair them with better negatives and good conversion data.

A few settings decide where and when your ads appear. Check each one.

• Location: the default option includes people who've shown interest in your area, not just people in it. If you only serve locally, choose people in or regularly in your locations.
• Networks: Search campaigns can include Search Partners and the Display Network. Check whether they're on, and whether they convert.
• Ad schedule: if nobody answers the phone at night, ads that drive calls at night waste money.
• Devices: see whether phones, tablets and computers convert differently, and adjust.

Someone who searched "emergency boiler repair" and lands on your homepage has to go looking. Many won't.

Each group of searches should land on a page that answers that search in the first screen: what you do, where, how fast and how to start. Make the phone number and form easy to find on a phone, load the page fast, and show proof such as reviews near the top.

Sometimes the ads and page are fine, and buyers simply choose someone else. Search your own keywords and look at the competition: their prices, guarantees, reviews and how quickly they promise to help.

If you're harder to choose, no ad will fix it. Sharpen what you offer, or say more clearly why you're worth it.

Smart Bidding learns from conversions. With very few, or with broken tracking, it's guessing. Big changes, such as switching strategy or changing budgets sharply, can restart its learning.

If conversions are rare, give the strategy a goal it can see often enough to learn from, and make changes one at a time, with time to judge each one.

Backpedal, a UK stolen bike recovery and insurance company, had ads that got plenty of clicks, but many came from people searching for something else, and they weren't turning into customers.

We rebuilt the account. We cut the searches that brought clicks but no customers, moved budget to high-intent searches, rewrote the ads and fixed tracking so every quote and sale was counted. The conversion rate rose 7x in the first full month after the rebuild, and sales tripled the month after.

Work through these steps in order. Don't skip ahead to bids until the first four are done.

1. 1Test your tracking: send a form, make a call, and check both appear as conversions.
2. 2Check you're counting real enquiries and sales, not page views or button clicks.
3. 3Open the search terms report and add negatives for every search that won't buy.
4. 4Check location, network, schedule and device settings against how you actually sell.
5. 5Match each ad group to a landing page that answers its search in the first screen.
6. 6Rewrite ads so they say exactly what you offer, where, and why to pick you.
7. 7Compare your offer with the competitors showing for the same searches.
8. 8Once tracking is right, give your bidding strategy time to learn, and change one thing at a time.