10 Google Ads Wastes (2025) & How to Fix Them
If you’re running Google Ads right now, there’s a good chance 30–50% of your spend is being wasted — hidden in settings, targeting, and structure. At Touchpoint PPC, we’ve identified and recovered £6,000,000+ in wasted spend, selling 700,000+ products and generating £80m+ in revenue for eCommerce brands.
Below are the 10 biggest leaks we see (and the exact fixes you can implement today).
1) Inaccurate Conversion Tracking
If you can’t trust the data, you can’t optimise.
Common issues
- No conversions firing → Google chases clicks/impressions.
- Double counting purchases inflates ROAS.
- Optimising for page views/add to cart instead of completed purchases.
- Broken checkout/thank you events; GA4, Shopify, and Ads don’t match.
Fix
- Implement server side or GA4 purchase tracking (with correct event name/value/currency).
- Deduplicate events (1 purchase = 1 conversion).
- Optimise bidding to sales & revenue, not micro events like add to carts.
Test with 2–3 dummy purchases end to end, then spot check daily for a week.
2) Broad Match Overreach
Broad match sounds great (“reach more people”) but often matches irrelevant queries.
Fix
- Default to Exact and Phrase for core terms.
- Build negatives early (brand safety, free/cheap/how to, used, manual, parts).
- Expand only when you’ve got clean search term data and strong negatives in place.
3) Not Managing Search Terms
Your Search Terms Report is a window into where your money really goes.
Fix
- Review weekly; add negatives for poor intent terms (free, diy, wholesale, kids, cosplay, etc.).
- Add winners as exact/phrase keywords to protect efficiency.
Create a shared negative library across campaigns.
4) Advertising Products That Don’t Sell
Keeping non converting SKUs live drains budget and drags down account learning.
Fix
- Segment by performance tiers (Top / Mid / Low).
- Pause or de prioritise SKUs with high cost and no sales in last 30–60 days.
Push budget to proven sellers; graduate SKUs only when they sustain target ROAS.
5) Over Reliance on Brand
Blended brand traffic can mask weak cold-traffic performance and stall growth.
Fix
- Split Brand vs Non-Brand campaigns.
- Keep a small, cheap Brand Search to defend your name.
- Scale non brand profitably (that’s where growth lives).
- If scaling raises CPA immediately → brand was inflating results. Re balance.
6) PMAX Placement Bleed
Performance Max spreads budget across Shopping, Search, Display, YouTube. Display/YouTube often soak spend with low intent placements.
Fix
- Audit placements with a trusted PMAX placement script/report.
- If bleed is high, bias spend to Shopping/Search (where intent is highest).
- Consider Standard Shopping for tighter control if PMAX can’t be steered.
7) Location Targeting Misfires
Default targeting shows ads to people “in or interested in” your location (including other countries).
Fix
- Switch to People in or regularly in your target locations.
- Exclude high-cost / low-ROAS regions.
- Review location reports monthly.
8) Device Spend Mismatch
Mobile can eat budget but convert worse for higher ticket items; desktop often closes.
Fix
- Check device reports.
- Reduce bids or exclude poorly performing devices/OS.
- Align creatives/landing pages to device behaviour (shorter forms on mobile, etc.).
9) Changing Strategy Too Often
Constant rebuilds reset learning, add volatility, and hide the real problem.
Fix
- Make one change at a time; evaluate weekly, decide monthly.
- Give smart bidding 1–2 weeks post change before judging.
- Track a small set of north star metrics (ROAS, CPA, Conv. Value, New Customers).
10) Ignoring High Cost Locations
Some regions are consistently pricier with weak returns (e.g., NY/CA in the US).
Fix
- Pull geo performance monthly.
- Lower bids or exclude high cost/low-ROAS regions.
- Reinvest into regions with strong CPA/ROAS.
Want help wiring this up quickly and cleanly? We’ll check your review partner setup, create the right feeds, fix identifier issues, and roll stars out to your top SKUs first.
