10 costly Google Ads mistakes

The top paid search mistakes and how to avoid them

The guide covers mistakes that many people make when using paid search advertising, for example Google Ads. Covering the most up-to-date and most common mistakes, the guide is a great reference point to help you succeed with paid search marketing.

 Who is this guide for

The guide is ideal for:

• Marketers of any level with an interest in paid search (not just Google Ads)
• Paid search marketing specialists who want to improve their campaigns
• Senior marketers who want to optimise their ad campaigns

How is the guide structured?

The guide contains common mistakes and practical recommendations to help you with your Google Ads marketing, including:

• Choosing the wrong keywords
• Using the wrong match types
• Not using the search terms report
• Not understanding Ad Rank
• Having poor-quality ads
• Having a poor account structure
• Not bidding on your own brand
• Not measuring phone calls
• Not optimizing mobile separately
• Outbidding yourself

Latest updates

This guide has been updated to provide a more detailed explanation of Google Ad Rank, with a new video explanation of Quality Score, as well two brand new sections – the importance of bidding on your own brand and the possibility of keyword groups meaning you’re bidding against yourself.

Resource Details

• Author: David Miles, also edited by Dr. Dave Chaffey
• Format: Online interactive article, suitable for printing if needed

About the author

David Miles

David Miles is a digital marketing consultant, trainer, and published author. For the past 13 years David has owned and run digital marketing agencies and training businesses large and small across the UK and Europe. Currently, David is the founder and CEO of The PPC Machine, a boutique agency that helps medical professionals grow their practices using pay per click advertising platforms.

Connect with David on LinkedIn.

The guide was also edited by Dr. Dave Chaffey