5 Google Ads Mistakes Costing Perth Businesses Thousands

After managing Google Ads for Perth businesses since 2010, I've audited hundreds of accounts. Some are well-optimised. Many are burning money on easily fixable mistakes.

Here are the five issues I see most often—and how to fix them.

Mistake 1: Not Using Negative Keywords

This is the biggest money-waster in most accounts.

Without negative keywords, your ads show for searches that include your keywords but have completely wrong intent. A Perth accountant bidding on "accountant" might pay for clicks from people searching "accountant jobs Perth" or "how to become an accountant."

Those clicks cost money but will never convert.

The fix:

Review your Search Terms report weekly. Look for searches that triggered your ads but have no buying intent. Add them as negative keywords.

Common negatives most businesses need:

• Job-related terms (jobs, careers, salary, hiring)
• Educational terms (how to, course, study, degree)
• DIY terms (free, template, download)
• Competitor names (unless you're bidding on them intentionally)

Mistake 2: Sending All Traffic to Your Homepage

Your homepage is designed to handle visitors who could want anything. Paid traffic is different—these people searched for something specific.

When you send Google Ads traffic to your homepage, visitors have to work to find what they're looking for. Most won't bother. They'll bounce, and you've paid for nothing.

The fix:

Create dedicated landing pages for your main campaigns. Professional landing page design can significantly improve your conversion rates. Each page should:

• Match the ad headline closely
• Address the specific search intent
• Have a clear, single call to action
• Load quickly on mobile

A plumber running ads for "blocked drain Perth" shouldn't send traffic to their homepage. They need a page specifically about blocked drain services in Perth.

Mistake 3: Set-and-Forget Campaign Management

Google Ads isn't a "set it and forget it" platform. Accounts that aren't actively managed degrade over time.

Search behaviour changes. Competitors adjust their strategies. Your best-performing keywords from six months ago might be underperforming now.

The fix:

At minimum, review your account weekly:

• Check search terms for new negative keyword opportunities
• Review ad performance and pause underperformers
• Adjust bids based on conversion data
• Test new ad variations

If you don't have time for this, you're either overpaying for clicks or missing opportunities—usually both.

Mistake 4: Broad Match Keywords Without Smart Bidding

Broad match keywords can show your ads for a wide range of searches that Google considers related to your keyword. This can work well with smart bidding strategies, but it's a recipe for wasted spend with manual bidding. Understanding how match types interact with Quality Score is essential for campaign optimisation.

Without machine learning to optimise your bids in real-time, broad match keywords trigger too many irrelevant searches.

The fix:

If you're using manual bidding or basic automated strategies:

• Stick to phrase match and exact match keywords
• Use broad match only for discovery campaigns with tight budgets

If you're using smart bidding (Target CPA, Target ROAS, Maximise Conversions):

• Broad match can work, but watch your search terms closely
• Give the algorithm enough conversion data to learn (at least 30 conversions per month)

Mistake 5: Ignoring Mobile Experience

More than 60% of Google searches happen on mobile devices. Yet many Perth businesses are still running ads that send traffic to desktop-optimised websites.

The result? High bounce rates, low conversion rates, and wasted ad spend.

The fix:

Test your landing pages on your phone. Ask yourself:

• Does it load in under 3 seconds?
• Is the text readable without zooming?
• Is the call to action easy to tap?
• Can someone contact you with one tap?

Use Google's PageSpeed Insights to check your mobile performance score. Anything below 50 needs urgent attention.

How Much Are These Mistakes Costing You?

Most accounts we audit are wasting 20-40% of their budget on one or more of these issues. For an account spending $3,000 per month, that's $600-$1,200 going to clicks that will never convert.

Over a year, that's $7,200-$14,400 in wasted spend. Our real-time dashboards help clients track exactly where their budget goes and identify waste before it becomes costly.

The Quick Audit Checklist

Run through this list for your own account:

• [ ] Do you have at least 50 negative keywords?
• [ ] Does each campaign have dedicated landing pages?
• [ ] Have you reviewed search terms in the last 7 days?
• [ ] Are your landing pages mobile-friendly?
• [ ] Are you using appropriate match types for your bidding strategy?

If you answered "no" to any of these, you've found your starting point.

---

Want a professional assessment of your Google Ads account? Request a free audit and we'll identify exactly where your budget is going—and how to improve your return.