Why Your Google Ads Aren't Working: The Conversion Problem

A trend I've noticed among small business owners is spending large, often unsustainable amounts on Google Ads in hopes of capitalizing on the platform's potential. When the results fail to meet expectations, many become frustrated and stop advertising altogether.

This was the pattern I encountered when speaking with the owner of a small accounting firm. He was disappointed with the results of a recent Google Ads campaign, and together we explored several possible causes of the inefficiency. This post focuses on one of them: conversions.

PPC Is a System, Not a Service

It's important to understand that PPC is not your friend. It is a system. If you optimize the inputs correctly, you'll receive better outputs. If you get the inputs wrong, the results are often suboptimal: wasted money, lost time, and the frustration of knowing things could have gone differently.

What Is a Conversion?

Depending on the type of Google Ads campaign you're running, one of the most important inputs is what Google calls a conversion. Conversions are actions defined by the advertiser as valuable — such as submitting a lead form, visiting a key page, signing up for an email list, or making a purchase.

When connected to a tracking tool such as Google Tag Manager, Google evaluates campaign performance based on the conversions it records. More importantly, Google optimizes toward the conversion metric you choose to track.

This means that conversions become the driving force behind your campaign.

The Challenge: Not All Conversions Are Equal

The challenge is that not all conversions are equal — and this is where many campaigns quietly fall apart.

First, some conversions are false. Bots and fake leads can trigger conversion actions, causing Google to optimize toward the wrong audience. It can become a vicious cycle: a campaign that starts with promise gradually turns into a black hole of wasted ad spend as the algorithm receives increasingly poor signals.

Second, selecting the right conversion action matters enormously. In light of the first issue, it's worth considering which actions are most resistant to manipulation — and which ones represent genuine intent from a real potential customer.

A phone call with a minimum duration. A form submission tied to a confirmed email. A booking completed. These tend to be stronger conversion signals than a simple page visit.

What This Means for Your Campaign

If you've run Google Ads and walked away disappointed, before writing off the platform entirely, ask yourself: What was I telling Google to optimize for?

The algorithm is only as smart as the instructions you give it. Feed it low-quality signals, and it will confidently find you more of the same.

Just a few thoughts on Google Ads.