The Most Common PPC Mistakes (And How a Pro Can Help You Avoid Them)

PPC campaigns are often seen as a fast-track route to website traffic, leads, and sales. And while that’s true when done right, running paid ads without experience can lead to poor performance, wasted spend, and a lot of frustration. It’s no wonder so many businesses eventually turn to a paid search agency to clean up the mess.

Whether you’re just starting out or already running campaigns in-house, this article highlights the most common PPC pitfalls — and shows how a professional agency can help you dodge them.

1. Poor Keyword Targeting

One of the most frequent (and costly) mistakes is bidding on the wrong keywords. Many businesses either go too broad, attracting unqualified traffic, or too narrow, missing out on potential customers.

For example, bidding on a generic term like “marketing” might drive traffic, but how likely is that visitor to convert? Without specificity and intent, it’s just noise.

A paid search agency brings proper keyword research, segmentation, and match type management into play — ensuring your ads are shown to users who are actually in the market for your product or service.

2. Ignoring Negative Keywords

Negative keywords tell ad platforms what not to show your ads for — and they’re one of the most underused tools in PPC.

Without them, your ads may be showing up for irrelevant queries, wasting clicks and draining your budget. For example, if you’re a premium software provider, you probably don’t want to show up for “free CRM tools”.

Agencies regularly review search terms reports and build out negative keyword lists to prevent this kind of leakage — helping protect your budget and improve ad relevance.

3. Weak or Misleading Ad Copy

Your ad copy is your first (and sometimes only) chance to capture attention and convince someone to click. If it’s vague, misleading, or doesn’t match the user’s intent, you’re likely to get ignored — or worse, pay for unqualified traffic.

Professional PPC teams know how to write ad copy that connects with different stages of the buyer journey. They test headlines, calls-to-action, and value propositions to find out what drives the best results — not just clicks, but conversions too.

4. No Conversion Tracking Set Up

Running campaigns without conversion tracking is like driving with your eyes closed. You might move forward, but you’ve no idea where you’re going or how well you’re doing.

You need to know not just how many people click your ads, but how many fill out a form, call your business, or make a purchase. A paid search agency will ensure your campaigns are properly set up with Google Tag Manager, GA4, or platform-specific conversion tracking so every action is accounted for.

This data is the foundation for optimising performance and proving ROI.

5. Sending All Traffic to the Homepage

Another common issue? Sending paid traffic to your homepage or a generic landing page that isn’t optimised for the ad in question. This leads to high bounce rates, low Quality Scores, and poor conversion rates.

A skilled agency builds or recommends landing pages tailored to each campaign. These pages are focused, relevant, and designed to convert — with strong CTAs, consistent messaging, and minimal distractions.

6. Set-and-Forget Campaign Management

PPC campaigns need constant oversight. Platforms change. Competitors outbid you. New search trends emerge.

Too many businesses set up their campaigns once and leave them to run, assuming everything will take care of itself. That’s a fast track to declining performance.

An experienced agency monitors campaigns daily or weekly, looking at performance trends and making adjustments in real time. They keep your account competitive and fresh — not stuck in autopilot mode.

7. Lack of A/B Testing

You’d be surprised how many PPC campaigns run with a single ad variation. But if you’re not testing different creatives, headlines, offers, or even targeting strategies, you’re missing opportunities to improve.

Agencies treat A/B testing as standard practice. They set up experiments to find out what really works — then scale the winners and cut the underperformers. It’s a simple concept, but one that can dramatically boost results over time.

8. Overlooking Mobile Optimisation

More than half of PPC traffic now comes from mobile devices — yet many campaigns still lead users to landing pages that aren’t mobile-friendly.

That means slow load times, confusing layouts, and missed conversions. A paid search agency ensures that every ad experience is seamless across all devices — with mobile-first design, clear CTAs, and quick performance.

They also monitor device performance and can bid differently for desktop vs mobile based on conversion data.

9. Misaligned Budget and Strategy

It’s easy to set a daily budget, but is it enough to compete in your industry? Are you spreading your budget too thin across too many campaigns?

A good agency helps you set realistic budgets based on data — and allocates spend to the campaigns that drive the best ROI. They’ll also recommend when to scale up, shift spend between platforms, or pause underperforming areas to maximise efficiency.

10. No Big Picture Strategy

Perhaps the biggest mistake of all is treating PPC as a siloed activity rather than part of a wider marketing strategy. When PPC doesn’t connect with your sales funnel, SEO, email, or CRO efforts, you’re limiting its potential.

An experienced agency will take a holistic view — ensuring PPC supports and is supported by your broader marketing goals. That’s when things really start to click.

Final Thoughts

Running PPC campaigns might seem simple on the surface — but the difference between “okay” and “outstanding” performance lies in the details. From keyword selection and ad copy to landing page optimisation and tracking, it takes deep expertise to get it right.

A paid search agency doesn’t just manage your campaigns — it protects your budget, improves performance, and aligns your advertising with your business goals.

If your PPC efforts aren’t delivering, chances are you’re making some of the mistakes above. The good news? With the right help, they’re all fixable.