Google Ads budget leaks: search terms, locations and broken conversions
Google Ads is very good at spending your budget. Whether it spends it well depends on a few settings most founders set once and never check again.
Irrelevant search terms
Open the search terms report for the last 30 days, not the keywords list. You will find searches that have nothing to do with what you sell. Add them as negative keywords. This is usually the fastest saving in any account.
Locations you do not serve
The default location setting includes people 'interested in' your area, not only people in it. If you only ship to certain countries, switch to 'presence' targeting and check spend by location.
Conversions that count the wrong thing
If page views or button clicks are counted as conversions, Google optimizes for those instead of sales. Keep purchases or qualified leads as your primary conversion and move the rest to secondary.
Campaigns that never recovered
Campaigns with a cost per conversion far above your margin for 60+ days rarely fix themselves. Lower the budget or pause and move the money to what works.
See it next to your revenue
Revenue Leak AI connects Google Ads and GA4 and compares spend with real revenue from your billing or store, so you see which campaigns cost more than they bring in.