Google Ads Not Converting - Discover Why (and How to Fix It)

Summary

This video script offers a comprehensive guide to diagnosing and fixing issues with Google Ads campaigns that aren't yielding conversions. It covers essential checks such as verifying conversion tracking, refining keyword targeting, ensuring ad URLs lead to functional landing pages, and scrutinizing campaign settings. Additionally, it advises checking for website changes and evaluating the competitiveness of the offer itself. A bonus tip is provided for confirming conversion tracking by simulating a purchase from clicking on an ad.

Takeaways

• 🔍 **Check Conversion Tracking**: Ensure your conversion tag is active and correctly set up to track conversions.
• 🛠️ **Use Google Tag Assistant**: Utilize Google Tag Assistant to diagnose issues with your conversion tags on specific web pages.
• 🎯 **Keyword Targeting**: Review your search term report to ensure your keywords are relevant and not driving irrelevant traffic.
• 🔗 **Check Ad URLs**: Verify that your ads are directing to the correct landing pages and that these pages are operational.
• 📚 **Landing Page Review**: Go through the conversion funnel on your landing pages to identify any issues that might prevent conversions.
• 🌐 **Other Traffic Channels**: Investigate if there are conversion dips in other traffic channels, which could indicate a broader website issue.
• ⚙️ **Campaign Settings**: Audit your campaign settings to confirm that they are correctly configured and not causing the lack of conversions.
• 🛑 **Website Changes**: Inquire about any recent website changes that might have disrupted the tracking or functionality related to Google ads.
• 🏆 **Evaluate Your Offer**: Honestly assess the quality and competitiveness of your offer; a poor offer will struggle to convert regardless of traffic.
• 💡 **Bonus Tip**: Test your own ad by going through the conversion process to ensure the tracking is working and identify any potential issues firsthand.

Q & A

What is the first thing to check if you're not getting conversions in your Google Ads account?

The first thing to check is your conversion tracking. If your conversion tag isn't working, you won’t register any conversions. You can check this by going to Goals > Conversion Summary in your Google Ads account, and using tools like Google Tag Assistant to ensure the tag is firing correctly.

How can irrelevant keyword targeting affect your conversion rate?

Irrelevant keyword targeting can send bad traffic to your website, which is unlikely to convert. For example, if you sell tractor parts but are attracting searches for entire tractors, the traffic won’t convert. You should review your keyword targeting by checking the search terms report and adjust your keywords to attract more relevant visitors.

Why is it important to check if your ads are sending traffic to the correct page?

If your ads are sending traffic to a broken or incorrect page, potential customers will not be able to complete the conversion. There have been cases where ads directed users to a 404 error page, causing missed conversions. Always click your ads to ensure they lead to the correct and functioning landing pages.

What should you do once you’ve confirmed that your ads are working properly?

After confirming your ads are working, you should also verify the functionality of your landing pages. For lead generation, fill out a form or call the number, and for e-commerce, go through the purchase process to ensure there are no issues with the page or the funnel that could prevent conversions.

Why is it important to check other traffic channels in addition to Google Ads?

If you're seeing no conversions in Google Ads, it's important to check other traffic channels (e.g., organic, direct, or social) to determine whether the issue is specific to Google Ads or a broader website issue. If conversion rates are down across all channels, it could indicate a site-wide problem.

How can campaign settings affect your conversions?

Improper campaign settings, such as targeting the wrong locations or audiences, can prevent conversions. For example, if your business only services the United States, but your campaign is targeting other countries, your ads will be shown to the wrong audience, leading to wasted clicks and no conversions.

What is the significance of website changes in the context of Google Ads conversions?

Website changes can impact how Google Ads traffic is tracked and attributed. Backend changes, SEO tweaks, or cookie scripts can break attribution or cause issues with how traffic is processed, leading to a loss of conversions even though traffic is still coming through.

What should you consider if all technical aspects of your campaign are functioning correctly but you're still not getting conversions?

If all technical aspects are working but you're still not seeing conversions, it might be an issue with your offer. You should evaluate whether your offer is clear, competitive, and aligned with customer expectations. A weak or unclear offer will fail to convert, no matter how much traffic you drive.

What can you do to test the conversion tracking of your campaign directly?

You can test your conversion tracking by performing a search that triggers your ad, clicking on it, and then going through the conversion process. For e-commerce, make a purchase, and for lead generation, fill out a form or call the number. Within 24 hours, you should see the conversion register in your account.

Why might it be important to evaluate the competitiveness of your offer when running Google Ads?

If your offer isn't competitive in terms of price or value compared to others, potential customers may not convert, even if everything else is functioning properly. Evaluating your offer ensures that it's attractive enough to entice visitors to choose you over competitors.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 Diagnosing Conversion Issues in Google Ads

The paragraph discusses a common problem faced by advertisers where their Google Ads campaigns are generating clicks and impressions but no conversions. The speaker suggests checking the conversion tracking setup as the first step, ensuring the conversion tag is active and correctly firing. They also recommend using Google Tag Assistant to diagnose any issues with the tag on the website's pages. The importance of checking if the tag is firing correctly on pages like 'thank you' pages after a purchase is emphasized.

05:01

🎯 Improving Keyword Targeting for Better Conversions

This section focuses on the importance of keyword targeting in generating conversions. It points out that irrelevant traffic due to poor keyword targeting can lead to zero conversions. The speaker uses an example of a company selling tractor parts that was getting traffic for 'green tractors', which they do not sell, illustrating the issue. They advise checking the search term report to see what terms are triggering ads and suggest refining keyword match types to avoid irrelevant traffic.

10:01

🛒 Ensuring Ads and Landing Pages Are Conversion-Ready

The speaker advises checking if the ads are directing traffic to the correct landing pages and if those pages are functioning properly. They suggest clicking on the ads within the Google Ads account to ensure they lead to live, working pages. The importance of testing the entire conversion funnel, such as filling out forms or making a purchase, is highlighted to ensure there are no issues preventing conversions.

15:02

📊 Analyzing Other Traffic Channels for Conversion Clues

Here, the speaker suggests looking at other traffic channels beyond Google Ads, such as organic, direct, social, and email, to see if there are conversion dips that might indicate a broader website issue. They emphasize the need to rule out other channels to confirm that the issue is specifically with Google Ads.

🔧 Reviewing Campaign Settings for Conversion Optimization

The paragraph talks about the need to review campaign settings to ensure they are correctly configured, such as targeting the right geographical locations. The speaker shares experiences where incorrect campaign settings, like targeting the entire world instead of a specific country, have led to no conversions.

🛠️ Investigating Website Changes Impacting Conversions

This section discusses the impact of website changes on conversion tracking. The speaker shares instances where backend changes, like cookie scripts or SEO updates, have disrupted the attribution of conversions to Google Ads. They advise checking with the development team for any recent changes that might have affected tracking.

🏆 Evaluating the Quality of the Offer for Conversions

The speaker emphasizes the importance of the quality of the offer itself in driving conversions. They suggest that even with perfect technical setup, a poor offer will not convert. The advice is to critically evaluate the offer's competitiveness, clarity, and appeal, and to compare it with what the competition is offering.

🔎 Bonus Tip: Testing Conversion Tracking by Simulating a Purchase

As a bonus tip, the speaker recommends advertisers to simulate a purchase by clicking on their own ads and going through the conversion process. This helps confirm if the conversion tracking is working correctly and if there are no technical issues in the conversion funnel.

💰 Conclusion: Finding and Fixing Conversion Issues

The final paragraph wraps up the video by summarizing the steps to find and fix conversion issues in Google Ads. The speaker expresses hope that viewers will now be able to identify and resolve their conversion problems, leading to increased revenue.

Keywords

💡Conversion Tracking

Conversion tracking refers to the process of monitoring and measuring the actions taken by visitors after they click on an ad. In the video, it is emphasized as the primary metric to check when experiencing zero conversions. The script mentions checking the conversion tag in the Google Ads account to ensure it is active and correctly firing on the intended pages, which is crucial for tracking whether ads lead to desired actions like purchases or form submissions.

💡Conversion Tag

A conversion tag is a piece of code placed on a webpage that fires when a conversion action occurs, such as a sale or form completion. The video script highlights the importance of verifying the conversion tag's functionality by checking the account's 'Goals' and 'Conversion Summary' sections and using Google Tag Assistant to ensure it's firing correctly on pages like 'thank you' pages post-purchase.

💡Keyword Targeting

Keyword targeting is the process of selecting the right keywords to match the ads with user search queries. The video discusses how poor keyword targeting can lead to irrelevant traffic, thus reducing the likelihood of conversions. It gives an example of a company selling tractor parts that mistakenly targets broad keywords, attracting traffic interested in 'big green tractors' instead of the specific parts they offer.

💡Search Term Report

A search term report in Google Ads shows the actual search queries that triggered an ad to be shown. The script uses this report to illustrate how to identify irrelevant traffic that may not convert. It's a tool to refine keyword targeting by showing which search terms are generating clicks and whether they align with the business's offerings.

💡Broad Match Type

Broad match types are a keyword matching option in Google Ads that triggers ads for a wide range of search queries related to the keyword. The video points out that using broad match types can result in receiving a lot of irrelevant traffic, which can be detrimental to conversion rates, as it may lead to ads being shown for searches that are not closely related to the product or service being offered.

💡Landing Page

A landing page is the web page that users land on after clicking an advertisement. The video emphasizes the importance of checking that ads are directing traffic to functional and relevant landing pages. It suggests going through the user funnel process on the landing page to ensure there are no issues that might prevent a conversion from occurring.

💡Campaign Settings

Campaign settings in Google Ads encompass various configurations such as location targeting, ad scheduling, and device preferences. The script advises checking these settings to ensure they are correctly set up to avoid issues like targeting the wrong geographical areas, which could lead to irrelevant traffic and no conversions.

💡Website Changes

Website changes refer to any updates or modifications made to a website that could potentially impact ad performance. The video suggests that changes such as cookie scripts or SEO updates might inadvertently disrupt the tracking or functionality of Google Ads, leading to a drop in conversions. It's important to communicate with the development team to identify any recent changes that might be causing issues.

💡Offer

An offer in the context of the video refers to the product, service, or call-to-action presented to potential customers through ads. The script stresses that even with perfect technical setup, a weak offer can lead to zero conversions. It's important to evaluate the competitiveness, clarity, and appeal of the offer to ensure it resonates with the target audience and stands out against competitors.

💡Google Tag Assistant

Google Tag Assistant is a browser extension that helps debug and monitor the firing of tags on web pages. The video recommends using it to check if conversion tags are firing correctly on specific pages like 'thank you' pages after a purchase. It serves as a diagnostic tool to ensure that tracking is set up correctly and that conversions are being accurately recorded.

💡E-commerce

E-commerce refers to the buying and selling of goods or services using the internet, and it's used in the video to contrast with lead generation as a type of business model that relies on conversions. The script discusses checking the functionality of the purchase process for e-commerce businesses to ensure a smooth user experience that can lead to conversions.

Highlights

Ensure conversion tracking is active and working properly by checking conversion tags in the Google Ads account.

Use Google Tag Assistant to verify that tags are firing correctly on specific pages, such as thank you pages.

Check keyword targeting to avoid irrelevant traffic; using broad match keywords may lead to non-converting traffic.

Use the search terms report to identify irrelevant keywords that are driving non-converting clicks.

Ensure ads are functioning properly by manually clicking on them to verify that they link to the correct landing page.

Verify that the landing pages are working properly by going through the funnel process, including form fills and purchasing processes.

Evaluate performance across other traffic channels, such as organic, direct, social, and email, to identify potential website-wide issues.

Double-check campaign settings to ensure that the geographic and other targeting settings are correct.

Ask the development team about any recent website changes that could be affecting Google Ads tracking or attribution.

Test the clarity and competitiveness of your offer; an unclear or uncompetitive offer can be a major reason for low conversions.

Make sure that your pricing and call-to-action are compelling compared to competitors, especially if competitors offer better deals.

Perform a full end-to-end test by searching a relevant keyword, clicking on your ad, and going through the conversion process to verify everything is functioning as expected.

Check if website attribution issues are related to SEO or cookie script changes that could interfere with tracking.

If no issues are found after checking all technical elements, assess whether the offer is appealing and resonates with potential customers.

Consider using discount codes or making test purchases to ensure that all conversion actions are accurately tracked in the Google Ads account.

Transcripts

okay you just set up a brand new account

or campaign you have action you've got

clicks and Impressions however no

conversions or maybe you've been running

a campaign before and now you haven't

had conversions maybe it's been a few

days a week maybe even a month no

conversions what the heck has happened

what is wrong right I am going to show

you exactly what you should be checking

not only in your Google ads account but

also on your website to fix why you're

getting zero conversions in your Google

ads account so let's go ahead and dive

[Music]

in number one if conversion tracking

isn't working you're not going to get

conversions so the number one thing to

check is your conversion tag so inside

of your account if you go to goals and

you go to conversion summary you'll find

your conversion tags this is an account

where our tag is fine you'll see it's

active there's no active issues here

however you can click on the tag you can

see settings web pages see if there's

any issues in regards to how the tag is

actually firing the other thing you can

do it's called Google tag assistant

Google tag assistant you can run on the

pages that your tag should be firing and

it will tell you whether or not there's

an issue there so here I just fired a

tag on a thank you page I will have to

have probably most of that blurred out

so since it is a client's website and

account but tag assistant ran and this

is showing me all the tags that have

fired in regards to that specific

success page after you make a purchase

so if you had an issue with your tag tag

assistant will help you determine if

there is that issue depending on the

page that you're firing on so whether

that's the purchase page after order

confirmation after someone orders if

you're e-commerce or it could just be

simply a thank you page if you're doing

a form fill but check your conversion

tag that is the immediate first thing to

do if you're not getting any conversions

okay number two keyword targeting if

your keyword targeting is bad and you're

sending irrelevant bad traffic to your

offer you're not going to convert

anything so here's an example of a real

account I'm inside the search term

report to get there I'm inside this a

campaign you just go to the insights and

Report Tab and then you click Search

terms okay so this shows you the Search

terms that your keywords fired your ads

from this specific account they're using

a lot of

broad keywords in the broad match type

now I have a video on keyword match

types how they work and I also have a

full video on how to set up a search

campaign the correct way so both of

those videos will be in the description

below highly recommend checking those

out in their case their setup is

completely wrong and so they're getting

a ton of irrelevant traffic this company

sells Parts tractor parts for various

different brands what they don't sell

though is big green tractors tractors

green

tractors they they're not selling

full-size tractors so if we if you're

getting a bunch of irrelevant traffic

you're not going to convert anything so

absolutely if you are in a a scenario

where you're not getting any conversions

check the traffic is the traffic any

good if it isn't clean it up number

three check your ads are your ads even

working and when I mean working I mean

are they actually sending the traffic to

the correct page P so go into your

campaign literally click an

add is it working correctly is the

landing page working correctly once you

get there there have been cases where I

have found that ads were not working and

they did not fire a 404 air page and so

Google never even realized that you were

sending traffic to a page that wasn't

working so simply go check your ads

click the ad in the account don't just

look at it and make sure is this page

that that I'm sending traffic to even

live right now is it working correctly

so make sure to to actually go check the

ads themselves number four check your

landing pages now I just got done

telling you to check your ads and then

click the ads to make sure the page is

actually firing correctly and sending to

the correct page if you're now on the

page so if you're e-commerce is going to

be a product page normally

and if you're lead generation you

probably have a landing page with like

form fills or or phone calls check the

page actually go through the funnel

process so lead generation fill the form

out call the number if you're e-commerce

go through and actually make a purchase

of the product not saying physically

like go through the whole purchase

process but make sure there is no issue

Within the funnel itself on how the page

should behaving because if you're

sending correct traffic and you have

correct conversion tracking and your ad

is set up correctly and sending the

traffic this relevant high- intent

traffic to your landing pages is the

actual page itself functioning to bring

that Searcher to the finish line of

actually converting so check the

components go through the page make the

steps that and actual customer would

make in order to fire a conversion make

sure you have no issues there number

five check your other traffic channels

so you're more than likely using ga4 and

if you're not using G4 then you're

probably using some form of an Analytics

tool check the other traffic channels

are there issues with Organic with

direct with social with email with

whatever other traffic channels you make

have go in there look at the data am I

getting conversions still from my other

channels am I seeing conversion rate

dips from those other channels which

might indicate a website issue somewhere

so check the other channels just to make

sure this isn't just a paid ads issue

now if everything looks fine then okay

this is a Google ads issue that I need

to fix so you'll again this is all we're

trying to do is take variables out and

check each step here to figure out where

the potential leak is as to why we're

getting no conversions in the Google ads

account so check those other channels if

there's issues there then you probably

have a a bigger issue a website issue if

there is no issues there then at least

you know and you're confirming okay this

still is a Google ads issue number six

campaign settings now I already

mentioned I have a full video on how to

set up a search campaign the right way I

actually go through step by step the

campaign set settings there so if you're

unfamiliar with all the settings go

watch that video however check the

campaign settings I have done audits or

consultations with companies where

they're not getting the results they

want and then I went through their

campaign settings and I'm like Hey guys

you're supposed to be targeting the

United States and you ended up targeting

you know other countries I think there

was one where for whatever reason they

had the entire world as a Target so they

weren't even just targeting the United

States it was the entire world so you're

not going to get any conversions if all

of your traffic's coming from another

country that you don't even service or

sell to so go check the campaign

settings make sure everything is set up

correctly to confirm that this is not a

campaign setting or structure issue

number seven website changes I always

ask in cases where there's no

conversions happening or we had a

campaign that was getting conversions

and it and it broke and I just went

through all the previous steps

everything else looks fine is there

something on the website that has

changed recently so I ask the developer

team what changes have made place from

the time frame of that I'm I'm looking

at within my Google ads account there

have been cases where a developer has

implemented something incorrectly on the

website that killed Google ads traffic

completely so we were still sending

traffic to the website but the way those

URLs were being tracked and that traffic

was being trapped was killing the actual

attribution to Google ads I've seen it

with cookie scripts I've seen it with

SEO changes they were making that went

wrong I forget the actual change that

was made in that specific case but they

were doing some SEO work and they did

something that really screwed up the

attribution not just Google ads but for

other channels they had as well and so

it was simply a back-end change that I

was unaware of or our team was unaware

of and we just had to ask hey what have

you guys changed on the website and and

if they said we haven't really changed

anything okay maybe it's not a website

issue but trust me I have been in these

puzzles where you're like what the heck

is going on why is there no conversions

and every other step that I just taught

you is fine and then sure enough it

wasn't nothing to do with even Google

ads settings or Landing P it was the

website backend change that the dev team

made that caused an attribution break so

just check with them if this is what

you're experiencing the last step and no

one likes to hear this but if you just

went through all of the steps that I

taught you conversion tracking keyword

targeting add URLs landing pages

checking the other traffic sources

ources your campaign settings any

website changes checking with the

developers and everything is clear

there then you have to take an honest

look is my offer any good if you have a

crap offer you will not convert it

doesn't matter how much traffic you

throw at it if you have a crap offer you

will not convert check is my offer

competitive

is my pricing competitive is my offer

clear does it even make sense go and

check as if as if you were the Searcher

and you're putting in those keywords

those highly relevant keywords into

Google search and you go to your landing

page does this resonate with what I'm

trying to offer is my call to action

clear nine times out of 10 on accounts

that aren't working correctly if it's

not a technical issue like I just showed

Step 1 through

7 then it's an offer issue and most of

the time it's just your offer isn't

clear or your offer is just crap

compared to what the competition has

people don't just click and then end up

buying right or end up giving you their

information they all go normally through

what Google calls the messy middle but

they're just checking essentially other

offers and checking competitors am I

getting the

best product for the best price am I

getting the best offer with the best

company they're out there doing the

research they're out there comparing you

and so if your offer is crap you're just

not going to generate conversion so have

that honest conversation with yourself

first if if you consulted with me and

you came to me and said you wanted to

run Google ads and you showed me your

offer and I knew your offer was not good

I would tell you don't waste your money

figure the offer out first cuz you have

to have good offer if you don't have a

good offer you've got nothing and it

doesn't matter how much money you throw

at it it just isn't going to convert so

if tactically everything's fine and

you're still not getting conversions

then your offer just might not be any

good bonus tip go and search a keyword

that's going to fire your ad this is

going to cost you money I'm sorry but go

and search a keyword that's going to

fire an ad for you find your ad so

here's home Reserve this is a client of

mine I've done many videos in regards to

using their account but if they were

having a conversion issue I would

actually click this ad now I'm not going

to do that but I would actually click

this ad then I would go make a

purchase now if you're an agency or a

freelancer a lot of times clients have

discount codes they can give you so so

this doesn't actually cost you money or

you actually make the purchase and then

you just do a refund right away so you

give them a heads up that way they're

customer support team and shipping team

isn't like right on it and processing

your order right after you make it so

you have to pre-plan this but go make an

order go make a purchase that way you

100% know all right I clicked an ad I

made a purchase or I clicked an ad and I

filled the form out if it's lead

generation or I click the ad and I

called the number then the next day it's

not going to show usually the exact

moment you do it but within a 24-hour

period so if you if you do it on a

Thursday check Friday morning you should

now see a conversion that's populated

inside of the account that will give you

confirmation if you're actually getting

or if your conversion tracking is

working and there was no Tactical issues

throughout that process so most of those

tactics that I just talked about in this

video that you needed to go check and

review that actually could all be done

really through clicking one of your own

ads and going through a purchase or a

form fill depending on if your

e-commerce or lead generation but

normally I save this for last I will do

these tactics first without going

through the headache of going and

purchasing and needing to refund or get

discount codes or any of that so just a

bonus tip though if you're still

launcher just go click and add go

through the conversion process and then

see if it actually populates in the

account there you go you now know how to

find the issue if you're getting no

conversions in your Google ads account

hopefully after watching this video you

were able to find the actual issue as to

why you're getting no conversions in

your account and now you're going to get

conversions and hopefully start making

lots of money I hope you got great value

from this video again I also talked

about how to set up search campaigns the

right way several times throughout this

video make sure to go check that out if

you haven't lots of gold in that video

that will be in the description below

and it's probably going to be somewhere

on the screen as well I'll see you on

the next video