Why your Google Ads aren't delivering - 7 most common mistakes in Latvian companies

"We've already tried Google Ads - it didn't work." We hear this all the time. And almost every time we look into the client's Google Ads account, we see the same thing - not that Google Ads doesn't work, but that it was set up incorrectly. Google Ads is one of the most effective tools for acquiring new customers. But it's also one of the tools where budgets get burned most often - precisely because it looks simple, while it isn't.

Mistake #1: Wrong keywords - paying for people who will never buy

The most common mistake. A company sets up a campaign, picks "broad match" keywords, and stops there. Example: you sell office furniture to businesses. Broad match on "furniture" will show your ad to people searching for "IKEA furniture", "cheap furniture", "kids furniture" - and you'll pay for every click. Fix: use phrase match or exact match, build a negative keywords list, regularly review the search terms report.

Mistake #2: Ads point to the home page instead of a specific offer

Someone searches for "office chairs in Riga", clicks your ad and lands on a home page full of everything and nothing. The visitor has 3 seconds to understand whether they've found what they were looking for. If not - they leave. Fix: build a dedicated landing page for each campaign, with a headline matching the ad copy and one clear call to action.

Mistake #3: No conversion tracking

This is the most dangerous mistake, because you don't even know the ads aren't working. Without conversion tracking you only see clicks and spend - not whether any of them led to a call or a form submission. Fix: at minimum, set up conversion tracking for form submissions and calls, and link Google Ads with Google Analytics 4.

Mistake #4: Budget too small for a competitive niche

In Latvia, in some niches - lawyers, dentistry, renovation - cost per click can be €2-5. With €5 a day you get 1-2 clicks. Statistically, only 1-5% of them convert. Fix: calculate the minimum budget using CPC × clicks needed per month. If your budget is limited - start with a very narrow, specific target audience.

Mistake #5: Ad copy doesn't stand out - and doesn't get clicked

A low CTR not only cuts traffic but also drives up CPC - because Google assigns a lower Quality Score. Fix: include a concrete benefit ("Delivery in Riga in 48h", "From €89", "No contract"), use ad extensions, and test at least 2-3 ad variants.

Mistake #6: Campaign runs at the wrong time or in the wrong place

Ads run on Sunday at 11pm, or to people 200 km away from your business. Fix: set an ad schedule by hour and weekday, configure geo targeting by radius, review the reports and lower bids in non-performing periods.

Mistake #7: The campaign isn't optimised - it's left on autopilot

Google Ads is not a "set and forget" system. We regularly see accounts where the campaign has been running for 6 months with no changes. Meanwhile, competitors optimise theirs every week. Fix: review the search terms report weekly, analyse which keywords actually convert every month, and A/B test ad copy on a regular basis.

Is your Google Ads account actually effective?

If some of these mistakes sounded familiar while you were reading - your campaign has room to improve. Juice offers a free Google Ads audit - we look into your account and tell you exactly what isn't working and how to fix it. No commitments, no sales pressure.