Start with diagnosis, not more spend
When ads are not working, adding budget, tools or more activity usually increases waste. The better move is to identify the constraint: traffic quality, message–market fit, landing experience, creative fatigue, pricing, trust, measurement or follow up. Fix the biggest constraint first, then scale.
Quick triage: 10 checks in 10 minutes
- Tracking: Are conversions, values and key events recording once and accurately?
- Spend vs target: Is cost per lead/sale within your acceptable range? If not, reduce budgets now.
- Search terms (Google Ads): Remove irrelevant queries and add negatives. Check match types.
- Placements/audiences (paid social): Exclude poor placements and uninterested audiences.
- CTR and CPC: Low CTR or high CPC often signals message or targeting misalignment.
- Landing speed and UX: Slow pages, weak mobile layouts and clutter kill conversion.
- Form/checkout friction: Cut fields, clarify benefits, surface trust, and simplify steps.
- Offer strength: If your offer isn’t clearly better, leads and ROAS will stall.
- Frequency and fatigue (social): High frequency with flat results = refresh creative.
- Geo/schedule: Ensure locations and hours match when your buyers actually convert.
If Google Ads are not working
- Intent alignment: Separate high-intent search from research terms. Use exact/phrase for core terms.
- Search term control: Add negatives weekly. Remove brand and competitor bleed in the wrong campaigns.
- Bidding strategy: Smart bidding needs clean signals and volume. If signals are weak, start manual or TCPA with realistic targets.
- Quality Score levers: Improve ad relevance, expected CTR and landing experience with tighter message match.
- Assets and extensions: Use sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, lead forms where appropriate.
- Performance Max: Feed quality matters. Ensure product data, creative and conversion goals are correct.
- Split search vs display: Avoid accidental display placements on search campaigns.
If Meta or LinkedIn ads are not working
- Creative first: Hook in 2 seconds. Lead with problem–solution, proof and a clear CTA.
- Audience fit: Broad with strong creative often outperforms over-segmentation. Test both.
- Learning phase: Don’t churn creatives too fast. Let learning complete before judgement.
- Attribution window: Compare platform vs GA4 with consistent lookback. Expect differences.
- Frequency: Rising frequency with flat results = refresh formats, angles and offers.
- Landing message match: Mirror the ad’s promise above the fold with specific proof.
Offer and landing experience drive conversion
Even perfect targeting won’t fix a weak offer or a confusing page. Strong, specific value propositions, relevant proof, and a simple path to action usually move the needle fastest.
- Above the fold: State the exact outcome, who it’s for, and what happens next.
- Proof: Use numbers, testimonials, case snippets and guarantees relevant to the claim.
- Friction: Remove non-essential fields. Offer alternatives (call, form, chat).
- Speed: Aim for sub‑2.5s LCP on mobile. Compress media and trim scripts.
Costs and timeframes in Australia
Useful expectations help decision making. Typical patterns we see:
- Tracking and measurement fixes: 1–3 weeks to stabilise data and remove blind spots.
- Google Ads cleanup: 2–4 weeks to improve search terms, bidding and ad relevance.
- Creative refresh (paid social): Initial lift within 2–6 weeks with strong concepts.
- Landing page uplift: 2–6 weeks to test message match and reduce friction.
- Stabilising CPA/ROAS in competitive niches: 6–12 weeks of structured testing.
Budgets depend on industry CPCs and sales values. The key is controlled testing, not random activity.
When to pause versus persevere
- Pause now if tracking is broken, the offer cannot be fulfilled, or CPL/CPA is >2x target without clear fixes in motion.
- Persevere with lower budgets if a clear test plan is running and early signals are improving.
- Reallocate if channel intent is wrong (e.g., complex B2B on impulse social without a nurture path).
What to send for a quick diagnosis
- Your primary goal and acceptable cost per lead/sale
- Top offers and target market
- Last 30–90 days campaign results (CPC, CTR, CVR, CPL/CPA, ROAS)
- Landing URLs and any previous tests
- Read‑only access to analytics/ads (optional but helpful)
We’ll provide a short summary of issues, priorities and the most likely first win.
Related problems
Popular fixes and guides
FAQs
What usually causes ads to stop working suddenly?
Common triggers include tracking changes, budget or bid caps, disapproved assets, creative fatigue, landing page outages, or audience changes. Check platform notifications and recent edits first.
Is it my ads or my website?
Compare CTR and CPC (traffic quality) with landing conversion rate (on‑page performance). Strong CTR with weak conversion points to landing issues; weak CTR points to targeting or messaging.
Do small budgets work?
Yes, if tests are focused. Concentrate budget on one offer, one audience, and one or two creative concepts. Prove a path before expanding.