Google Ads Not Working? 3 Mistakes Are Costing You Thousands (2026)

If you’re a New Zealand trade or service business owner spending money on Google Ads but not getting the leads you expected, you’re not alone.

Most business owners we speak to feel the same frustration — they’re paying, but they’re not profiting.

The good news?

Google Ads usually aren’t broken. They’re just set up wrong.

Below are the three biggest mistakes we see every week — and how fixing them can turn your ads from a cost into a consistent lead machine.

Mistake #1: No Conversion Tracking (You’re Playing Without Goalposts)

Why no tracking kills Google Ads performance

Running Google Ads without conversion tracking is like playing rugby without goalposts.
You can run hard and spend money, but at the end of the game, no one knows if you won.

Without proper tracking -

• You don’t know which keywords produce leads
• Google doesn’t know who your best customers are
• Optimisation becomes guesswork

In fact, around 85% of Google Ads accounts we audit are missing proper conversion tracking.

How proper tracking turns ads into a lead engine

When conversion tracking is set up correctly — phone calls, form fills, quote requests — Google’s algorithm starts learning fast.

It begins to -

• Identify your best-converting searches
• Find more people like your ideal customers
• Automatically lower costs and improve lead quality

Done right, Google Ads becomes a heat-seeking missile, not a money pit.

Mistake #2: Paying for Clicks You Don’t Want

How irrelevant searches quietly burn your budget

Let’s say you run a stump grinding business.

Your ads might show for searches like -

• “Hire a stump grinder”
• “Buy stump grinder second hand”
• “DIY stump removal”

Those people are not your customers — but unless you tell Google otherwise, it will happily send them your way.

Every irrelevant click drains your budget and pushes real customers out.

How negative keywords stop money bleeding

Negative keywords tell Google what not to show your ads for.

At Kingfisher Digital, we use -

• Pre-built negative keyword lists with hundreds of terms
• Ongoing search term reviews
• Industry-specific exclusions for trade businesses

This alone can save thousands per year by stopping wasted clicks before they happen.

Mistake #3: Sending Traffic to the Wrong Page

Why homepages don’t convert paid traffic

If your Google Ads send people to your homepage, you’re losing leads.

Homepages are -

• Too busy
• Full of menus and distractions
• Designed for browsing, not converting

It’s like walking into Bunnings looking for one specific part — no signs, no staff, no direction. Most people just leave.

Why landing pages convert 5–6x more leads

A proper Google Ads landing page is -

• Built for one service
• Focused on one action
• Designed to answer objections fast

Landing pages regularly convert 5–6x higher than standard websites — often overnight.

This is one of the most overlooked fixes and one of the biggest profit levers in Google Ads.

Why Most Agencies Miss These Three Things

Here’s the uncomfortable truth -
Most agencies don’t set up tracking properly, don’t manage negative keywords, and send traffic to homepages.

Why?

• It takes more work
• It requires ongoing optimisation
• There’s no accountability for results

But you’re not paying for effort — you’re paying for outcomes.

Real Results for Real Kiwi Businesses

• A Christchurch tree service was booked three weeks ahead within four weeks
• A Hamilton service business cut their cost per lead by 72% after rebuilding their landing page
• Check out other success stories Click Here

Below this article, you’ll see videos from real business owners we’ve helped — people just like you.

Want to See What’s Costing You Right Now?

We only take on 5–7 new businesses per month.

If you’re a good fit, we’ll tell you.
If not, you still get a free Google Ads audit showing:

• What’s working
• What’s wasting money
• What to fix first
• No pressure.
• No contracts.

Just a 30-minute strategy call and real answers.

👉 Book your free Google Ads strategy call below

• Stop guessing.
• Stop wasting money.

Let’s see if we can turn your Google Ads into a growth engine.