Why Your PPC Campaigns Aren’t Converting (and How to Fix it)

Are you looking to drive traffic to your website and generate more leads, but your PPC campaigns just aren’t converting? If so, this blog is for you!

Many marketing professionals face this issue, especially those without a dedicated PPC expert. If you’re getting clicks but not seeing results, it’s time for Dr Repeat to diagnose the problem (think of us as the WebMD of PPC – except we won’t misdiagnose your sore throat!).

In this blog we’re going to break down five common reasons why PPC campaigns can fail, and more importantly how you can fix them.

Point 1 – Your Targeting is Too Broad:

“You’re gonna need a bigger boat!” – Chief Brody, Jaws

When it comes to PPC, many marketers believe that casting a wider net will bring in more customers. Wrong! Just like in Jaws, a bigger boat isn’t always the solution – sometimes, you just need better aim.

Setting overly broad keywords can cause your ads to appear in irrelevant search results. You don’t want to waste your budget showing your ads for Directional Drilling services when users have searched for “drill music”!

If your ads are reaching the wrong audience, you’re just throwing money away.

The fix? Use phrase match and exact match keywords instead of broad match to gain better control over who sees your ads (think of it like setting dating preferences for your ad – you don’t want just anyone swiping right!).

You should also regularly update your negative keyword list to block irrelevant searches (no more creepy DMs!).

If you know exactly who your ideal audience is, you can refine audience segmentation based on demographics, interests, and behaviours (we know you have a type!).

Point 2 – Your Landing Page isn’t Optimised for Conversions:

You’ve set up your advertising campaign perfectly, people are loving the ads. If you listen carefully, you can hear the faint sound of potential customers clicking. But something is wrong, they aren’t staying on your landing page. They’re in and out faster than you can say “Page Optimisation”.

This can be for many reasons, such as your landing page not matching the promises in your ad copy, clunky UI, the page loads too slowly, or lack of mobile optimisation.

You can keep visitors from bouncing by ensuring messaging consistency between your ads and your landing page. Your landing page should also be fully optimised for all devices with fast loading times – ideally 3 seconds or less (you don’t want GTA 6 to come out before your page loads, that’s next level slow!).

Point 3 – Your Ad Copy Doesn’t Match Search Intent:

Ever seen a McDonald’s ad for some ridiculously new named burger – “The Triple Stacked Chilli-Cheese Artery-Burster Burger with Extra Cheese” – and instantly craved it? Your mouth is watering, you need it so bad that you’re at the counter yelling “take my money!”

But when you’re given the burger, what do they hand you? The saddest, squished sandwich known to man.

That’s exactly how customers feel when your ad copy doesn’t match their search intent. This happens when your ad promises one thing but sends users to a landing page that doesn’t deliver. Another common issue is a lack of keyword relevance in your ad copy, which can lower your keyword Quality Score and reduce engagement.

How do you turn things around? Start off by matching ad messaging with user intent, if someone searches for “Best Cheeseburger in Nottingham”, your ad should directly reflect that need. You should also align your landing page with what you’ve promised in the ad – if your ad says “Click for 50% off our Burgers”, make sure your landing page delivers on that offer, not something unrelated that frustrates users.

Point 4 – Your Call-to-Action (CTA) is Weak:

Imagine it’s payday. Your old trainers are looking battered – there’s even a little hole where your toe is poking through. Nasty.

So you take your hard-earned cash and head to the shoe shop. You walk in, ready to buy. You find a pair you like, ask the shop assistant what they think, and they shrug:

“Meh, they’re alright, I guess.”

Weird response, but okay. You try on another pair and ask again. This time, they mumble:

“I dunno, get them if you want.”

Now you’re confused. You don’t feel excited about any of their shoes. So, what do you do? You take your business elsewhere.

That’s exactly what a weak CTA does – it leaves customers unsure about what to do next.

The solution is to use strong, action-oriented CTAs like ‘Get Your Free Quote” or “Book a Demo”, this guides your potential customers into the sales process, removing any confusion. Another way is to create urgency with time-based phrases like “Limited Time Offer” to encourage immediate action.

Point 5 – You’re Bidding on the Wrong Keywords:

Bidding on the wrong keywords is like playing a rigged claw machine at the arcade. You keep dropping in money, hoping to grab that sparkly plushie for your child (who are we kidding, it’s for you), but the claw is too weak, and you walk away empty handed.

If you’re spending your PPC budget on the wrong keywords, you’re throwing money at clicks that will never convert. These could be high competition keywords that drive up your CPC without delivering better results, or low-intent keywords that bring traffic but fail to generate leads or sales.

Luckily for you, we have the cure to combat the claw! The key is to focus on long-tail keywords – they have higher intent, lower competition, and better conversion potential. For example, instead of bidding on “PPC Agency” (BORING! And way too broad) go for something like “Best PPC Agency in the East Midlands” to attract users who are actively looking for your services.

Speaking of “Best PPC Agency in the East Midlands” – Repeat Digital is offering FREE Marketing Audits for businesses looking to improve their PPC, SEO & Paid Social strategies.

Our team of experts doesn’t just optimise campaigns, we provide ideas and solutions that drive real, measurable results. Clients love how we become an extension of their marketing team, which is why we’re rated 4.9/5 stars on reviews.io.

Book in a meeting with our experts and find out how we can improve your marketing and maximise your ROI today.