Have you ever wondered, "Why are my Google Ads not showing?". Despite crafting a well-thought-out campaign, there are instances when your ads fail to appear. This can be frustrating when you’ve invested significant time and resources. This article will explore the common reasons behind this issue and provide solutions. Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced user, this guide will help you get your ads back on track.
Let's dive into all the common reasons why your Google Ads are not showing.
Google has strict policies that govern the content of ads. Common reasons for disapproval include:
Here are all the Google Ads Ad policies.
Your daily budget determines how often your ads can be shown. If your budget is too low, your ads may not show as frequently as desired or not at all. One common practice for low budgets is to limit the days of the campaign to maximize the budget. If you're selling a service, set up your campaign to 9-to-5 on weekdays; that will concentrate the budget so it has no constraints.
Ensure your daily budget is sufficient to cover your desired reach and frequency. If your ads are limited by budget, consider increasing or optimizing your ad spend. For example, if each click costs $5 and your daily budget is $1, your campaign will never show your ads.
Evaluate your bidding strategy. If your bids are too low compared to competitors, your ads might not appear. Consider using automated bidding strategies like Target CPA or Target ROAS to improve performance. One common mistake is to set up a Target CPA or Target ROAS that is too optimistic; if you want to get sales for $10 but each click costs $5, Google's algorithm will never find a way to make it possible and thus will never show your ad.
Ad Rank determines the position of your ad on the search results page. It’s influenced by:
Check out how the Google Ads Quality Score works here.
Make sure your location settings are configured correctly. Ads targeted to regions where your business doesn’t operate will not be shown. If you're using a radius configuration, it may not be 100% accurate, so try to expand it slightly.
Check if you’ve inadvertently excluded locations where you want your ads to appear. If so, adjust your settings to include these locations.
Negative keywords prevent your ads from showing on unrelated queries. Ensure your negative keywords aren’t too broad, as this can cause your ads to miss potential customers.
Low keyword bids can prevent your ads from appearing. Evaluate your bid amounts and adjust them according to the competitive landscape.
Ad Schedule Settings
If your ad schedule is too restrictive, your ads may not show when potential customers search. Ensure your ads are scheduled to run when your target audience is most active.
Dayparting
Dayparting allows you to schedule your ads for specific times of the day. Adjusting these settings can help optimize your ad visibility.
Make sure your demographic targeting is set correctly. If your ads are targeted too narrowly, they might not reach enough people. Google provides two ways to target audiences in "Observation" or "Target" mode, the last one filtering ads to only appear for that specific audience. Usually, when you're starting out campaigns, Google recommends adding audiences in observation. Once you've data on how they performed, change the campaign audiences to target and filter the ones that did not bring good results.
Check if audience exclusions prevent your ads from showing to the intended audience. For example, Google Ads provides audiences for people looking for work, usually added as an exclusion when selling a B2B service. There are a ton of audiences you can use to aim better. Always check out how you use them because some may be too broad, and you may exclude many potential sales.
Ad extensions like sitelinks, callouts, and structured snippets enhance your ads. Make sure they are correctly set up and approved. This will help your Google Ads rank and provide better overall account quality.
If your ad extensions are disapproved, fix any issues and resubmit them for review. Ensure all information is accurate and complies with Google's policies.
Verify that your payment method is valid and up to date. Expired or incorrect payment information can prevent your ads from running. Depending on the country, the payment process can take up to a couple of days when running pre-paid campaigns. Take that into account so your campaign does not stop showing ads during the process.
Ensure your account has sufficient funds to cover your ad spend. Low account balances can halt your campaigns. Google calculates the taxes applied to the account from the 1st to the 5th day of the month, depending on the country. Your account may have a low balance, and Google will only use it to show Ads once this is calculated.
Sometimes, browser settings or cache can cause display issues. Clear your cache or try a different browser. Using Ad-Blockers in the browser will also hide the ads.
Ensure your tracking codes are correctly implemented on your website. Errors in tracking can affect your ad performance data and visibility.
Use Auction Insights to understand how your ads perform compared to competitors. High competition can affect your ad visibility.
Regularly analyze your competitors’ strategies and adjust your bids and targeting to stay competitive.
Check your account health regularly. Issues like policy violations or low-performance scores can impact ad visibility.
Historical performance can affect your ad placement. Maintain a good track record to ensure consistent ad visibility.
Use remarketing lists to target users who have previously interacted with your site. This can improve ad relevance and performance.
Create custom audiences based on user behaviors and interests. This can help in reaching a more relevant audience.
Ensure your ad text is clear, engaging, and relevant. Poor ad copy can result in low engagement and visibility.
If using images or videos, ensure they are high quality and relevant to the ad message.
Adjust your bids and ad formats to optimize for mobile and desktop users. Different devices may require different strategies.
Use device bid adjustments to allocate more budget to the devices performing better.
Stay updated with market trends. Seasonal changes and external events can affect ad performance.
Industry-specific events can influence search behavior. Adjust your campaigns accordingly. Black Friday or Cyber Monday-type events usually spike users' interest in specific searches, increasing the cost per click; always consider this and set up budgets and strategies accordingly.
You can monitor search trends to adapt your keyword strategy. Changes in user behavior can impact ad performance.
Understand shifts in user preferences to keep your ads relevant and engaging.
Understanding why your Google Ads are not showing can be a complex process, but systematically addressing each potential issue can significantly improve your ad visibility. Regularly review your campaigns, stay updated with Google's policies, and continually optimize your settings and strategies. Just to remind you, successful advertising requires ongoing adjustments and monitoring. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you'll be better equipped to diagnose and resolve any problems, ensuring that your ads effectively reach your target audience and drive the desired results.
Are your Google Ads still now showing up? Please feel free to contact us for help in your ad campaigns.