Worth checking
Things in your account that look off but aren't clear waste. See each one for yourself, then send your agency the note. None of this is counted in the headline.
To check
Most spend goes to the costlier campaign$3,161 for 14 leads vs $529 for 7 leads, last 30 days
Why does 86% of your spend go to the campaign costing $226 a lead?
The cheaper campaign, about $76 a lead, runs out of budget and misses searches. Medium confidence
Show me where
- Click the Campaigns icon on the left, then "Campaigns".
- Set the date range in the top right to the last 30 days.
- Click the Columns icon above the table, then "Modify columns". Add a cost per conversion column (under Conversions) and "Search lost IS (budget)" (under Competitive metrics), then click Apply.
- Compare the campaigns side by side: spend, conversions, cost per conversion, and how often each ran out of budget.
Ask your agency
Hi team, Most of our budget goes to the campaign with the highest cost per lead, while the cheaper one runs out of budget. Can you walk me through why? Could we test moving $10 a day from the expensive one to the cheaper one, keeping the total the same, for two weeks? What I'm seeing: $3,161 for 14 leads vs $529 for 7 leads, last 30 days. Can you confirm once it's done? Thanks
Watchdog checks next week.
Or change it yourself
- Fix the lead tracking issues first if you can, so you're comparing real leads.
- On the Campaigns page, in the "Budget" column, click the pencil next to the expensive campaign and lower its daily budget by $10. Click Save.
- Raise the cheaper campaign's daily budget by the same $10. Your total stays the same.
- Leave it for two weeks, then compare cost per lead again.
Why?
"Website Search - Decks" gets 86% of the budget and costs about $226 per lead. "Search - Patios and Fencing" costs about $76 per lead but is capped at $18 a day and missed 34% of the searches it could have shown for (last 90 days). Lead counts may be off (see Tracking), so treat this as worth checking, not proven.
What changes: If the cheaper campaign keeps its cost per lead with the extra $10 a day, you get more leads for the same total spend. If not, move it back.
This compares cost per lead, and lead counts may be off. Both campaigns use Maximize conversions, which Google says aims to spend the whole budget, so running out of budget is partly by design.
Checked against Google's help: Add or remove columns in your statistics table (Oct 26, 2026); Make sure you're not missing out (impression share) (Oct 26, 2026); Set and change an average daily budget (Oct 26, 2026); About Maximize conversions bidding (Oct 26, 2026).
Bidding may chase the wrong goals$3,690 in the last 30 days on conversion-based bidding, with 3 lead tracking problems
Is Google's automatic bidding chasing the wrong goals?
Google's bidding chases whatever counts as a lead. Some of yours aren't real new leads. Medium confidence
Show me where
- Click the Goals icon on the left, then "Conversions", then "Summary".
- Every action marked Primary is something Google's bidding tries to get more of. Check each one is a real new lead.
Ask your agency
Hi team, Our campaigns bid to maximize conversions, but some conversions aren't real new leads (repeat calls, calls that may be counted twice). Can we clean up which actions count before the bidding learns from them? What I'm seeing: $3,690 in the last 30 days on conversion-based bidding, with 3 lead tracking problems. Can you confirm once it's done? Thanks
Watchdog checks next week.
Or change it yourself
- Fix the lead tracking issues first. Each one on the Tracking page has its own steps.
Why?
2 campaigns use "Maximize conversions" bidding. Google raises and lowers bids to get more of whatever counts as a conversion. Right now that includes calls that may be counted more than once, repeat callers and one caller counted as several leads, so some of your $3,690 may be chasing those instead of new customers.
What changes: Once only real leads count as conversions, Google's bidding aims at real leads.
Checked against Google's help: About primary and secondary conversion actions (Oct 25, 2026); About Maximize conversions bidding (Oct 26, 2026).
Paying a lot for your own name$695 on 26 clicks for your name (29% of search spend Google showed). About $27 a click, vs $16 for other searches.
Why does a click on your own name cost $27?
A click on your own name costs $27, vs $16 for other searches. Someone may be bidding on your name. High confidence
Show me where
- On your phone, search Google for your business name. Note any ads above yours from other companies.
- Click the Campaigns icon on the left, then "Insights and reports", then "Search terms".
- Set the date range in the top right to the last 30 days.
- Look at searches with your name in them and the "Avg. CPC" column, which is what each click cost.
- Then go to Campaigns, "Insights and reports", "Auction insights". It lists other companies whose ads show on the same searches as yours.
Ask your agency
Hi team, Why do clicks on our own business name cost so much? Are other companies bidding on our name? Would a separate campaign just for our name, with its own budget and bids, cost less? What I'm seeing: $695 on 26 clicks for your name (29% of search spend Google showed). About $27 a click, vs $16 for other searches. Can you confirm once it's done? Thanks
Watchdog checks next week.
Or change it yourself
- This is a bigger change. Put searches for your name in their own campaign, with its own budget and bids, so they stop sharing a budget with everything else.
- Add your business name as a keyword in that campaign.
- Add your business name as a negative keyword in your other campaigns, so only the new one shows for it.
- Watch the cost per click on your name for two weeks.
Why?
People searching your name were already looking for you. Clicks on them usually cost less than other clicks. Yours cost about $27, more than the $16 other clicks cost. That can mean other companies are bidding on your name, or the bidding is set higher than it needs to be.
What changes: If clicks on your own name get cheaper, more of your budget reaches people who haven't found you yet.
If you haven't set up a campaign before, read Google's help first or have someone who has do it. Getting the negative keywords wrong can stop your ads showing for your own name.
Checked against Google's help: About the search terms report (Oct 26, 2026); Use auction insights to compare performance (Oct 26, 2026); Add negative keywords to campaigns (Oct 25, 2026).
Clicks cost much more lately$17.32 a click vs $9.95 before
Clicks cost 74% more this month. What changed?
A click costs $17.32 now, up from $9.95. Season, new competitors or bidding changes can do this. Medium confidence
Show me where
- Click the Campaigns icon on the left, then "Change history". Set the dates to the weeks before clicks got more expensive and look for budget, bid or targeting changes.
- Then go to Campaigns, "Insights and reports", "Auction insights". Compare this month with the month before and look for new companies.
Ask your agency
Hi team, Our cost per click jumped this month. What changed, and is there anything we should do about it? What I'm seeing: $17.32 a click vs $9.95 before. Can you confirm once it's done? Thanks
Watchdog checks next week.
Or change it yourself
- If a setting changed around then, ask whether it was meant to, and change it back if not.
- If new companies show up in Auction insights, there's nothing to undo. Watch whether your cost per lead holds.
- If neither, it may be the season. Watchdog compares with this time last year once there's a year of data.
Why?
A click cost about $17.32 in the last 30 days, up from $9.95 in the 60 days before. Your ads showed 69% less a day, and daily spend was 18% lower. Season, new competitors and bidding changes can all do this. The data alone can't say which.
What changes: Knowing why tells you whether to wait it out or change something.
Checked against Google's help: About change history (Oct 26, 2026); Use auction insights to compare performance (Oct 26, 2026).
Good to know
Your budget runs out before some searches happen.
Because the daily budget ran out, "Website Search - Decks" missed 44% and "Search - Patios and Fencing" missed 34% of the searches they could have shown for (last 90 days). With Maximize conversions bidding, Google aims to spend the whole budget, so some of this is by design. This isn't a reason to spend more. First make sure the money you spend now goes to the right searches.
Not checked yet: The owner hasn't listed where they work, so ad locations can't be checked.
Not checked yet: The owner hasn't given answering hours, so the ad schedule can't be checked.