Am I doing this right?

Hello community!

So I started playing around with google ads search campaigns ( mind you I've never ran ads before at all ), and I'm a bit confused as to whether I am doing it right or not. I've set up a search campaign with relevant keywords after some research here, the ads were all accepted and the campaign ran for 4 days now.

I've gotten a fair number of impressions and clicks from my $30 daily budget, however the clicks aren't converting at all. Most of them stay on my lander for around 3-15 seconds, and some just don't even register on my analytics page at all. All things considered my CPC is pretty low and I'm not sure whether to be happy about that or not.

I guess I just want to understand when to expect any lasting visits or any conversions at all. I track conversions based on a form fill on my lander, the form and a CTA header is the first thing users see when they load my site, both on mobile and desktop.

Some people have said my daily budget is too small to be relevant for any conversions, and some have said that it's an okay amount, so I'm just looking for some extra opinions on the matter. It'd be nice to see at least one form filled in per day or so to see that it's working and then scale the budget.

Should I just let it run and hope for it to start converting or should I scrap it and reset the entire thing with new parameters?

Leonius said:

Hello community!

So I started playing around with google ads search campaigns ( mind you I've never ran ads before at all ), and I'm a bit confused as to whether I am doing it right or not. I've set up a search campaign with relevant keywords after some research here, the ads were all accepted and the campaign ran for 4 days now.

I've gotten a fair number of impressions and clicks from my $30 daily budget, however the clicks aren't converting at all. Most of them stay on my lander for around 3-15 seconds, and some just don't even register on my analytics page at all. All things considered my CPC is pretty low and I'm not sure whether to be happy about that or not.

I guess I just want to understand when to expect any lasting visits or any conversions at all. I track conversions based on a form fill on my lander, the form and a CTA header is the first thing users see when they load my site, both on mobile and desktop.

Some people have said my daily budget is too small to be relevant for any conversions, and some have said that it's an okay amount, so I'm just looking for some extra opinions on the matter. It'd be nice to see at least one form filled in per day or so to see that it's working and then scale the budget.

Should I just let it run and hope for it to start converting or should I scrap it and reset the entire thing with new parameters?

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4 days is still too little time to draw conclusions. I wouldn’t delete the campaign right away; first, I’d look at the quality of the traffic.

The main thing is to check the Search Terms Report and see which actual queries people clicked from. Very often, the issue is not the budget, but that Google is bringing in users who are not fully relevant.

Also, add negative keywords, check whether the ad matches the landing page, and make sure the form/offer is clear right away. A $30/day budget with a CPC of around $1 is not that small for a test, but if the traffic quality is poor, you may still get no conversions.

By the way, what keyword match types are you using? That strongly affects click quality.

Low CPC with high CTR but zero conversions usually means one of two things: you're either buying cheap bot traffic from search partners, or your keywords are way too broad.

Go check your actual search terms. If people are bouncing in 3 seconds, they aren't finding what they expected based on your ad copy. Do not scrape the whole campaign yet, just pause the broad match terms and fix your landing page load time. Never feed more budget to a campaign that has zero tracking signals.

It's ok to start with a low daily budget first. The issue is not with the budget.
How is your funnel? I would not look into the campaign but rather into the lander etc.

Also if it has only been 4 days, you might want to wait a few more days to get a better picture too

Leonius said:

That's what I was afraid of, bot traffic, however after looking into the searches it does not seem to be the case, however 75% of the clicks do come from search partners rather than google search, not too sure what to make of that to be honest. I've made sure to remove Display Network, should google search partners also be excluded?

The actual headers and descriptions are extremely specific, I can't see anyone reading them and thinking of a different product to be completely honest. The load time of the landing page is optimized as well, It's a very simple page with no heavy elements or intricate backend functions, just simple HTML CSS & JS, media files are minimal and scaled for fast loading, no random pop-ups either to clutter the lander.

Didn't quite understand the part about tracking signals though

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Search Partners includes 3rd-party search bars, parked domains, and low-tier ad networks. Even if the search terms look specific, the intent is completely different from someone actively typing into Google. It's notorious for accidental clicks and low-quality traffic, which explains why they bounce in 3 seconds despite your clean HTML/CSS code.

To explain 'tracking signals' simply: think of Google’s AI as a dog you're training. If you don't give it a treat (a conversion signal) when it does something right, it doesn't know what to look for. Right now, you're paying for clicks, so Google assumes success is just getting clicks. You need to make sure your conversion tracking is 100% verified in the dashboard so Google knows exactly which user filled out the form. Only then can the algorithm start finding real buyers.

Leonius said:

the CPC is quite low there 0.42, comparing to google search 2.69

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there is a good reason why the CPC on search partners is so much lower.
go to campaign settings -> networks -> uncheck both search network and display network.
and what is your bidding strategy? for low budget test campaign manual bidding is the best. Don't trust Google with your bidding, it will bring you more expensive clicks. You can test automated strategies when you are sure you have at least 30-50 conversions/month.

Leonius said:

So wouldn't search partners be detrimental to the campaign? the CPC is quite low there 0.42, comparing to google search 2.69, so I never took it to heart to be honest.

As for the tracking signals part, got it, the campaign is bidding with the maximize conversions setting, and conversion goals are set up so it tracks form submissions, so I think that part is configured, I've tested out the G-Tags manually to track it and it works, It's probably is just the low quality traffic and accidental clicks as you've mentioned, the form is not nearly long enough for people to reconsider taking the time to fill it in. Plus for the most part even scroll events are not found within those clicks.

So to recap, for the time being, minimize the board match work around the seach terms, input negative keywords and exclude search partners, would be the right way to go about it?

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That recap is 100% correct. Execute that plan.

Regarding your comment on the CPC: A $0.42 click with a 0% conversion rate is infinitely more expensive than a $2.69 click with a 10% conversion rate. Google prices those partner clicks so low precisely because the intent is garbage. Don't fall into the cheap CPC trap—you are buying intent, not just web visitors.

Since your tags are firing correctly, cutting the partner network and tightening your match types will force the algorithm to spend that $30 on actual premium Google Search intent. Make those changes, give it a few days to adjust, and watch the traffic quality shift. Good luck!

Leonius said:

Thank you for your wise words. I will do so right after my advertiser profile gets verified!

I thought only the Display Network would be low intent traffic, and I'd rather have a higher CPC with an actual conversion to show for it rather than nothing, yet my google search conversion is also at 0 so will just wait and see what it will bring.

Many thanks! Was always hesitant about learning the tricks to this since not many people out there share info on GH/BH niche marketing

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The GH/BH space is definitely secretive because profitable edges get saturated quickly, but getting the tracking and traffic fundamentals right is the same everywhere.

Don't sweat the 0 conversions on main Google Search right now. Since 75% of your budget was bleeding into the partner network, your main search campaign was essentially starving. It never got enough continuous data to actually optimize. Get your advertiser verification sorted, run the clean setup, and let the algorithm actually breathe. Good luck scaling!

Leonius said:

I don't think there was an option for manual bidding, couldn't find it in the tabs.

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Click on "or select a bid strategy directly" and look for manual bidding. Google doesn't want people to choose manual bidding so they hide this option, but it's still available.

After you turned off the search partners and switched to manual bidding, you need to monitor your search terms to make sure you attract the right audience.

If you’re getting clicks but no conversions, the issue is usually more about targeting or landing page intent than budget size.

102 clicks with zero conversions usually means the keyword intent or landing page trust is weak, not the budget itself. Your CTR is actually decent for a beginner campaign, but 3-15 second visits are a big sign that the traffic doesn’t match the offer.

Leonius said:

Yeah the CTR is definitely not bad, but it seems like it's not high-intent, which is really killing me, but was advised on ways to mitigate that hopefully, will try and test, perhaps it will be a game-changer

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Good luck, bro! We’d be happy if you shared what you’re working on with us as well. I’m also eager to learn.

You can try changing your keywords. However, since it’s only been 4 days, you should wait at least a week.

4 day is still very early for Google ad, especially for new account. Zero conversions usually means either traffic intent is slightly off or landing page is not convincing enough yet i would not rest everything right now better keep testing and adjust step by step.

Leonius said:

Hello community!

So I started playing around with google ads search campaigns ( mind you I've never ran ads before at all ), and I'm a bit confused as to whether I am doing it right or not. I've set up a search campaign with relevant keywords after some research here, the ads were all accepted and the campaign ran for 4 days now.

I've gotten a fair number of impressions and clicks from my $30 daily budget, however the clicks aren't converting at all. Most of them stay on my lander for around 3-15 seconds, and some just don't even register on my analytics page at all. All things considered my CPC is pretty low and I'm not sure whether to be happy about that or not.

I guess I just want to understand when to expect any lasting visits or any conversions at all. I track conversions based on a form fill on my lander, the form and a CTA header is the first thing users see when they load my site, both on mobile and desktop.

Some people have said my daily budget is too small to be relevant for any conversions, and some have said that it's an okay amount, so I'm just looking for some extra opinions on the matter. It'd be nice to see at least one form filled in per day or so to see that it's working and then scale the budget.

Should I just let it run and hope for it to start converting or should I scrap it and reset the entire thing with new parameters?

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Hey there!

First off, take a deep breath. Running your very first campaign can feel like a rollercoaster, especially when you see money leaving your wallet and nothing coming back yet. What you're experiencing right now is incredibly common, so don't scrap everything and panic-delete just yet.

Let’s break down exactly what’s happening from one human to another.



1. The "Cheap Clicks" Trap

You mentioned your CPC is really low but people are bouncing after 3–15 seconds. Honestly? Low CPC isn't always a good thing. It often means you're buying lower-quality, accidental, or highly informational traffic rather than people looking to buy or sign up right now.



The Fix: Go straight to your "Search Terms" report. Look at what people actually typed into Google before clicking your ad. If your keywords are set to "Broad Match," Google is probably showing your ad for wild variations that have nothing to do with your service. Put your best keywords into "Phrase Match" (using quotation marks like "keyword") or [Exact Match] to tighten the reins.

2. Check Your Network Settings

When you set up a Search campaign, Google quietly checks two boxes by default: Search Partners and the Display Network.



The Fix: Go to your campaign settings and uncheck both. Display network traffic inside a search campaign is notorious for accidental clicks, fat-finger mobile taps, and quick 3-second bounces that eat your budget.

3. The Analytics Disconnect (Site Speed)

You noticed some clicks aren't even registering on your analytics. This is a massive clue. If Google charges you for a click but your analytics script doesn't fire, it usually means your landing page is loading too slowly. A user clicks, waits 4 seconds for a blank screen, gets annoyed, and hits the back button.



The Fix: Test your lander on your mobile phone using a cellular network, not your fast home Wi-Fi. Optimizing your image sizes and page speed might fix this instantly.

4. Is $30/day enough?

Ignore the people saying $30 isn't enough to get any conversions. It completely depends on your industry. If a click costs $1, $30 gets you 30 clicks. If a good, optimized landing page converts at 5%, you should see a lead every 20 clicks or so. $30 is plenty for a test—the issue right now isn't the amount of money, it's the quality of the traffic you're buying.



My Advice: Don't Reset, Just Calibrate

Don't start from scratch. Treat these first 4 days as paying for data. Here is your game plan for today:



Turn off the Partner and Display networks.

Check the Search Terms report and aggressively add "Negative Keywords" for anything irrelevant.

Double-check your form on mobile to make sure it actually works and isn't clunky to fill out.

Give it another 3 to 4 days after making these tweaks. If you start getting people staying on the page for 1–2 minutes but they still don't fill out the form, then we look at tweaking the copy or the offer on your website.

Leonius said:

Thank you so much for the in-depth break down! Really cleared up a bunch of my concerns as to what to start off with, going to mess around with the search terms and keywords until I get better matches with more intention for my product!

This advertising stuff is really a hard nut to crack, trying to mix and match between search terms and key words is a lot more difficult than I ever expected it to be, really opened my eyes to the amount of work and thought well built campaigns require.

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Always welcome, bro. I began this way 7 y.o., it's hard way!))))