Google Ads for Beginners: Ads Not Showing on Google? Here's Why

Google Ads Tips

You wrote your ad copy and launched your Google Ads search campaign,only to find out that your ads aren’t showing up. Why?

Here are several  reasons why your Google Ads are not showing up in search results, and also how you can fix it.

  1. Your Google Ads Bidding Strategy Setting

    Your Google search ads may not be appearing because of your Google Ads bidding strategy. For example, if you have set “Maximize clicks” as your bidding strategy, Google Ads will show your ads accordingly to help you generate the most number of clicks from your targeted audience. This means that Google Ads may not show your ad every time a searcher enters a bidded keyword phrase in order to help preserve your daily budget.

    If you want to increase the chance of your Google search ads appearing on search results when your bidded keywords are entered (which we don’t recommend), you can change your bidding strategy to “Target impression share”.Also select “Top of results page”, and enter “100%” for the Percent (%) impression share to target.

    Google Ads Bidding

  2. Your Daily Budget Is Maxed Out

    If your campaign has reached the daily budget, your Google search ads will no longer appear in search results. To increase the chance of your Google search ads appearing on search results more frequently, you can increase your daily budget so there’s more ad spend to be spread out throughout a day.

  3. You Are Not In The Targeted Geographic Location Of Your Search Campaign

    Your ad’s target location will impact whom the ad ultimately gets shown to. If you’re in Vancouver and you are searching for a keyword phrase that you bid on, but you didn’t include Vancouver in the geographic locations that you’re targeting, you won’t see your ads.

    To see your Google search ads in a city that you’re targeting, go to the “Ad Preview and Diagnosis Tool” in your Google Ads account. Select a city that you’re targeting to see if your ad appears in that target city. Keep in mind that the “Ad Preview and Diagnosis Tool” is a simulator tool and won’t be 100% accurate.

    Google Ads Preview

  4. Your Bid Isn’t Competitive

    If the average bid amount for a keyword that you’re bidding for is $5 and you have set your bid to $1, your search ads aren’t likely to show up on search results. Google is in the ‘pay to play’ business; they will show the ads that are most profitable for them. To increase your ads’ chances of appearing on search results, make sure you are bidding competitively relative to the average bid amount.

Knowing how to leverage the power of Google Ads is essential to maximizing ROI on every marketing dollar. With the right know-how and strategy, Google Ads can create a powerful return on investment for your business. If you’re ready for your digital marketing strategy to work for you, contact us for a complimentary discovery call today.