Have you ever wondered why your Google Ads campaigns just don’t seem to scale to six-figure monthly revenue?
You’re not alone.
Most ecommerce businesses never make it to $100K a month, and it’s usually because of the same six issues I’ve seen repeatedly during my 10+ years of running a paid ads agency.
These problems lead to poor decisions, wasted money, and stunted growth. But the good news is, when you know what they are—and how to fix them—you’ll open the door to faster growth and bigger wins.
Let’s break them down.
1. Misjudging Performance
This one tops the list for a reason.
Poor judgment of performance leads to bad decisions, which kills potential.
Here’s the thing: short-term fluctuations are normal.
Don’t panic!
Zooming in too closely on daily data, especially if you’re only looking at a handful of conversions, can trick you into making rash moves.
Instead, focus on statistically significant data.
Here’s a rule of thumb: look for batches of 50-100 conversions before making big decisions. Random chance and algorithm learning periods play a huge role in Google Ads, so you need enough data to see the true picture.
🔍 Example: Let’s say you’re targeting a ROAS of 2.3, but notice one campaign delivering only 1.9. Panic sets in. But then you realise it’s based on just 13 conversions. When you zoom out to the past 30 days, that same campaign with 54 conversions now shows a ROAS of 2.4 — above your target.
2. Mismanaging Bids and Budgets
If your bid and budget strategies are out of whack, you’re leaving money on the table.
Start in discovery mode—use strategies like Maximise Conversion Value or Maximise Clicks (depending on the campaign type) and set modest budgets.
Once your campaign stabilises and hits a profitable ROAS, ensure your Search Impression Share Lost Due to Budget is at 0%.
This means you’re maximising the reach of your winning campaigns without leaving revenue on the table. If you’re hitting a good ROAS but still losing impressions to budget, it’s time to increase your daily spend.
3. Not Knowing How to Prioritise
Are you spending hours fiddling with negative keywords or tweaking ad assets? Stop.
High-leverage tasks like understanding bid strategies, data analysis, and probabilities are where you should focus your time. For example, refining your campaign structure or improving your understanding of algorithm behaviour will yield far greater results than manually reviewing negative keywords.
4. Products Too Niche for Google Ads
Here’s the hard truth: Google Ads can only target people who are already searching for your products.
If your product is too niche, you’ll struggle to scale. For example, a pizza oven kit with only 3,000 monthly searches in the US won’t bring in $100K revenue from Google Ads alone.
In this case, you have two options:
Expand your product line to capture more searches.
Add top-of-funnel (TOFU) channels, such as Meta Ads or TikTok, which can target broader audiences.
5. Conversion Tracking Errors
Without accurate conversion tracking, you’re flying blind.
Your primary conversion action should always be your website’s purchase tag, set to "primary." Google Analytics (GA4) conversions can be helpful, but they should be set to "secondary" since GA4 often under-reports due to multi-channel attribution.
How to check your tracking:
Install the Google Tag Assistant Legacy extension for Chrome.
Open up your website in a browser window and ensure to enable the extension.
Complete a test purchase and get to the thank you page.
As you complete the test purchase, check in the tag assistant on every page of the process, ensure your Gads website conversion tag is NOT on any of those pages before the thank you page.
On the thank you page, check the tag assistant extension and this time ensure that the Gads website conversion tag IS on this page, and that the revenue it reports matches the revenue for your test purchase.
6. Not Evolving Your Campaign Structure
A beginner campaign structure might get you started, but it won’t take you to six-figure months. As your account grows, you need to refine your structure to a more advanced setup. For example:
Group products strategically by performance.
Consolidate campaigns with low conversion data.
Implement a multi-layered strategy for Performance Max campaigns.
If you’re still using the same setup from when you started, it’s time to level up.
Final Thoughts
Avoiding these six mistakes can transform your Google Ads campaigns, unlocking growth and putting you on track for your first six-figure month. It’s all about making better decisions, focusing on the right tasks, and adapting your strategy as you scale.