The four settings below are documented in Google Ads' own help pages. Each one influences which queries trigger your ad, who clicks, and how the smart bidding algorithm learns. Each one has a default that does not always serve a local Auckland service business.
1. Search partners and display network
New search campaigns ship with the Search Network with Display Select option active by default. Search partners are non Google search sites that show your ad. Display Select extends to display ads on the Google Display Network. Both can produce cheap clicks that rarely convert and dilute the conversion data the bidding algorithm trains on.
Where to find it: Settings, Networks. Untick both unless you have a specific reason to keep them.
Source: Book the call.
2. Location targeting set to 'presence or interest'
Default location setting is 'Presence or interest' which includes anyone who has ever shown interest in the location. For a local Auckland service business that frequently means a fraction of clicks come from outside the country. The fix is to switch to 'Presence: People in or regularly in your targeted locations'.
Where to find it: Settings, Locations, Location options. Choose presence only.
Source: Google Ads Help, About location targeting.
3. Smart bidding without enough conversion data
Smart bidding strategies (Maximise Conversions, Target CPA, Target ROAS) need a baseline of conversion data to learn from. Google's own documentation recommends at least 30 conversions in the past 30 days before turning Target CPA on. Switching it on with little or no data tends to push CPCs up because the algorithm has nothing reliable to optimise toward.
Practical sequence: Manual CPC for the first two to four weeks, then Maximise Conversions once 30 conversions are in the window, then Target CPA after another 30.
Source: Google Ads Help, About Target CPA bidding.
4. Empty negative keyword list
Negative keywords prevent ads showing on irrelevant queries. Without them, broad match keywords pick up volumes of low intent searches. The cost adds up. The minimum starter list for any local service account: free, cheap, DIY, jobs, careers, course, training, definition, meaning, salary, apprenticeship, volunteer, government, council, used, second hand. Add to it from the Search Terms report every fortnight.
Source: Google Ads Help, About negative keywords.
None of these four are clever moves. They are checklist items. Most accounts under perform not because of strategy but because the defaults were never reviewed.
If you want a free audit of an Auckland Google Ads account, the strategy call covers all four settings live in your account.
Edited by a human.