The number of impressions your Google Ads receive can generate excitement and disappointment in equal measure.
Ideally, you want impressions that result in customer conversion and business expansion. So, if your advert isn’t generating impressions, several remedies can rectify this conundrum.
Get Found, Get Chosen, Get Your Time Back
A free one-day marketing seminar in Milton Keynes · 10 November 2026
Back To Basics
Check whether your Google Ads campaign has actually started. In the lead-up to launching your ad, you have much to consider, and despite automated digital tools at your disposal, you may have overlooked a key fundamental – you may have forgotten to start the campaign.
Get your free Marketing Action PlanNot sure where to start? Answer a few questions and get your plan in about a minute. No email needed.
Get my plan →So, your lack of online visibility may be down to you not activating the launch button. Similarly, you may have missed the notification that your Google Ads has come to the end of its timeline and the search campaign has come to an end.
Don’t worry. Be kind to yourself. You’re busy and to forget is human.
LIVELive every Tuesday at 2pm UK. Bring your marketing questions.
Get your Google, local SEO and AI questions answered live.
Patience Is A Virtue
It could be that you’ve already started your search campaign and are impatient to access the statistics that will reveal if your campaign is successful. However, new or recently edited ads may still be going through the review process, which can take up to 48 hours to assess ad suitability and whether they are policy compliant.
So, the performance data may not appear until day three of your campaign launch if your ads have passed the approval process. If the ad is disapproved, it’s time for a rethink and a rewrite.
Broaden Your Keywords
The keywords used in your Google Ads campaign are a main contributor to impression success. While commonly used, everyday words are a must in your campaign for search engine optimisation, don’t be afraid to broaden the keywords used in your campaign to attract customers who have a more extensive vocabulary and think outside the box in a stream-of-conscious way.
Budgets And Bidding
It could be that impressions are at zero because your budget has been exhausted, or there is a billing issue on your account which needs to be rectified or supplemented to restart your campaign and re-engage with the online audience.
Another reason you may not be getting any traffic is your bids might be too low. You can remedy this by adjusting your manual or automated bid strategy to assist in conversions at the cost per action that you have determined.
Written by Uzair Kharawala
Partner at SF Digital Studios, a Google Premier Partner agency. Uzair has been helping businesses grow with Google Ads since 2002 and teaches it every week on YouTube.
Get our best Google Ads tips by email
New articles and videos, straight to your inbox. Unsubscribe any time.