Why Are Your Google Ads Not Getting Impressions?

Before any Google Ads campaign is launched onto the internet, it goes through several review processes.  

Your ad is examined automatically for appropriate language, selected keywords, the created headline, any visuals or videos used, and whether the campaign is genuine, legal, and not malicious.

Once those checks are ticked, and your ad meets Google’s guidelines, your ad status changes to eligible and then is approved to be featured on specific sites.

Whilst that sounds time-consuming, the Google review process is a finely tuned, automated procedure – one that’s usually completed within 24 hours. Any longer than that, and it’s advisable to revisit your original ad to diagnose what’s behind the delay.

Approval Anomaly

Let’s take an example of an approved Google Ads campaign. It had a successful run but suddenly stopped making an appearance on the Google platform.

One reason your ad may not be making any impressions on a search result page is that you may have what is known as “twitchy fingers” and edited a pre-approved live advert. 

You may have had second thoughts about a keyword, had a crisis of confidence about a font used or realised that one of the images incorporated had an unexpected copyright issue.

Copyright issues should always be addressed immediately. It will save you money and protect your brand reputation, which is a commodity you can’t put a price on.

But if your ad campaign was running smoothly, resist the urge to adjust or experiment. Your approved ad may have fallen into the realm of the disapproved because you have added a word that is not eligible or trademarked. So, in the first instance, go back and check your ad is still approved.

If the ad is approved, check to see if you’ve added some negative keywords which have stopped the ad group from running and halted the campaign.

Leave It Alone. Leave It Alone

One final gem of a remedy for an impression-less ad is to copy the campaign, go into Maximize Conversions and don’t include any target cost per action (CPA). Give the campaign some budget. Get the campaign going. Let it run, and then leave it alone.

Experimentation is a sign of creativity, but when a campaign is performing well, it’s best to refrain from refinements, let it run its course and leave the experimentation for the next campaign.

Written by Uzair Kharawala

Founder of 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.