Plug the Leaks: How to Seal the 5 Biggest PPC Budget Drains

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Jul 19, 2025 / by
Plug the Leaks: How to Seal the 5 Biggest PPC Budget Drains

PPC budgets can leak through a variety of hidden “holes,” but certain key culprits definitely stand out and left unchecked, each of these can siphon off 10-30% of your spend without delivering real results.

The good news? Plugging these leaks takes little more than some disciplined auditing, smart tooling, and a few best-practice tweaks. Read on for a dive into each drain and actionable fixes to shore up your PPC ROI.

1. Irrelevant Keyword Targeting

Broad match or poorly vetted keywords can easily gobble up 10-20% of your daily budget on searches that aren’t aligned with your offer. Those clicks rarely convert, inflating your cost-per-acquisition and skewing performance data.

How to Plug It

Tighten your match types: Shift from broad to phrase or exact match on underperforming terms to curb irrelevant traffic.

Audit Search Terms regularly: Review your Search Terms report weekly and pause or add negatives for low-value queries.

Leverage Single-Keyword Ad Groups (SKAGs): Group tightly related keywords into their own ad groups for precise control and clearer performance insights.

2. Neglecting Negative Keywords

Failing to implement negative keywords can cost you another 15-20% of your PPC spend on off-intent searches that will never convert. Without negatives, phrase and broad match types will continue serving up irrelevant impressions and clicks.

How to Plug It

Build a Starter Negative List: Kick off every new campaign with common negatives (e.g., “free,” “jobs,” “tutorial”) to filter out non-buyers.

Automate list updates: Use rule-based scripts or automated tools to add new negatives when click-through-rates drop below your threshold.

Segment by match type: Apply your negatives at campaign and ad-group levels so you don’t accidentally block high-value queries.

3. Low Quality Score

Ads with Quality Scores of 1–3 can cost up to 400% more per click than those scoring 8–10. Since Google factors Quality Score into Ad Rank and CPC, a poor score both increases costs and lowers ad position.

How to Plug It

Boost ad relevance: Align your ad copy tightly with your keyword intent and insert exact match keywords in headlines and descriptions.

Enhance landing page experience: Ensure your page delivers on the ad promise with clear headlines, fast load times, and mobile-first design.

Optimise expected CTR: Test multiple ad variations (A/B testing) and pause low-performers to improve click-through rates over time.

4. Click Fraud

In certain industries, up to 30% of paid clicks can be fraudulent, draining budgets without yielding real leads. Fraudulent activity not only wastes spend but also contaminates your performance data.

How to Plug It

Deploy anti-fraud tools: Services like ClickGUARD can identify and block suspicious IPs and bot activity in real time.

Monitor for anomalies: Keep an eye on overnight spikes in clicks, unusually low conversion rates, or repeat clicks from the same IP ranges.

Exclude bad placements: Use placement exclusions and managed placement lists to keep your ads off high-risk sites and apps.

5. Poor Landing Page Experience

Even if you nail targeting and bids, a clunky landing page can push CPCs up and conversion rates down, losing you gains from every other optimisation. Google’s landing page experience metric factors in bounce rate, dwell time, and mobile friendliness, so a bad landing page hurts both CPC and Quality Score.

How to Plug It

Optimise for speed: Compress images, minify scripts, and leverage caching to get load times under 3 seconds.

Align messaging: Make sure your headline, copy, and CTA mirror the promise in your ad to reduce user friction.

Enhance usability: Use clear CTAs, remove navigation distractions, and ensure forms are mobile-friendly to boost conversions.

By systematically addressing these five leaks you’ll plug the biggest holes in your PPC budget and start seeing real ROI gains. Ready to fortify your campaigns? Let’s make every click count.

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