Managing a Google Ads campaign can be frustrating — especially when your budget isn’t fully spent, your CTR is dropping, and your conversions are stuck below 1%.
In this article, I’ll walk you through a real query from a viewer who’s struggling with these exact problems. If you’re facing low conversion rates, declining impressions, or quality score issues — this guide is for you.
🔍 The Problem: Budget Not Spent, Conversions Low, Quality Score Stuck
Here’s a summary of the situation the viewer shared:
- Budget isn’t fully spent
- Impressions and CTR are declining
- Conversion rate is under 1%
- Quality Score stuck at 7/10
- Landing page experience marked low
- Manual CPC bidding, selling a physical product
- Goal: Reach 30 conversions to switch to Smart Bidding
🎯 My Step-by-Step Response & Action Plan
1. Don’t Just Raise CPC to Burn Budget
“Our main goal isn’t to spend the full budget — it’s to get quality traffic and conversions.”
Throwing more money at the problem doesn’t help if the traffic isn’t converting. Raising CPC without improving ad relevance, CTR, or landing page experience will just raise costs — not results.
2. CTR Decline = Red Flag for Quality Score
“Your CTR is declining, which directly impacts your quality score. This can increase your CPC and push your ad below the first page.”
A 7/10 Quality Score is average. But if you previously had higher CTR and it’s dropping, that could signal ad fatigue, keyword mismatch, or poor ad relevance.
3. Improve Quality Score (Even Beyond 7/10)
To push that score higher and improve CPC efficiency, focus on:
- 📌 Campaign structure – Use tight ad groups with closely related keywords
- 🔍 Search term optimization – Add negative keywords aggressively
- 📱 Device & location bid adjustments – Optimize based on device or region performance
- 📄 Ad copy upgrades – Write compelling, clear, benefit-driven copy
- ➕ Use ad extensions – Sitelinks, callouts, price, and location extensions boost CTR and credibility
Higher CTR = higher Quality Score = lower CPC
4. Landing Page Experience: Why It’s Still Low
You mentioned updating the content and targeting keywords, yet still getting “Low” landing page experience. This could be due to:
- ❌ Slow loading speed (especially mobile)
- ❌ Mismatch between ad copy and landing page message
- ❌ Poor UX or confusing call-to-action
- ❌ Lack of trust signals (like testimonials, SSL, or contact info)
Solution: Run a full landing page audit and compare it to competitors.
5. Switch to “Maximize Clicks” Temporarily
“Change your bidding strategy to ‘Maximize Clicks’ for now.”
If manual CPC isn’t delivering data, switch temporarily to automatic bidding to get more clicks, which helps Google gather learning data. After ~30 conversions, you can test Target CPA or Maximize Conversions bidding.
6. Spy on Competitors
“Check what your competitors are doing. Look at their ad copy, extensions, and landing pages.”
Tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, or the Ad Preview Tool in Google Ads can show you how others in your niche are running their campaigns.
✅ My Final Recommendations
- Switch bidding strategy to Maximize Clicks
- Improve ad copy and add all possible extensions
- Analyze & fix landing page experience issues
- Keep optimizing negative keywords and search terms
- Monitor your Quality Score across all components (expected CTR, relevance, and landing page)
🛠️ Need Expert Help?
If you’re stuck — or want to fast-track your success — I offer:
- ✅ Google Ads Audit
- ✅ Campaign Setup
- ✅ Ongoing Management Services
📩 Hire us directly using the link in the description or [click here] to get started. My team and I have helped clients recover dying campaigns and turn them into high-ROI machines.
📌 Conclusion
Don’t panic if your Google Ads campaign seems to be underperforming. With smart tweaks and strategic changes, you can revive CTR, optimize costs, and get the conversions flowing.
📈 Stop wasting money. Let’s fix it — and get your Google Ads working like they should.
