Waste is usually invisible
Most accounts are not failing dramatically - they leak. A few dollars here, a few hundred there. Across six months it adds up to a car. Here is where we find it most often.
1. Broad match with no negatives
Broad match keywords without a disciplined negative list spend on searches you would never choose. A weekly negative-keyword pass is the single highest-return habit in paid search.
2. No conversion tracking, or wrong tracking
If the algorithm is optimizing toward the wrong conversion - a form view instead of a form submission - it will happily buy you expensive junk. Validate what counts as a conversion first.
3. Geographic bleed
Ads served outside your service area waste spend and confuse reporting. Review location targeting and "presence" settings, not just "interest".
4. Device and schedule blind spots
Some businesses convert terribly on mobile at 2 a.m. and brilliantly on desktop at 10 a.m. If you have never looked, you are paying full price for both.
5. Landing page mismatch
Ads promising one thing landing on a generic page force visitors to hunt. The ad, the keyword, and the page headline should say the same thing.
6. Set-and-forget campaigns
Campaigns left untouched for months drift toward easy, expensive traffic. Weekly checks - even fifteen minutes - keep them honest.
The audit habit
Once a month, review the search terms report, the conversion definitions, and your negative list. Twenty focused minutes beats a redesign you keep postponing.