Google Ads Account Not Showing Ads? Start With These 7 Checks

It’s Sunday evening. You search for a service you advertise. Nothing.

Now you’re tempted to raise your bid, rewrite the ad or shut the campaign down. All three are guesses.

Your own search is no proof the ad stopped serving. Search location, device, schedule, keywords and the auction itself affect what appears.

First, look at impressions in the Google Ads account. An impression means the ad appeared. It says nothing about whether the person called, but it tells you whether the campaign is getting shown.

1. Status. Look at the campaign, ad group, keyword and ad. Is something paused? Is an ad under review or limited by policy? Google’s ad status guide explains the labels. Read the actual notice.

2. Billing. A payment problem will not be solved by clever ad copy. Check the account alerts.

3. Dates and hours. If you told the campaign to run Monday through Friday, a Sunday search proves nothing. Also check the start and end dates.

4. Location. A Port Charlotte service company targeting Charlotte County should not judge its campaign from a search made in another state. Check the location setting and the option for people in or interested in that area.

5. Search terms. Look at your keywords and negative keywords. Check whether one of your negatives blocks the search.

6. Preview. Open Google’s Ad Preview and Diagnosis tool. Set the location and device. Let it show you whether the ad is eligible for that test.

7. History. Compare the last few days of impressions and clicks. If delivery dropped on Tuesday, look at changes made around Tuesday. That is a much better lead than guessing.

A paused campaign needs a status fix. A wrong location needs a location fix. A billing problem needs billing attention.

More budget does exactly nothing for those problems.

After delivery returns, check the calls and forms. Impressions are only the beginning of the sale. You still need the right job from the right area to reach a person who answers.