I've audited over 100 local business Google Ads accounts this year. The same three mistakes show up almost every time — and they're silently draining budgets.

1. Broad match keywords with no negatives

Most local businesses set up campaigns with broad match terms like "plumber" or "dentist near me" and never add negative keywords. You end up paying for clicks from people searching "plumber salary" or "dentist school requirements." I've seen accounts waste 40%+ of spend on irrelevant searches.

Fix: Start with phrase match. Review your search terms report weekly. Add negatives aggressively for the first 30 days.

2. Sending traffic to the homepage

Your homepage wasn't built to convert ad traffic. It's got your logo, an "About Us" section, and a phone number buried in the footer. That's not a landing page.

Fix: Build a dedicated page for each service you're advertising. One service, one CTA, one phone number above the fold. Conversion rates typically double.

3. Not tracking calls or form fills

If you can't see which keyword drove a phone call, you're flying blind. Most local businesses have zero conversion tracking set up, so Google's algorithm can't optimize toward actual leads.

Fix: Set up call tracking and form submission tracking in Google Ads. Let the algorithm learn what a real lead looks like.

These three fixes alone can cut wasted spend by 30-50% for most local businesses. If you want us to handle it for you, that's what AdPilot does — check out our SEO & Ads Management service.