A large analysis of more than 250,000 performance reports from over 15,000 Google Ads accounts revealed several important insights about paid search performance.
1. Many advertisers waste significant budget
The average business wastes about $1,127 per month on clicks that do not convert. This is often due to poor targeting, weak account structure, or lack of optimization.
2. A large share of accounts generate no conversions
Approximately 29% of accounts recorded zero conversions over a 90-day period. Common causes include missing conversion tracking, low budgets, ineffective targeting, and failure to use negative keywords.
3. Higher spending does not guarantee better results
Top-performing accounts were not necessarily the biggest spenders. Strong performance was more closely linked to effective structure, relevance, and ongoing optimization.
4. High Quality Scores are uncommon
Most accounts had Quality Scores between 5 and 6. Only 22% achieved a score of 7 or higher, and just 12% reached elite scores above 8.
5. Negative keywords significantly improve conversion rates
Accounts that used at least one negative keyword had nearly three times higher conversion rates than those that used none, showing the importance of filtering irrelevant traffic.
6. More impressions do not lead to more conversions
Accounts with fewer impressions often achieved higher conversion rates, suggesting that tighter targeting and higher user intent produce better outcomes.
7. High-performing accounts share similar structures
Successful advertisers typically run more campaigns and ad groups with clear segmentation by goals, services, or locations. This improves relevance, click-through rates, Quality Score, and overall performance.
Source WordStream by LocaliQ
