Why your ads performance drops

Google Ads isn’t linear.

Some days, you hit it big.

Some days, it feels like nothing is working out.

We see this all the time with brands that come to us for help.

One day, everything’s going well and the next, revenue drops in half.

This can happen for many reasons.

Market shifts. Competition increasing their bids. Ad fatigue.

It’s tough to watch the numbers dip right in front of your eyes.

But when that happens, the most important thing is to stop the bleeding.

You can’t let it snowball into a downward spiral.

Yeah, the lows can hit hard.

But the highs are coming.

What really matters is how your ads perform over the long haul, not during short-term fluctuations.

Here’s a dashboard from a brand we took over at the beginning of November.

Sales fluctuate, but the overall trend shows growth over time.

And that’s what we care about.

The key is having a plan ready for when those lows hit.

And just like with any problem, the first step is figuring out the root cause.

To do this, take a closer look at your metrics.

You can divide Google Ads metrics into four levels:

Level 1: CPA, ROAS, Conversions

Level 2: CTR, CR, Clicks, Impressions, CPC

Level 3: Impression share, Quality score, Landing page experience

Level 4: Keyword, ad copy, device, audience segment, geographic.

Start at Level 1 and see which metric took a hit.

Then move down the list until you find the source of the issue.

By the time you reach Level 4, you’ll know exactly where the problem lies.

Most issues fall into 3 main categories:

1. Account-level problems: ads, ad relevance, landing page issues.

2. Market-level problems: competition, keywords, location targeting.

3. Website-level problems: user experience, mobile optimization.

Identify where the trouble is and fix it.

For example, you notice:

Level 1: ROAS dropped

Level 2: CTR fell

Level 3: Quality score went down

When you get to Level 4, you discover the ad copy doesn’t resonate with the audience.

So you know it’s time to adjust your copy.

Now here’s the thing…

Knowing how to bounce back from performance drops matters.

But it’s even better to avoid them.

Set up automated alerts so you’ll know right away if performance starts to dip.

Then you can jump in, make adjustments, and keep things moving in the right direction.

If your strategy stops working, don’t freeze up.

Test, tweak, and optimize so that the next high is higher than the last one.

Revenue dips are part of the game.

You can’t control the market or what your competitors do.

But you can control how you react.

Build a firefighter process ready to go as soon as things start to burn.

Focus on getting the numbers back on track.

Just like in combat sports, it’s not about how many times you get hit.

It’s about who’s still standing when the bell rings.

Jackson

Founder and CEO of Echelonn

How we can help:

• Get a free Google ads audit: For brands spending more than $20k/mo. or making over 1 million annually, we’ll identify the key bottlenecks in your account, and turn it into a free 90-day scaling plan. Click here.

• Get a 1-time Google ads buildout: For brands that are new to Google or looking to add another revenue model WITHOUT a retainer. We’ll do a one-time buildout over 30 days for you to profit from day 1. Click here for more info.

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