You’re running a digital advertising campaign, and you’ve noticed your ads aren’t performing as expected. It’s a common frustration, and while there’s no magic “snap/click” solution, it doesn’t have to be daunting. Don’t worry; in this article, we’ll guide you through the process of troubleshooting your ads from the ground up, empowering you with the confidence to set up effective campaigns in the future.
We’ll examine LinkedIn Ads, Facebook Ads, and Google Ads, providing a comprehensive approach to diagnosing and resolving conversion issues.
Let’s dive in.
Troubleshooting LinkedIn Ads: Identifying and Fixing Conversion Issues
To begin troubleshooting a LinkedIn ad, let’s first examine the key metrics to identify immediate red flags. Is your CPM high? Is your cost per result excessive? How are your reach and impressions? Are they too low? How many clicks are you getting, and what’s your click-through rate? Let’s go a step further: what objective did you choose when setting up the ad? How’s your budget? Do you have conversion tracking set up? If conversion tracking is set up, is it configured correctly? Finally, but not least, how’s your creative? Do you have just one, or multiple? Is it engaging?
When troubleshooting LinkedIn ad performance, the mentioned metrics play a significant role in helping you pinpoint the problem. Now, let’s discuss each factor one by one.
Optimizing LinkedIn Campaign Objectives for Better Conversions
Campaign Objective: Based on the campaign objective you choose, your results and performance may differ. When selecting the campaign objective/goal on LinkedIn, base it on the desired outcome. Don’t choose an objective geared towards awareness and expect conversions. And since we’re talking about conversions, LinkedIn has four types of conversion objectives to choose from (as of March 2025): lead generation, talent leads, website conversions, and job applications. We’ll focus on lead generation and website conversions.
Generally, if you’re looking for better conversions to generate more leads, the lead generation objective is best. With lead generation, your audience converts directly on LinkedIn without having to click away from the platform, which generally performs very well. And when it comes to lead quality, you can optimize for either getting more leads or qualified leads, a step during ad setup.
As for website conversions, if you’re aiming for a high volume of leads, this isn’t the objective to choose. Website conversions work when you need to educate your audience further by sending them to a landing page for conversion. Since you’re taking people away to a landing page on your website, the number of leads will be lower, but the quality of leads will be higher because these are high-intent people who actually click away from LinkedIn to learn more about your offer. Make sure your conversion tracking is set up correctly so LinkedIn can reach more people likely to convert.
Enhancing LinkedIn Ad Creatives for Higher Engagement and Lower Costs
Factor two: if your ads aren’t converting, they’re most likely very costly as well, because these two factors go hand in hand like a domino effect. Let’s look at why your CPM and cost per result are high!
The most likely culprit is your creative! Why? One, you have just one creative; secondly, your creative isn’t engaging.
Let’s talk about issue 1: having just one creative. The LinkedIn algorithm works by a comparison method, whereby the best-performing ad gets pushed. So how this works is that during the learning phase, LinkedIn shows your ad to a number of people, and the one that gets the most interaction gets pushed. Now, if you only have one creative or one ad, you cripple this process and go against how the algorithm is meant to work, which hurts your reach, making your ad very costly!
Second issue: if you have multiple creatives and are still facing problems, re-evaluate your creative. Is it engaging? Is it enticing enough? Are you offering any value to the audience? Analyze your creative. This is a very fiery topic, and I will write another blog discussing my experience with creatives. I have seen that the kind of model you choose affects conversion if your ad has people in it. If your creative is on point and still no conversions, pause the ad, re-evaluate your targeting, and compare it to the performance analysis of the ads’ performance so far. Then, re-evaluate your PPC/marketing strategy altogether. It doesn’t hurt to go back to the drawing board and check if you have the right strategy to begin with. Because running ads shouldn’t really be too complicated.
So that’s it for LinkedIn Ads troubleshooting; you should be well on your way now to create successful campaigns.
Facebook Ads Conversion Troubleshooting: A Comprehensive Guide
Funny thing, the same principles apply here. While the platforms differ, the core issues affecting conversion rates often overlap. Let’s break down the common culprits hindering your Facebook Ad performance.
Just like with LinkedIn, begin by examining your key metrics:
- CPM (Cost Per 1,000 Impressions): Is it excessively high?
- CPC (Cost Per Click): Is it draining your budget without yielding conversions?
- CTR (Click-Through Rate): Is it alarmingly low, indicating a lack of audience engagement?
- Conversion Rate: The most critical metric. Is it abysmal?
- Relevance Score/Ad Quality Ranking: How does Facebook perceive your ad’s relevance to your target audience?
- Frequency: Are you showing the same ad too often to the same people, leading to ad fatigue?
Let’s delve deeper into these areas:
Selecting the Right Facebook Campaign Objective for Maximum Conversions
- Campaign Objective:
- Facebook offers a wide array of campaign objectives, from awareness to conversions. Choosing the wrong objective is a common mistake. If you’re aiming for sales, a “Traffic” or “Engagement” campaign might not cut it. Opt for “Conversions” and ensure your Facebook Pixel is correctly installed and tracking desired actions.
- Ensure that your landing page or website is optimized for the conversion action that you are tracking.
Crafting Engaging Facebook Ad Creatives That Drive Results
- Ad Creative:
- Just like LinkedIn, your creative is king (or queen!). High CPM and low CTR often point to unengaging or irrelevant visuals and copy.
- Variety is crucial: Test multiple ad creatives, including images, videos, and carousel ads, to see what resonates with your audience.
- Mobile-First: A large percentage of Facebook users are on mobile devices. Ensure your creatives are optimized for mobile viewing.
- Hook and Value: The first few seconds of your video or the headline of your image ad must grab attention and convey value.
- A/B Testing: Continuously test different creatives, copy, and calls to action to optimize performance.
- Analyze which creative performs the best and use that information to create future creatives.
Optimizing Facebook Ad Targeting for Targeted Conversions
- Targeting:
- Facebook’s targeting options are powerful, but they can also be a double-edged sword. Overly broad targeting can lead to wasted ad spend, while overly narrow targeting can limit your reach.
- Audience Segmentation: Divide your audience into smaller, more specific segments based on demographics, interests, and behaviors.
- Lookalike Audiences: Leverage Facebook’s algorithm to find users similar to your existing customers.
- Retargeting: Re-engage users who have previously interacted with your website or ads.
- Audience saturation: If your audience is too small, they will see your ads too often, and get ad fatigue.
Enhancing Landing Page Experience for Improved Facebook Ad Conversions
- Landing Page Experience:
- Even with a compelling ad, a poor landing page can kill your conversion rate.
- Relevance: Ensure your landing page aligns with the message and offer in your ad.
- Speed: A slow-loading landing page will drive users away.
- Mobile Optimization: Again, mobile experience is paramount.
- Clear Call to Action: Make it easy for users to convert.
- Budget and Bidding:
- Your budget and bidding strategy can significantly impact your ad performance.
- Budget Optimization: Experiment with different budgets and bidding strategies to find the optimal balance between cost and results.
- Bid Strategy: Select the correct bid strategy. If you want conversions, then select a bid strategy that will help you achieve that.
- Ad Scheduling: Consider scheduling your ads to run during peak times when your target audience is most active.
By systematically addressing these factors, you can diagnose and resolve the issues hindering your Facebook Ad conversions. Remember, continuous monitoring and optimization are key to success.
Google Ads Troubleshooting: Boosting Conversions Through Optimization
If your ads aren’t performing well on Google, and you’re seeing lackluster conversions, it boils down to a few key areas. Google Ads setup is broad, encompassing various campaign types with distinct objectives. We have Search Ads, excellent for conversions; Display Ads, ideal for brand awareness; Video Ads, perfect for engagement; Shopping Ads, suited for e-commerce; and Performance Max campaigns, which use AI to optimize across all Google channels. We’ll focus primarily on Search Ads, as they’re often the first port of call for conversion-focused campaigns.
Here’s a breakdown of the critical factors to examine:
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Improving Keyword Relevance for Effective Google Ads Campaigns
Analyzing Search Terms vs. Keywords for Precision Targeting
Are your keywords closely aligned with the actual search terms users are entering? Google provides search term reports, and you must review these regularly.
Implementing Negative Keywords to Minimize Wasted Ad Spend
Are you using negative keywords effectively to exclude irrelevant searches? This prevents wasted ad spend and improves your click-through rate (CTR).
Selecting the Right Keyword Match Types for Optimal Reach
Are you using the correct keyword match types (broad, phrase, exact)? Using too broad a match can lead to irrelevant clicks.
Ensuring Landing Page Alignment with Targeted Keywords
Does your landing page content directly relate to your keywords and ad copy?
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Optimizing Google Ad Copy for Higher Click-Through Rates
Crafting Compelling Headlines to Capture User Attention
Are your headlines attention-grabbing and relevant to the user’s search query?
Incorporating Clear Calls to Action for Increased Conversions
Does your ad copy include a clear and compelling CTA?
Utilizing Ad Extensions to Enhance Ad Visibility and Information
Are you utilizing ad extensions (sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets) to provide additional information and improve your ad’s visibility?
Conducting A/B Testing for Continuous Ad Copy Improvement
Are you continually testing different ad copy variations to identify the most effective messaging?
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Enhancing Landing Page Experience for Improved Google Ads Conversions
Optimizing Page Speed for Reduced Bounce Rates
Is your landing page loading quickly? Slow loading times can significantly impact conversion rates.
Ensuring Mobile Friendliness for Optimal User Experience
Is your landing page optimized for mobile devices?
Improving User Experience (UX) for Enhanced Navigation
Is your landing page easy to navigate and understand?
Designing Landing Pages for Maximum Conversion Optimization
Is your landing page designed to guide users toward the desired conversion action?
Mastering Google Ads Bidding and Budget Strategies
Selecting the Appropriate Bidding Strategy for Campaign Goals
Are you using the appropriate bidding strategy (e.g., maximize conversions, target CPA, maximize clicks)?
Optimizing Budget Allocation Across Campaigns and Ad Groups
Is your budget allocated effectively across your campaigns and ad groups?
Improving Quality Score for Lower Costs and Better Ad Positions
A higher quality score leads to lower costs and better ad positions. Review and optimize your quality score by improving keyword relevance, ad copy, and landing page experience.
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Ensuring Accurate Conversion Tracking for Data-Driven Optimization
Verifying Accurate Conversion Tracking Setup
Is your conversion tracking set up correctly? Inaccurate tracking can lead to flawed data and poor optimization decisions.
Tracking All Relevant Conversion Actions for Comprehensive Analysis
Are you tracking all relevant conversion actions?
Understanding Conversion Attribution for Effective Campaign Evaluation
Understand how you are attributing your conversions.
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Optimizing Google Ads Targeting for Reaching the Ideal Audience
Refining Location Targeting for Precise Geographic Reach
Is your location targeting accurate?
Leveraging Audience Targeting for Enhanced User Engagement
Are you leveraging audience targeting options (e.g., remarketing, in-market audiences) to reach the right users?
Optimizing Device Targeting for Tailored User Experiences
Are you optimizing your campaigns for specific devices?
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Structuring Google Ads Campaigns for Optimal Performance
Creating an Organized and Logical Campaign Structure
Is your campaign structure organized and logical?
Organizing Ad Groups Around Tightly Themed Keywords
Are your ad groups organized around tightly themed keywords?
By meticulously analyzing these elements, you can pinpoint the root causes of your Google Ads underperformance and implement the necessary adjustments. Google Ads requires constant monitoring and optimization to achieve optimal results.
By meticulously analyzing these elements, you can pinpoint the root causes of your Google Ads underperformance and implement the necessary adjustments. Google Ads requires constant monitoring and optimization to achieve optimal results.
Targeting the Right Audience Across Platforms for Higher Conversion Rates
We’ve covered many aspects of ad performance, but one crucial element deserves its own spotlight: targeting. Even the most compelling ad creative and perfectly optimized landing page will fall flat if it doesn’t reach the right audience.
Targeting is the process of defining who sees your ads, and it’s a critical factor in driving conversions. Here’s a breakdown of key considerations:
- Audience Segmentation:
- Divide your potential customers into distinct groups based on demographics (age, location, gender), interests, behaviors, and purchase history.
- Tailor your ad messaging and offers to each segment for maximum relevance.
- Platform-Specific Targeting:
- LinkedIn: Leverage professional attributes like job titles, industries, and company size.
- Facebook: Utilize detailed demographics, interests, and lookalike audiences.
- Google Ads: Focus on keyword targeting, location targeting, and audience targeting (remarketing, in-market audiences).
- Key Targeting Mistakes:
- Overly Broad Targeting: Casting too wide a net results in wasted ad spend and low conversion rates.
- Ignoring Negative Targeting: Failing to exclude irrelevant audiences can lead to unqualified clicks.
- Inconsistent Targeting: Ensure your targeting aligns with your ad creative and landing page content.
- Refining Your Targeting:
- Analyze Performance Data: Monitor which audience segments are converting and which are not.
- A/B Test Targeting Options: Experiment with different targeting parameters to identify the most effective combinations.
- Utilize Platform Tools: Leverage the targeting tools provided by LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google Ads to refine your audience.
Targeting is a complex and nuanced topic, and mastering it takes time and experimentation. However, by understanding the fundamental principles and avoiding common pitfalls, you can significantly improve your ad performance and drive higher conversion rates.