2 Minutes of Ad Optimization Can Save You Thousands

If you’ve ever opened your Google Ads dashboard and thought, “Am I just lighting my money on fire?”—you’re not alone.

Many service-based business owners set up an ad campaign once, walk away, and hope the leads will pour in. But even well-intentioned campaigns can quickly turn into budget black holes if you’re not doing regular optimization.

Here’s the good news: You don’t need to overhaul your entire account or spend hours analyzing spreadsheets to see better results. Just two minutes of intentional optimization can significantly improve your ad performance and lower your cost per lead.

Let’s examine the small, quick changes that make a massive impact and discuss how you can apply them today.

1. Fill in Every Field: Partial Ads Don’t Win

This might sound basic, but it’s one of the most overlooked steps when setting up Google or Meta ads: use all the space available.

Google Ads and Meta Ads are powered by machine learning. That means the more creative elements you give them, the more combinations they can test and the better chance you have of landing on a high-performing ad.

Are you filling out all five headlines? How about all five descriptions or primary texts?

If not, you’re giving the algorithm less to work with, which means fewer chances to get results. You also risk repeatedly showing the same ad variation, which causes ad fatigue.

Here’s your two-minute fix:

1. Log in to your ad account and review each ad.
2. Make sure all possible headline and description fields are filled.
3. If you’re using asset groups in a PMAX campaign, upload at least three creative sets—including variations in visuals, tone, and messaging.
4. On display campaigns, upload multiple image sizes and orientations so your ad will appear properly on all placements.

It’s not just about using the space—it’s about giving the algorithm options to test what works best.

2. Clean Up Your Placements (Especially on Display & PMAX)

If you’re running Display or PMAX campaigns, your ads are being shown across thousands of websites, apps, and YouTube videos. Sounds great, right?

Not always.

One of the biggest money-wasters we see in ad accounts is poor ad placement—ads showing up on irrelevant or downright ridiculous sites.

For example, we’ve seen local contractors’ ads running on:

• Children’s YouTube programming like “Miss Rachel’s Learning Songs”
• Free mobile games with endless accidental taps
• International or low-quality sites with no relevance to your audience

Unless you’re running a daycare, you probably don’t want your taxidermy services advertised during a toddler sing-along.

Luckily, Google gives you a way to control this: the Placement Report.

Here’s what to do:

1. Head to your campaign and click into your placement reports.
2. Identify sites, channels, or apps that are clearly irrelevant to your business.
3. Block the top 100–200 offenders (yes, seriously—there are that many bad ones).
4. Repeat this cleanup every month or two.

This single act can cut your cost per click in half by preventing wasted impressions and focusing your budget on qualified leads.

3. Use Your Keywords in Headlines and on Landing Pages

This one’s simple but often overlooked: make sure your most important keywords actually appear in your ad headlines.

Why? Because it helps with Ad Rank, and a higher Ad Rank means:

• Cheaper clicks
• Better ad positioning
• More relevant traffic

Google constantly scans your ad content to determine how closely it matches what a person is searching for. If your headline matches the keyword, it will likely be clicked and rewarded with a lower CPC.

But this doesn’t stop with the ad itself. Your landing page also plays a major role in your Quality Score.

Google wants to send users to relevant, fast, and user-friendly pages. If your ad promotes “plumbing services in Dallas” but your landing page talks about general home services without mentioning plumbing or Dallas, expect to pay more per click.

Here’s your two-minute fix:

• Check that your core keywords are in at least one ad headline and description.
• Scan your landing page. Does it echo the same language? Are you offering a clear next step (like booking a call or submitting a form)?
• Run a page speed test. If your site is slow, especially on mobile, that could be driving your costs up.

Better match = better experience = better ROI.

4. Use Target CPA Instead of “Maximize Conversions”

Google offers several automated bidding strategies, and most advertisers default to “Maximize Conversions.” While that sounds good in theory, it can also result in your costs creeping higher and higher over time.

A better option? Target CPA (Cost Per Acquisition).

When you tell Google, “Only get me leads at $25 each,” it starts looking for ways to make that happen. And even if you’ve historically paid $30 per lead, tightening the reins a little can trigger smarter optimization.

Here’s how to do it effectively:

1. Look at your average cost per lead over the past 30–90 days.
2. Set your Target CPA 10–15% lower than your current average.
3. Monitor closely and adjust slowly—too big of a change too fast can tank your results.
4. Don’t jump from $40 to $20 overnight. Try $40 → $36 → $33, and so on.

Think of it like training your ads to be more efficient. The better your inputs (realistic goals, steady data), the better your outputs.

Bonus: A Better Experience = Lower Ad Costs

Here’s something most small businesses don’t realize: Google Ads isn’t just about the ad itself. It’s about the whole experience.

Google will charge you more if your landing page is:

• Slow
• Confusing
• Poorly matched to your ad content
• Not optimized for mobile

You can still technically show up and get clicks, but it’ll cost you more. In competitive markets, that can mean spending 2–3x what your competitors pay, just because your page isn’t pulling its weight.

So while this blog is about two-minute tweaks, don’t ignore the long game. A fast, conversion-optimized landing page is one of the best investments you can make to bring ad costs down long-term.

The Bottom Line

You don’t need to be a Google Ads pro to get better results—you just need to be intentional.

Two minutes of cleanup:
✅ Filling out every ad field
✅ Cleaning up bad placements
✅ Aligning keywords across ads and landing pages
✅ Setting a Target CPA

…can prevent hundreds or thousands of dollars in wasted spend.