Daniils Visnakovs
DE

Free self-test · 2 minutes

Your Google Ads account is configured against you.

Google preloads your account with settings that earn Google money — not you. 11 yes/no questions show you where your budget is leaking out. From an ex-Google advisor who knows the tricks from the inside.

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  • 1 Mio. €+ Werbebudget verantwortet
  • Ex-Google Performance-Berater
  • 120+ Kunden im DACH-Raum
Question 1 of 11 0 %

01

Are your ads running as a pure Search Network campaign?

Where do I find this?

Open campaign → Settings → Campaign type. "Performance Max", "Smart" or "Display" count as No.

The checklist to read through

The 11 settings in detail

Here every one of the 11 Google Ads settings is written out in full: what Google sets by default, why it costs you real money and how to set it up correctly. The order matches the test above. Written for local service providers and tradespeople with a lead focus — in e-commerce (Shopping, Performance Max) some points follow different rules.

  1. 01

    Campaign type: a pure Search campaign

    Cost risk: High

    Where in the account: Open campaign → Settings → Campaign type. "Performance Max", "Smart" or "Display" count as No.

    Google's default
    When you create a campaign, Google suggests Performance Max first — the type where an algorithm spreads your budget automatically across Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail and Discover. The wizard nudges you there, not to a classic Search campaign.
    Why it costs you money
    As a local service provider you want people actively searching for your service right now — not someone who happens to see a banner. PMax and Display give you barely any insight into where your money goes and tend to optimize for cheap clicks from apps and the Display network instead of real enquiries.
    How to set it up correctly
    As a local service provider you need exactly one campaign type: the Search campaign. It catches people searching for your service right now. PMax & Display spread your budget across apps, banners and YouTube — with minimal control.
  2. 02

    Exclude search partners

    Cost risk: Medium

    Where in the account: Campaign → Settings → Networks.

    Google's default
    The box for "Include Google search partners" is ticked by default on new campaigns. Your ads then also run on third-party search sites and in partner apps outside Google.
    Why it costs you money
    These partner placements deliver an above-average share of worthless clicks — from mobile games, parked domains and blog search boxes. You pay for traffic that almost never turns into a customer, and you cannot exclude the partner sites individually.
    How to set it up correctly
    Search partners mostly deliver junk clicks from mobile games and blog pages. Uncheck the box — you lose nothing but waste.
  3. 03

    Turn off the Display network expansion

    Cost risk: Medium

    Where in the account: Same place: Campaign → Settings → Networks.

    Google's default
    Inside a Search campaign Google offers to "include the Display network" — and on many accounts that box is active. Your text ads then also show as banners on third-party websites and in apps.
    Why it costs you money
    Display reach sounds good, but for local service providers it is mostly scatter: lots of impressions to people who are not searching, plus some accidental mobile clicks. Your Search budget quietly drains into the Display network.
    How to set it up correctly
    The display expansion scatters your search ads as banners across tens of thousands of websites and apps. Sounds like reach, but for local service providers it is almost always burning budget.
  4. 04

    Location setting: "Presence" not "Interest"

    Cost risk: High

    Where in the account: Campaign → Settings → Locations → Location options. Google's default is "Presence or interest" — that's the trap.

    Google's default
    Google's default for location options is "Presence or interest". That means your ad can be shown to someone who is not in your area at all but supposedly "shows interest" in it.
    Why it costs you money
    For a location-bound business this is one of the most expensive traps there is. A roofer in Berlin pays for clicks from Munich, Vienna or Zurich — enquiries he can never serve. On a tight budget a large share simply evaporates.
    How to set it up correctly
    The €10,000 tip: With Google's default, someone in Munich sees your roofer ad for Berlin just because they "show interest". Switch to "Presence: people in or regularly in your targeted locations".
  5. 05

    Keyword match types: Phrase & Exact

    Cost risk: High

    Where in the account: Check your keyword list: keywords without quotation marks or square brackets are "broad match".

    Google's default
    Enter a keyword without quotation marks or square brackets and it is automatically "broad match" — Google's default. Google then decides very freely which searches trigger your ad.
    Why it costs you money
    Broad match shows your "roofer" ad for "roofer apprenticeship", "buy bricks" or "roofer salary" too. Without tight search-term control and negative keywords you burn budget on searches that will never become a job.
    How to set it up correctly
    Broad match shows your roofer ad for "buy bricks" or "roofer apprenticeship" too. Use "phrase match" and [exact match] — you don't need 1,000 keywords, just the right 5.

    See what broad match is costing you in the search terms analysis →

  6. 06

    Conversion tracking for calls & forms

    Cost risk: High

    Where in the account: Goals → Conversions: Are there active conversion actions for calls and forms there — with data in the last 30 days?

    Google's default
    Out of the box Google Ads only measures clicks and impressions. You have to set up conversion tracking for calls and form submissions yourself — and in a large share of accounts it is missing or silently broken.
    Why it costs you money
    Without conversion tracking you optimize blindly for clicks — and clicks do not pay bills. You do not know which keywords, ads and campaigns produce real enquiries, and Google's Smart Bidding has no data to optimize toward.
    How to set it up correctly
    The single most important point: Without tracking you optimize for clicks — and clicks don't pay bills. We regularly see accounts that burned €5,000 without knowing whether a single customer came out of it.

    Ready-made tracking setup in the GTM configurator →

  7. 07

    Auto-applied recommendations

    Cost risk: Medium

    Where in the account: Recommendations → "Auto-apply" (top right). Check whether any boxes are ticked there.

    Google's default
    In the Recommendations tab "Auto-apply" may be active — sometimes it was already on after the account was opened. Google then makes changes to keywords, bids and ads on its own, without your approval.
    Why it costs you money
    This adds broad-match keywords, raises budgets and switches bidding strategies unasked — changes that almost always serve Google's revenue. You lose control of your account and later wonder why costs went up.
    How to set it up correctly
    Auto-apply is like handing a stranger your wallet: Google adds keywords and changes bids on its own. Turn everything off — you want to stay in control.
  8. 08

    Smart Bidding without a data basis

    Cost risk: Medium

    Where in the account: Campaign → Settings → Bidding. Critical if it says "Maximize conversions" there but fewer than ~30 conversions/month are measured.

    Google's default
    Google aggressively recommends automated bidding strategies like "Maximize conversions" — even for brand-new accounts that have measured barely any conversions, or none at all.
    Why it costs you money
    Without enough conversion data the algorithm does not know what a good click looks like. It guesses — and in practice often optimizes for lots of cheap clicks instead of real enquiries. Only with clean tracking and enough data does Smart Bidding pay off.
    How to set it up correctly
    Without data Google doesn't know what a conversion is — the AI guesses and usually optimizes for cheap, worthless clicks. First set up tracking cleanly and collect data, then switch to Smart Bidding.
  9. 09

    Fill responsive search ads completely

    Cost risk: Low

    Where in the account: Ads → Edit ad. Count them — most accounts use 5–6 headlines.

    Google's default
    A responsive search ad has room for up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions. But Google only requires a minimum — so many accounts use just five or six headlines and leave the rest empty.
    Why it costs you money
    Every unused headline is free screen space given away and less material for Google to test the best combination from. That lowers ad relevance and click-through rate — and over time pushes your click price up.
    How to set it up correctly
    Every empty headline is wasted, free space on the screen. Fill everything in and use the maximum character count — specific over poetic: "Successful for 12 years" beats "Years of experience".

    Test your copy live in the RSA preview →

  10. 10

    Don't Google your own ads

    Cost risk: Low

    Where in the account: Be honest — almost everyone does it.

    Google's default
    There is no setting for this — it is a habit: almost everyone types their keywords into Google to check whether their own ad is running. But Google counts those impressions and non-clicks like any other.
    Why it costs you money
    If you keep seeing your ad and do not click, Google reads that as "irrelevant": your click-through rate drops, your Quality Score suffers, your click price rises. And every impression without a click costs you visibility.
    How to set it up correctly
    When you see your ad and don't click, you signal "irrelevant" to Google: your Quality Score drops, your click prices rise. Use the Ad Preview tool in Google Ads instead (Tools → Planning → Ad Preview).
  11. 11

    Calls from the "Google strategy advisors"

    Cost risk: Medium

    Where in the account: The calls from your "personal Google advisor".

    Google's default
    Above a certain spend a "personal Google advisor" or a contracted call center phones you with optimization suggestions for your account.
    Why it costs you money
    Those suggestions — more budget, broad match, PMax, auto-apply — follow a sales script and serve Google's revenue, not your profit. Acting on them unchecked tears down exactly the safeguards this check recommends.
    How to set it up correctly
    Those are salespeople from external call centers working off scripts, whose job is to increase your budget — they don't know your business. (Source: I worked at Google myself.) Hang up politely.

All 11 points clean? Then your account is set up better than most. Take the test for your personal score — or let me take a personal look in the free audit.

FAQ

Common questions about the settings check

Where do these checkpoints come from?
From over 120 account audits per year and my time as a Google advisor. These are exactly the settings that are wrong in almost every poorly performing account — usually because Google presets them by default in a way that Google profits from.

Is this a full Google Ads account check?
The self-test covers the 11 settings that cost money in almost every account — campaign type, location, match types, conversion tracking, bidding and the typical Google upsell traps. For account structure, keyword quality and conversion values in detail I look at your account personally in the free 30-minute audit.

Do you need access to my Google Ads account?
No. Unlike the usual agency forms for a "Google Ads account check", this test requires no account access, no OAuth and no signup. You answer the 11 questions yourself — your answers stay in your browser.

Why isn't Google's default setting the best one?
"Most advertisers use this" doesn't mean "this is best for you". Location on "Presence or interest", search partners, auto-apply, broad match — all of it increases Google's revenue, but rarely your profit.

Is the checklist available to read as well?
Yes. Right below the test you'll find all 11 settings as a detailed checklist: what Google sets by default, why it costs you money and how to set it up correctly — even without clicking through the test.

I have lots of red points — what now?
Don't panic: each point can be changed in a few minutes. The fix instructions are right there in your result and in the checklist below. If you want to be sure, I'll personally look at your account in the free 30-minute audit.

Are my answers stored?
The test itself runs entirely in your browser — no signup, no account access. Only if you choose to have your result emailed to you at the end is the summary sent to me. Otherwise nothing leaves your device.

Rather have a pro check it right away?

In the free audit I go through all 11 points — plus structure, bidding and tracking — personally with you and tell you straight where the money is leaking out.

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