universo-virtual.com

buytrendz.net

thisforall.net

benchpressgains.com

qthzb.com

mindhunter9.com

dwjqp1.com

secure-signup.net

ahaayy.com

soxtry.com

tressesindia.com

puresybian.com

krpano-chs.com

cre8workshop.com

hdkino.org

peixun021.com

qz786.com

utahperformingartscenter.org

maw-pr.com

zaaksen.com

ypxsptbfd7.com

worldqrmconference.com

shangyuwh.com

eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com

playminecraftfreeonline.com

trekvietnamtour.com

your-business-articles.com

essaywritingservice10.com

hindusamaaj.com

joggingvideo.com

wandercoups.com

onlinenewsofindia.com

worldgraphic-team.com

bnsrz.com

wormblaster.net

tongchengchuyange0004.com

internetknowing.com

breachurch.com

peachesnginburlesque.com

dataarchitectoo.com

clientfunnelformula.com

30pps.com

cherylroll.com

ks2252.com

webmanicura.com

osostore.com

softsmob.com

sofietsshotel.com

facetorch.com

nylawyerreview.com

apapromotions.com

shareparelli.com

goeaglepointe.com

thegreenmanpubphuket.com

karotorossian.com

publicsensor.com

taiwandefence.com

epcsur.com

odskc.com

inzziln.info

leaiiln.info

cq-oa.com

dqtianshun.com

southstills.com

tvtv98.com

thewellington-hotel.com

bccaipiao.com

colectoresindustrialesgs.com

shenanddcg.com

capriartfilmfestival.com

replicabreitlingsale.com

thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com

gkmcww.com

mbnkbj.com

andrewbrennandesign.com

cod54.com

luobinzhang.com

bartoysdirect.com

taquerialoscompadresdc.com

aaoodln.info

amcckln.info

drvrnln.info

dwabmln.info

fcsjoln.info

hlonxln.info

kcmeiln.info

kplrrln.info

fatcatoons.com

91guoys.com

signupforfreehosting.com

faithfirst.net

zjyc28.com

tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com

nhuan6.com

oldgardensflowers.com

lightupthefloor.com

bahamamamas-stjohns.com

ly2818.com

905onthebay.com

fonemenu.com

notanothermovie.com

ukrainehighclassescort.com

meincmagazine.com

av-5858.com

yallerdawg.com

donkeythemovie.com

corporatehospitalitygroup.com

boboyy88.com

miteinander-lernen.com

dannayconsulting.com

officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com

forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net

generictadalafil-canada.net

guitarlessonseastlondon.com

lesliesrestaurants.com

mattyno9.com

nri-homeloans.com

rtgvisas-qatar.com

salbutamolventolinonline.net

sportsinjuries.info

topsedu.xyz

xmxm7.com

x332.xyz

sportstrainingblog.com

autopartspares.com

readguy.net

soniasegreto.com

bobbygdavis.com

wedsna.com

rgkntk.com

bkkmarketplace.com

zxqcwx.com

breakupprogram.com

boxcardc.com

unblockyoutubeindonesia.com

fabulousbookmark.com

beat-the.com

guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com

magie-marketing.com

kingstonliteracy.com

guitaraffinity.com

eurelookinggoodapparel.com

howtolosecheekfat.net

marioncma.org

oliviadavismusic.com

shantelcampbellrealestate.com

shopleborn13.com

topindiafree.com

v-visitors.net

qazwsxedcokmijn.com

parabis.net

terriesandelin.com

luxuryhomme.com

studyexpanse.com

ronoom.com

djjky.com

053hh.com

originbluei.com

baucishotel.com

33kkn.com

intrinsiqresearch.com

mariaescort-kiev.com

mymaguk.com

sponsored4u.com

crimsonclass.com

bataillenavale.com

searchtile.com

ze-stribrnych-struh.com

zenithalhype.com

modalpkv.com

bouisset-lafforgue.com

useupload.com

37r.net

autoankauf-muenster.com

bantinbongda.net

bilgius.com

brabustermagazine.com

indigrow.org

miicrosofts.net

mysmiletravel.com

selinasims.com

spellcubesapp.com

usa-faction.com

snn01.com

hope-kelley.com

bancodeprofissionais.com

zjccp99.com

liturgycreator.com

weedsmj.com

majorelenco.com

colcollect.com

androidnews-jp.com

hypoallergenicdogsnames.com

dailyupdatez.com

foodphotographyreviews.com

cricutcom-setup.com

chprowebdesign.com

katyrealty-kanepa.com

tasramar.com

bilgipinari.org

four-am.com

indiarepublicday.com

inquick-enbooks.com

iracmpi.com

kakaschoenen.com

lsm99flash.com

nana1255.com

ngen-niagara.com

technwzs.com

virtualonlinecasino1345.com

wallpapertop.net

nova-click.com

abeautifulcrazylife.com

diggmobile.com

denochemexicana.com

eventhalfkg.com

medcon-taiwan.com

life-himawari.com

myriamshomes.com

nightmarevue.com

allstarsru.com

bestofthebuckeyestate.com

bestofthefirststate.com

bestwireless7.com

declarationintermittent.com

findhereall.com

jingyou888.com

lsm99deal.com

lsm99galaxy.com

moozatech.com

nuagh.com

patliyo.com

philomenamagikz.net

rckouba.net

saturnunipessoallda.com

tallahasseefrolics.com

thematurehardcore.net

totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com

velislavakaymakanova.com

vermontenergetic.com

sizam-design.com

kakakpintar.com

begorgeouslady.com

1800birks4u.com

2wheelstogo.com

6strip4you.com

bigdata-world.net

emailandco.net

gacapal.com

jharpost.com

krishnaastro.com

lsm99credit.com

mascalzonicampani.com

sitemapxml.org

thecityslums.net

topagh.com

flairnetwebdesign.com

bangkaeair.com

beneventocoupon.com

noternet.org

oqtive.com

smilebrightrx.com

decollage-etiquette.com

1millionbestdownloads.com

7658.info

bidbass.com

devlopworldtech.com

digitalmarketingrajkot.com

fluginfo.net

naqlafshk.com

passion-decouverte.com

playsirius.com

spacceleratorintl.com

stikyballs.com

top10way.com

yokidsyogurt.com

zszyhl.com

16firthcrescent.com

abogadolaboralistamd.com

apk2wap.com

aromacremeria.com

banparacard.com

bosmanraws.com

businessproviderblog.com

caltonosa.com

calvaryrevivalchurch.org

chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com

cheminotsgardcevennes.com

cooksspot.com

cqxzpt.com

deesywig.com

deltacartoonmaps.com

despixelsetdeshommes.com

duocoracaobrasileiro.com

fareshopbd.com

goodpainspills.com

kobisitecdn.com

makaigoods.com

mgs1454.com

piccadillyresidences.com

radiolaondafresca.com

rubendorf.com

searchengineimprov.com

sellmyhrvahome.com

shugahouseessentials.com

sonihullquad.com

subtractkilos.com

valeriekelmansky.com

vipasdigitalmarketing.com

voolivrerj.com

zeelonggroup.com

1015southrockhill.com

10x10b.com

111-online-casinos.com

191cb.com

3665arpentunitd.com

aitesonics.com

bag-shokunin.com

brightotech.com

communication-digitale-services.com

covoakland.org

dariaprimapack.com

freefortniteaccountss.com

gatebizglobal.com

global1entertainmentnews.com

greatytene.com

hiroshiwakita.com

iktodaypk.com

jahatsakong.com

meadowbrookgolfgroup.com

newsbharati.net

platinumstudiosdesign.com

slotxogamesplay.com

strikestaruk.com

trucosdefortnite.com

ufabetrune.com

weddedtowhitmore.com

12940brycecanyonunitb.com

1311dietrichoaks.com

2monarchtraceunit303.com

601legendhill.com

850elaine.com

adieusolasomade.com

andora-ke.com

bestslotxogames.com

cannagomcallen.com

endlesslyhot.com

iestpjva.com

ouqprint.com

pwmaplefest.com

qtylmr.com

rb88betting.com

buscadogues.com

1007macfm.com

born-wild.com

growthinvests.com

promocode-casino.com

proyectogalgoargentina.com

wbthompson-art.com

whitemountainwheels.com

7thavehvl.com

developmethis.com

funkydogbowties.com

travelodgegrandjunction.com

gao-town.com

globalmarketsuite.com

blogshippo.com

hdbka.com

proboards67.com

outletonline-michaelkors.com

kalkis-research.com

thuthuatit.net

buckcash.com

hollistercanada.com

docterror.com

asadart.com

vmayke.org

erwincomputers.com

dirimart.org

okkii.com

loteriasdecehegin.com

mountanalog.com

healingtaobritain.com

ttxmonitor.com

bamthemes.com

nwordpress.com

11bolabonanza.com

avgo.top

What to do when performance tanks in PPC - SEO
Wednesday, June 18, 2025
spot_img

Top 5 This Week

Related Posts

What to do when performance tanks in PPC

In any PPC campaign, the ultimate goal is to improve and deliver better results year after year. Ideally, trendlines in your performance charts are going up and to the right.

Yet, despite the best of intentions, an account can hit the skids. Results tank and you might not be exactly sure why. 

I’ve seen this happen too many times:

  • From falling victim to a hacking incident and having a $100,000 budget blown up even before the workday started.
  • To Google shutting down an account due to a sudden spike in holiday spending, resulting in a $150,000 loss in sales.

In this article, you’ll learn some steps to address PPC mistakes, missteps and errors that have helped my team get things back on track. 

What to do when your PPC campaigns perform poorly

When your account starts performing poorly, you need to take swift action. There are two main factors at play here: internal and external.

Internal issues are essentially problems we create ourselves – mistakes that could have been avoided with different choices or actions.

On the other hand, external issues are events or changes beyond our control, like the emergence of new competitors, economic conditions or search engine updates.

When things go south unexpectedly, our first step is to investigate internal factors because these are within our control and can often be fixed.

Dig deeper: PPC management checklist: Daily, weekly and monthly reviews

Internal PPC checkpoints

Change history report in Google Ads or Bing Ads

This tool is invaluable in these situations. The change history report contains the footprints and fingerprints you need to solve the crime of poor performance. 

This is the place to start understanding if someone tripped a wire that can quickly be fixed. 

Some questions to look for and ask yourself:

  • Was a daily budget set to be a lifetime budget, causing an overspend? 
  • Was a broad match keyword that should have been an exact match uploaded to the system? Now there is unwanted traffic to the site? 
  • Was a landing page uploaded incorrectly?
  • Has anyone new been added to the account?
  • Were any bid strategy changes made or CPA targets changed that would alter performance?

Development changes

Different teams may not have a clear understanding of each other’s actions. For instance, your development team might implement changes without fully grasping the overall impact.

To address this, it’s crucial to establish an early checkpoint with other teams and thoroughly review their release notes. This ensures everyone is on the same page and understands the changes being made.

Some of the things to look for and ask about:

  • Were any tags or conversion events removed from the site? Probably the number one most common self-inflicted wound. 
  • Were any CAPTCHA changes made on the site? This is a good example of something well-intentioned, but can create issues for conversion rates, even if the quality of leads increases. 
  • Were any new experience elements added? Think about chatbots popping up, call-to-action banners, or anything else that might be altering the consumer experience

Dig deeper: 3 ways to stay on top of PPC performance

External checkpoints

Competitors

Did a new competitor come out of the blue and start spending aggressively? 

You can use the auction insights report in Google Ads to monitor this.

You should be doing some regular competitive monitoring, but that doesn’t mean that sometimes other brands just do something that is out of the normal, and it impacts your results. 

Seasonality or promotions

This seems obvious, but sometimes the simplest reason is the answer. 

  • Looking back before things broke, were there any promotions with your brand or around you?
  • Has your business had any seasonality that you might not have accounted for? 

Many of these things are pretty knowable (Prime Day, Labor Day, Back-to-School), but too often, we don’t appreciate these events’ influence on our business. 

Analyzing historical data can help you identify such trends. For instance, we had a business heavily tied to the holiday season, where we significantly increased ad spend for a specific day. It was intentional, but we failed to notify Google Ads about this expected surge. 

This lack of communication led the platform to suspect fraud, shutting our account and causing substantial losses.

This situation is similar to calling your credit card company when traveling abroad. 

While it may seem unnecessary, it’s a precaution that can prevent potential issues. In our case, it could have saved us from the account shutdown and the associated revenue loss.

External events

Have unexpected events like wars, natural disasters, or interest rate hikes affected your account? You might think these events are irrelevant to you, but they can substantially impact PPC performance.

For example, we experienced a 40% decrease in CPCs for one client, which was closely linked to inflation and CPI numbers. While this worked in our favor, it caught us off guard, and explaining it using other data points was challenging.

In another case, one client saw a 15% drop in conversion rates year over year due to factors related to the war in Ukraine. Although it’s not a positive development for the business, it underscores how geopolitical events can profoundly influence the economy and consumer behavior.

Dig deeper: How to keep up with macro trends that impact PPC performance

Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.


See terms.


Tips for tackling PPC performance issues proactively

To prevent problems and make it easier to spot issues, consider these three tips:

Report annotations for key changes

Create a process to add annotations to your reports when significant changes are made to your website. 

Often, issues may not be immediately apparent and could take days or weeks to surface. 

Annotations serve as breadcrumbs to help you trace your steps and identify the cause of problems over time.

Quality assurance (QA) process

Implement a QA process, which can involve using a buddy system to review changes before they go live. 

While it may not always be necessary, the principle of “measure twice, cut once” applies here. Taking extra care to review changes can prevent errors from occurring.

Strong password security and avoiding shared accounts

Ensure strong password practices and avoid shared accounts. Shared accounts can make it challenging to pinpoint who made specific changes. 

Strong password security, including two-factor authentication, is crucial to prevent unauthorized access to your account. 

Bouncing back from PPC setbacks

While nobody wants their account to experience a decline, it’s a situation most PPC marketers will have encountered at some point. 

This article provides a roadmap to swiftly identify issues and steer your campaign toward profitability and growth.


Contributing authors are invited to create content for Search Engine Land and are chosen for their expertise and contribution to the search community. Our contributors work under the oversight of the editorial staff and contributions are checked for quality and relevance to our readers. The opinions they express are their own.


Popular Articles