I spent way too much on a Google Ads campaign that didn't work

So last year, I put about $2,000 into a Google Ads campaign for my firm here in Edmonton. Everyone kept saying it was the best way to get new clients fast. I set it up myself, targeting searches for things like 'Edmonton car accident lawyer'. The clicks came in, but after three months, I got maybe two calls and zero actual clients from it. I was sitting in my office on Jasper Ave, just watching the budget burn every day. I mean, it felt like throwing money into a hole. I finally turned it off and went back to just asking past clients for referrals, which honestly works better for me. Has anyone else here had a Google Ads campaign totally flop, or did I just set it up wrong?

4 comments

4 Comments

parkerbrown1mo ago

My buddy dropped five grand on ads for his food truck, got a ton of clicks from people three states away. Felt that burn.

violah431mo ago

Actually that's a smart move, gets the brand name out there. People travel and might remember it later.

anna5781mo ago

Remember when my cousin paid for ads that only reached people in a different time zone?

the_harper16h ago

Five grand on food truck ads for the wrong state is rough. But I'm not sure a wrong time zone is that big a deal. Most ads are a waste of money anyway. It's just a cousin learning a cheap lesson about ad settings. The real burn is spending serious cash for zero local customers.