Examples · Google search ads
Your ad is the first click. Make sure it’s the right one.
Three checks for your search ads, before anyone lands on your site: where the ad shows up, what it says, and the address it shows. Below, real ads that miss on each one.
- Search
- things to do in albuquerque
- Where
- Google, on an iPhone
- Location
- Albuquerque, NM
- When
- October 2026
Check 1
Where does your ad show up?
Someone in Albuquerque searches for things to do there. The first ad fills the whole first screen. It’s for Taos, two and a half hours north. Further down, Picuris Pueblo describes itself as “60 miles north of Santa Fe” to someone who isn’t in Santa Fe. A food tour offers “a fun & tasty way to experience Santa Fe!”
Why it matters. You pay for every click. If showing up this far away is the plan, fine. If it isn’t, a click from someone who was never going to make the drive is money spent on the wrong person.
Check 2
Does your ad speak to where they are?
The person searching is in Albuquerque. Most of these ads don’t speak to that: not how far away they are, not what they have to do with Albuquerque.
taos.org
“Visit Taos, NM – Iconic New Mexico Landmarks”
An ad for another town, with no word on how far it is.
picurispueblo.org
“Located 60 miles north of Santa Fe…”
Distance from Santa Fe, to someone who is in Albuquerque.
picurispueblo.org
“Located 60 miles north of Santa Fe and 24 miles south east of Taos”
Distance from two places, neither of them where the person is.
taos.org
“Culture, Tradition, Adventure – Iconic New Mexico Landmarks”
Another headline, and still nothing about Albuquerque.
foodtournewmexico.com
“New Mexico’s #1 Experience… A fun & tasty way to experience Santa Fe!”
A Santa Fe tour, shown to someone looking for Albuquerque.
casasdesuenos.com
“Albuquerque Historic Inn”
A hotel, shown to someone looking for things to do.
Why it matters. The ad is the first thing people read, and they decide in a second whether it’s for them. If it is, the click is worth paying for. If it isn’t, they scroll past, or worse, they click and leave.
Check 3
What address does your ad show?
Two of the ads show an address that starts with http://: casasdesuenos.com and picurispueblo.org.
Why it matters. Browsers mark http:// pages as “Not secure”. That label is the first thing people see after they click, and the address in the ad already hints at it.
This is only the results page
Every one of these ads leads somewhere: a landing page, a booking form, a guide to order. Each of those can be looked at the same way. That’s the audit.
Does your ad look a lot like them?
Tell me about it, and I’ll look at the clicks that come after.
Get your audit