Indore is one of the most competitive advertising markets in Madhya Pradesh. Real estate developers, coaching institutes, hospitals and retailers all bid on the same searches, which pushes up the cost per click. In a market like that, small mistakes in a PPC account get expensive quickly. These are the seven we see most often when we audit Google Ads accounts for Indore businesses.
1. Advertising to people who aren't in Indore
By default, Google Ads can show your ads to people who have simply shown interest in your target location, not just people who are there. For a local clinic or showroom, that can mean paying for clicks from other states. Switch the location option to "Presence" so you only reach people in or regularly in Indore, unless you genuinely serve customers from outside the city.
2. Broad match without guardrails
Broad match can work well with strong conversion data, but in a new account it often matches your ads to loosely related searches. A coaching institute bidding on "NEET coaching Indore" might end up paying for "NEET result date" or "coaching teacher jobs". Start with phrase and exact match, check the search terms report weekly and keep adding negatives.
3. Tracking clicks instead of leads
If your account optimises for clicks or page views, Google will find you cheap clicks, not customers. Set up conversion tracking for calls, forms and WhatsApp messages and, if possible, import which leads became sales so the system learns what a good lead looks like.
4. One campaign for everything
Lumping every service into a single campaign means your best performer subsidises your worst, and you can't control budgets separately. Split campaigns by service or product line, and by location if you treat areas like Vijay Nagar and Rau differently.
5. Weak landing pages
When people compare several options, the landing page decides who gets the enquiry. It should match the ad exactly, load fast on a phone, show proof such as reviews or results, and make contact effortless. A dedicated page for each offer almost always beats sending everyone to the homepage.
6. Ignoring when leads come in
Look at which hours and days actually produce leads. If nobody answers the phone after 8 pm or on Sundays, call ads at those times waste money. Adjust your ad schedule and bids around when you can respond.
7. Slow follow-up
This one isn't inside the ad account, but it ruins many campaigns. A customer in Indore who fills in a form usually contacts two or three businesses, and the one that replies first often wins. Respond within minutes if you can, and record which leads become customers.
A quick self-check
- Do you know your cost per lead for each service?
- When did you last read your search terms report?
- Does every ad group have its own relevant landing page?
- Are calls and WhatsApp clicks tracked as conversions?
If any answer is "not sure", there's probably money to recover.
Want a second opinion?
Our PPC services cover Google Ads and Meta campaigns for businesses in Indore and Bhopal, from tracking to landing pages. You might also find our guide to getting leads from Google Ads without wasting budget useful. Or ask us to review your account.
Related service PPC & Google Ads in Bhopal & Indore