Ad Campaign Troubleshooting Guide
When campaigns underperform, quick diagnosis and fixes are essential. This guide covers common campaign issues, their causes, and proven solutions to get your campaigns back on track.
Common Campaign Problems
1. High CPM (Cost Per Mille)
Symptoms: Paying too much to reach 1,000 people
Possible Causes:
- Too narrow audience targeting
- High competition for your audience
- Poor ad relevance/quality
- Wrong ad placements
- Seasonal competition spikes
Solutions:
- Broaden audience targeting slightly
- Test different ad placements
- Improve ad relevance and quality
- Use lookalike audiences (Meta) or similar audiences (Google)
- Consider different times/days
- Refresh creatives if they're old
Track your CPM with our CPM Calculator to monitor improvements.
2. Low ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)
Symptoms: Revenue per dollar spent is below target
Possible Causes:
- High CPA (cost per acquisition)
- Low conversion rate
- Low average order value
- Poor targeting
- Weak landing pages
- Creative fatigue
Solutions:
- Improve conversion rate (landing page optimization)
- Increase average order value (upsells, bundles)
- Refine audience targeting
- Refresh creatives (check our Creative Specs Checker)
- Test different offers or pricing
- Review attribution windows
Calculate your ROAS with our ROAS Calculator and compare to benchmarks.
3. High CPA (Cost Per Acquisition)
Symptoms: Paying too much for each customer
Possible Causes:
- High CPC (cost per click)
- Low conversion rate
- Poor targeting
- Wrong campaign objective
- Landing page issues
Solutions:
- Lower CPC by improving Quality Score (Google) or ad relevance (Meta)
- Improve conversion rate (better landing pages, clearer offers)
- Refine targeting to more qualified audiences
- Use conversion-optimized bidding
- Test different landing pages
- Consider retargeting (typically lower CPA)
Track your CPA with our CPA Calculator to measure improvements.
4. Low CTR (Click-Through Rate)
Symptoms: Few people clicking your ads
Possible Causes:
- Weak headlines or copy
- Poor ad creative
- Wrong audience targeting
- Ad fatigue
- Weak value proposition
Solutions:
- Test new headlines (use our Campaign Scheduler for A/B tests)
- Refresh ad creatives
- Improve value proposition clarity
- Test different ad formats
- Refine audience targeting
- Add urgency or scarcity
5. Low Conversion Rate
Symptoms: Traffic but few conversions
Possible Causes:
- Poor landing page experience
- Misleading ad copy
- Weak offer
- Technical issues
- Poor mobile experience
Solutions:
- Match landing page to ad copy
- Simplify conversion process
- Improve page load speed
- Optimize for mobile
- Test different offers
- Add trust signals (reviews, guarantees)
- Reduce form fields
6. Creative Fatigue
Symptoms: Declining performance, high frequency, decreasing CTR
Possible Causes:
- Same creative shown too many times
- Frequency too high (5+ per week)
- Creative running too long (14+ days)
Solutions:
- Refresh creatives immediately
- Create new creative variations
- Rotate multiple creatives
- Expand audiences to reduce frequency
- Use our Creative Specs Checker for new creatives
See our Creative Fatigue Guide for detailed information.
7. No Conversions
Symptoms: Traffic but zero conversions
Possible Causes:
- Tracking not set up correctly
- Wrong campaign objective
- Landing page broken
- Attribution window too short
- Wrong audience
Solutions:
- Verify tracking setup (use our UTM Builder)
- Check conversion pixels/tags
- Test landing page functionality
- Extend attribution window
- Review campaign objective settings
- Test with broader audience
8. High CPC (Cost Per Click)
Symptoms: Paying too much per click
Possible Causes:
- Low Quality Score (Google Ads)
- High competition
- Poor ad relevance
- Wrong keyword match types
- Bid too high
Solutions:
- Improve Quality Score (better ads, landing pages, keywords)
- Use negative keywords
- Test different match types
- Improve ad relevance
- Lower bids gradually
- Focus on long-tail keywords
Diagnostic Framework
Step 1: Identify the Symptom
- What metric is underperforming?
- How much below target?
- When did it start?
Step 2: Check Related Metrics
- If ROAS is low, check CPA and conversion rate
- If CPA is high, check CPC and conversion rate
- If CTR is low, check frequency and creative age
Step 3: Identify Root Cause
- Is it targeting?
- Is it creative?
- Is it landing page?
- Is it tracking?
- Is it competition?
Step 4: Implement Fix
- Start with quick wins
- Test one change at a time
- Monitor results closely
Step 5: Measure Impact
- Use our calculators to track improvements
- Give changes 3-5 days to stabilize
- Document what worked
Quick Fix Checklist
If Performance Drops Suddenly:
- Check for tracking issues
- Review recent changes
- Check frequency levels
- Review creative age
- Check for platform updates
- Review competition changes
If Performance Declines Gradually:
- Check creative fatigue (frequency, age)
- Review audience saturation
- Check seasonal trends
- Review competition increases
- Check landing page performance
Platform-Specific Troubleshooting
Meta (Facebook/Instagram) Issues:
- High CPM: Broaden audiences, test placements, improve relevance
- Low CTR: Test new creatives, improve targeting
- No Conversions: Check Pixel, verify events, test audiences
Google Ads Issues:
- High CPC: Improve Quality Score, use negative keywords
- Low CTR: Improve ad copy, test extensions
- No Conversions: Check conversion tracking, review landing pages
TikTok Issues:
- High CPM: Test different creative styles, broaden targeting
- Low Engagement: Create more authentic content, use trends
- No Conversions: Verify tracking, test different offers
Prevention Strategies
Regular Monitoring:
- Check metrics daily
- Set up alerts for significant changes
- Review performance weekly
- Use our calculators to track trends
Proactive Optimization:
- Refresh creatives before fatigue sets in
- Test new audiences regularly
- Monitor frequency levels
- Keep landing pages optimized
Best Practices:
- Always test before scaling
- Document what works
- Have backup creatives ready
- Monitor competition
- Stay updated on platform changes
When to Pause vs Optimize
Pause Campaign If:
- ROAS below 1:1 (losing money)
- Zero conversions for 48+ hours
- Tracking completely broken
- Landing page down
Optimize Instead If:
- Performance below target but not terrible
- Gradual decline
- Some conversions happening
- Quick fixes available
Tools for Troubleshooting
- ROAS Tracking: Use our ROAS Calculator to identify issues
- CPA Tracking: Use our CPA Calculator to diagnose problems
- CPM Tracking: Use our CPM Calculator to monitor costs
- Creative Health: Use our Creative Specs Checker
- Tracking Setup: Use our UTM Builder for proper tracking
- Campaign Planning: Use our Campaign Scheduler for tests
Example Troubleshooting Scenarios
Scenario 1: ROAS Dropped from 4:1 to 2:1
Diagnosis:
- Check CPA: Increased from $25 to $50
- Check CPC: Increased from $1 to $2
- Check Conversion Rate: Dropped from 4% to 2%
- Check Frequency: Increased to 6.2
Root Cause: Creative fatigue (high frequency) + landing page issues (low conversion rate)
Solution:
- Refresh creatives immediately
- Test new landing page
- Expand audiences to reduce frequency
Result: ROAS improved to 3.5:1 within one week
Scenario 2: High CPM on Meta
Diagnosis:
- CPM: $35 (above average $15-25)
- Audience Size: 50,000 (very narrow)
- Creative Age: 21 days
- Competition: High (holiday season)
Root Cause: Too narrow audience + old creative + high competition
Solution:
- Broaden audience to 200,000
- Refresh creatives
- Test different placements
Result: CPM reduced to $22 within 3 days
Related Tools: Use all our calculators to diagnose and track improvements, and our campaign tools to implement fixes.
Related Guides: Learn about campaign health in our Campaign Health Guide, creative fatigue in our Creative Fatigue Guide, and metrics in our Metrics Guide.