Sometimes when first starting with Google Ads, people struggle to generate ad impressions. How are you supposed to generate clicks and sales if your ad isn't generating any impressions?

There are a few reasons why your ad may not be generating many impressions:

Reason #1: The Keywords

The keywords and location you're targeting might not have much search volume. You can get an idea how much volume a given search phrase has for a given location by using the Google Ad Keyword Planner.

Before starting your campaign it's always best to sit down and brainstorm all the possible search terms your target audience could search to find a service or product like yours.

I like to use Google Search's Autocompletion to find different keywords during this process in addition to the Google Ad Keyword Planner.

When setting up the campaign I like to use all match types for a given keyword and ad group. So if the ad group is targeting 'fluffy blue widgets', I'd use the following match types in the ad group:

fluffy blue widgets (broad match)"fluffy blue widgets" (phrase match)[fluffy blue widgets] (exact match)

This will help you to find some search terms you didn't think to target during the initial keyword research phase. Just make sure to keep an eye on your search terms report and be aggressive with your negative keywords list.

When you find a new keyword to target in your search terms report, create a new ad group for it. If you can't tell yet, I'm a fan of 'single keyword ad groups' (SKAGs).

Reason #2: Keyword Bid

If you're certain that the problem is not with search volume or targeting too narrow of a location, the most likely reason then comes down to money. You're probably not bidding enough to compete in the keyword auction.

At the end of the day, it's all about the money. If you can't afford to compete in the auction, you're not going to get any action. It takes money to make money, as the saying goes.

When first starting out a new campaign, I try not to limit the keyword bid. I usually set the bid strategy to Maximize Clicks to see what the average CPC will be based on this particular keyword auction. Some auctions are just expensive because there's a lot of money to be made. This is why it's crucial to first figure out the maximum amount you can pay per new acquisition instead of just going into it trying to pay as little as possible.

Reason #3: Using The Wrong Bid Strategy

When first starting out a campaign, if you're trying to use automated bid strategies like Target CPA, you may not see many ad impressions depending on what your Target CPA is set at. It's the same with bidding to low on the keyword level. If your Target CPA is set too low, you're not going to get any action.

It's best to wait until your campaign is generating 20-30 conversions every month before testing out Target CPA.