Google Ads can be one of the fastest ways of generating high-paying jobs, when managed correctly. However, many movers waste hundreds, or even thousands of dollars every month because of simple mistakes that hurt campaign results and limit growth.
Whether it’s weak targeting, poor websites, not tracking conversions or not increasing budget when campaigns are working. These errors can quickly make a potentially profitable campaign fail. Let’s go through 10 most common Google Ads mistakes moving companies are making.
1. Having A Poor website
Your Google Ads are only as effective as the website they send people to. If your website isn’t doing a good job at converting visitors into leads, no amount of ad spend will help. Include multiple ways for visitors to reach you, such as phone number, email and social links.
A strong website for movers should include visuals of your team in action, branded trucks and actual moves. Without strong calls-to-actions, visitors won’t know what action to take next. Buttons like “Call Now” or “Get A Free Quote” should be prominent across every page.
Communicate immediately why someone should choose your moving company. Advantages like “Licensed & Insured” or “No Hidden Fees” reassure people who clicked on your ad.
2. Setting A Low Budget
Running Google Ads on a low budget often means your ads will only appear in low positions, miss high-intent searches or target low-competition keywords that don’t produce quality leads. If you’re only spending $5-10 per day, your ads may show occasionally, but you won’t reach enough potential customers to produce a consistent flow of leads or booked moves.
Google Ads needs sufficient budget to gather data and improve ad results. For moving companies, a daily budget of $30-50 is minimum to start generating measurable results. That’s because Google Ads works on a bidding system, and the keywords that bring in real jobs become highly competitive. Advertisers are willing to bid higher CPCs, and if your budget is low, you simply cannot bid for top spots.
3. Targeting Too Broad
Many moving companies make the mistake of thinking that targeting as many people as possible equals more leads. In reality, targeting multiple cities or even entire states leads to lower conversion rates since money is spent on people outside your service area.
Google Ads performs best when your targeting is specific. Narrow your campaigns to the exact neighborhoods and cities you actually serve. If your business operates within a 10-20 mile radius, focus your campaign on that area. In bigger cities, focus on even smaller, 3-5 mile zones, as larger zones tend to have more competition, leading to higher ad cost.
4. Not Tracking Conversions
If you are not monitoring phone calls and form submissions coming from your ads, you have no way of knowing how well your campaigns are actually generating business. Setting up conversion tracking is essential for measuring ROI.
In the last few years, Google has significantly updated its algorithm for conversion optimization, and now heavily relies on your goals to understand what a quality lead looks like for your moving business. It learns from your results, identifies patterns, and then uses that information to deliver even more conversions that match your goals.
5. Weak Ad Copy
Even with perfect targeting, weak ad copy can completely ruin your campaign. Generic or vague ads are often ignored, and potential customers will click on competitors who communicate clearly. Your ad copy is your first impression. If it doesn’t grab attention, your budget and targeting efforts are wasted.
Highlight your key benefits. “Free Quotes Today” or “5-star movers in Little Rock” instantly sets you apart from the competition. Words like “Trusted”, “Experienced” or “Last-minute Moves” help your ad stand out. Weak ad copy doesn’t just reduce clicks, it limits your ability to grow your moving business.
6. No Authentic Visuals
It’s simple: people hire movers they can trust, and nothing builds trust faster than authentic visuals. Stock photos and generic images make you look less trustworthy, reducing your conversion rate from Google Ads. When people see genuine photos of your moving team in action, they spend more time on your website, which increases Quality Score. In short, authentic visuals don’t just look better, they directly impact your overall ad performance.
7. No Calls-To-Action
Even the best ad copy and targeting won’t produce measurable results if your potential clients don’t know what the next step is. Guide potential customers toward booking your services with strong calls-to-action, such as “Call Now”, “Book Today” or “Request A Free Quote”.
Place CTAs in multiple spots: in your ad headline and description and throughout your website. Take advantage of Google Ads extensions, which let you add clickable buttons for a direct call or message, making it easy for people to get in touch immediately.
8. No Negative Keywords
Most movers end up wasting a significant portion of their Google Ads budget simply because they avoid using negative keywords. When they are not set up correctly, ads begin to show in searches that have little chance of converting into paying customers. You then begin to show up in searches when people look for cheap or even free moving help, one item deliveries, or even those specifically searching for a competitor’s company by name.
Even if those people click on your ad, they realize they didn’t get what they were looking for, and leave without ever contacting you. By not actively maintaining a strong negative keyword list, you waste your budget on irrelevant traffic that’s not getting you high quality leads.
9. Using Google Recommendations
Google often provides automated recommendations intended to optimize your campaign performance. Keep in mind that this optimization is based on general data, and often doesn’t work best for attracting high-quality moving leads.
Some of the most common suggestions include increasing your daily budget, expanding to broad keywords and automatically creating and applying new ads. While these recommendations may increase your ad spend, they often do not result in improved ad performance.
10. Not Scaling
A big mistake many moving companies make is stopping too early. They launch a campaign, see that it’s finally getting them leads, and then never increase their budget. That is the fastest way to limit growth. When your ads are profitable and generating a certain amount of quality moving jobs at a good cost per lead, that is the moment to scale.
Start with a smaller budget to test what works, but once you see the numbers, increase the budget gradually. Invest more into the keywords, areas, and ad groups that perform best. As your budget grows, you start getting more high-paying jobs every single month.
Conclusion
Google Ads can transform how your moving business operates, but only when managed properly. By improving your ad quality and website conversion, you can dramatically increase the number of high-quality leads and booked moves your company receives. Narrow your targeting, track conversions, use negative keywords and scale once campaigns are working. Follow these principles, avoid the common mistakes, and Google Ads can become one of your most reliable and profitable source of high-paying jobs.