Why generic Google Ads advice doesn't work

I once watched a keyword tool recommend that a luxury wedding photographer target "cheap wedding photographer london."

High volume. Low competition. According to the algorithm, a perfect opportunity.

Anyone who's spent five minutes thinking about that business would know it's exactly wrong. The people searching "cheap" are not the people who pay several thousand pounds for a wedding photographer. Showing up for that search wouldn't just waste money — it would actively confuse their positioning.

But the tool didn't know that. It couldn't know that. It was just doing maths. (I've changed some details here, but this is a real pattern I've encountered — tools optimising for volume without understanding business context.)

The problem with advice that could apply to anyone

Most Google Ads guidance sounds reasonable in isolation:

"Increase bids on high-performing keywords."

"Add more negative keywords."

"Test your headlines."

Fine, I suppose. But also completely generic. It tells you what levers exist without any sense of which ones matter for your business specifically.

It's like a doctor who tells every patient to eat more vegetables and exercise. Not wrong, but not useful if you came in with a broken arm.

Many advertisers follow generic best practices without adapting them to their business reality — leading to wasted spend and missed opportunities (Search Engine Land, 2024).

Context is everything

Two businesses can look similar on paper — same industry, similar spend, overlapping keywords — and need completely different strategies.

A law firm that only takes commercial litigation cases should not be targeting "how to sue my landlord." A SaaS startup with a 14-day trial doesn't need the same funnel as an enterprise vendor with six-month sales cycles.

The details matter:

What are your actual margins? A 5% conversion rate is great if you're selling £10,000 services. It might be terrible if you're selling £15 products. Generic benchmarks ignore this completely.

Who are you actually trying to reach? Not everyone who searches is a potential customer. Some are competitors, students, people in the wrong country, people who'll never pay your prices. Volume doesn't distinguish between them.

What would damage your brand? Some keywords might drive clicks but attract the wrong associations. A premium brand showing up for discount searches sends a confusing signal.

Can you actually handle more leads right now? If your sales team is already drowning, driving more traffic isn't a win. It's a different problem.

The sorting fallacy

Here's how most people use keyword tools:

1. Generate a list

2. Sort by search volume

3. Pick the top ones

4. Wonder why results are mediocre

But sorted lists optimise for the sorting criteria, not for what you actually care about. High volume doesn't mean high fit. Low competition doesn't mean high value.

The most interesting opportunities I've found for clients rarely appear at the top of any sorted list. They're in the weird middle — specific enough to signal real intent, niche enough that competitors overlook them. Long-tail, specific queries often outperform high-volume generic terms because they signal clearer intent and face less competition (Ahrefs, 2024).

What to do instead

Start with your business, not with keyword data.

Who are your best customers? Not your most customers — your best ones. The ones who stay longest, pay most, refer others. What do they have in common?

How do they describe their problems? Not how you describe your solution. How they talk about what was frustrating them before they found you.

What convinced them? Not your website copy. What they actually say when you ask. The specific moments or proof points that tipped them from considering to buying.

Then — only then — look at search data to find people who look like that.

The advice you actually need

Generic tools can tell you what keywords exist. They can't tell you which ones matter for your specific situation.

That requires knowing your business. Your margins. Your positioning. Your constraints.

Anyone who gives you Google Ads advice without asking those questions first is just guessing. And you can guess for free.