How bad is most NDIS Google Ads?
When we audit NDIS Google Ads accounts, we consistently find one or more structural mistakes that are wasting substantial budget. Some accounts are wasting 30–40%. Some waste 70%+. The mistakes aren't sophisticated or obscure — they're common patterns that show up across generalist agency management and DIY campaigns.
Here are the ten we see most often. Fixing any three typically reduces cost per qualified lead by 40–60%. Fixing all ten often halves it.
Mistake 1 — Broad match keywords without negative lists
Broad match tells Google to show your ad for anything remotely related to your keyword. Without aggressive negative keyword lists, broad match campaigns show ads for "NDIS jobs", "NDIS news", "NDIS portal help" — search terms that will never convert into a participant.
Fix: switch to phrase match or exact match as the primary match type. Add a negative keyword list of 100+ terms common to NDIS searches that aren't participant intent (jobs, portal, news, NDIA, application, free, scam, etc.). Review search terms report weekly for the first 60 days and add more negatives as you find them.
Mistake 2 — Broad geographic targeting
"Australia-wide" or state-level targeting for a provider serving only Brisbane wastes the majority of the budget on audiences who can't use your services. Cost per click doesn't care about service area — you pay the same regardless.
Fix: restrict geographic targeting to your actual service area. For Brisbane providers, target the Brisbane metro area (20–30km radius) plus specific satellite suburbs you service. Not state-level. Certainly not national.
Mistake 3 — Homepage as landing page for all ads
Google Ads traffic landing on generic homepages converts 2–3x worse than traffic landing on dedicated landing pages matching the ad's specific service. This is probably the single biggest conversion-killer in most NDIS accounts.
Fix: dedicated landing pages per ad group. Someone clicking a "support coordination Brisbane" ad should land on a page specifically about support coordination in Brisbane — not a generic homepage listing all services. Takes upfront work; dramatic conversion lift.
Mistake 4 — No conversion tracking
You can't optimise what you can't measure. Accounts without proper conversion tracking (form submissions, phone calls, meaningful actions) are optimising blindly. Google's automated bidding goes wrong, budget wastes on traffic that doesn't convert, and you can't tell what's working.
Fix: set up conversion tracking properly at launch. Form submissions via Google Tag Manager or a tag on form confirmation pages. Phone calls via Google's call tracking or a third party like CallRail. Chat initiations if applicable. Don't skip this.
Mistake 5 — Single-keyword ad groups broken
"Single Keyword Ad Groups" (SKAGs) was a 2015 best practice that stopped working as Google's match types evolved. Accounts still using SKAG structures now have fragmented data, inconsistent quality scores, and can't leverage Google's machine learning effectively.
Fix: consolidate to tight thematic ad groups (5–10 closely related keywords per ad group) with 3–5 responsive search ads per group. Google has enough data to optimise delivery within the ad group.
Mistake 6 — Weak ad copy
Generic NDIS ads ("Quality NDIS services. Call us today.") don't click. Specific ads with clear differentiators ("NDIS Support Coordination in Brisbane. 4-Day Response Guarantee.") consistently outperform. Click-through rate affects quality score; quality score affects cost per click.
Fix: every ad should include specific service, specific location, one concrete differentiator, and a clear call to action. Test 3–5 variants per ad group and let Google optimise delivery.
Mistake 7 — Running ads 24/7 without dayparting
NDIS enquiries don't come in at 3am. But most campaigns run budget 24/7. Nighttime clicks are often less likely to convert, and many weekend clicks come from researchers rather than decision-ready prospects.
Fix: review your Google Analytics data to see when enquiries actually happen. Adjust ad schedule to weight budget toward high-converting hours (typically 8am–8pm weekdays, reduced on weekends for most providers).
Mistake 8 — Ignoring mobile experience
60–75% of Google Ads clicks come from mobile. Desktop-optimised landing pages that work poorly on mobile bleed budget. Every mobile-hostile element — slow load, hard-to-tap buttons, forms that don't fit screens — multiplies cost per conversion.
Fix: mobile-first landing page optimisation. Test on real devices, not just emulators. Large tap targets, short forms, page speed under 3 seconds on mobile.
Mistake 9 — No audience exclusions
Default campaigns show ads to every searcher, including existing customers, job seekers, and others unlikely to convert. These clicks still cost money.
Fix: exclude existing customer audiences (upload email lists to Google). Exclude job seekers (negative keywords + audience exclusion). Exclude non-prospect affinity audiences where available.
Mistake 10 — Setting and forgetting
Google Ads accounts that aren't actively managed degrade over time. Google's auction dynamics shift. Competitors enter and exit. Search behaviour evolves. Accounts last optimised 6 months ago are wasting budget on decisions that are no longer optimal.
Fix: weekly review for the first 90 days of any campaign. Then at minimum fortnightly. Quarterly deep optimisation (new keyword research, ad copy refresh, landing page updates, bid strategy review). This is why agency management often pays back — sustained optimisation discipline that most in-house teams can't maintain.
How to audit your own account
Work through the list. Which of the ten apply to your account? Most NDIS Google Ads accounts have 5–8 of these issues. Fixing three of them this month usually makes a measurable difference in cost per lead.
If your cost per qualified lead is above $120 and you suspect multiple issues are active, a proper audit (DIY using this list, or professional audit) pays back within 60 days in recovered budget efficiency.