Top 5 Mistakes Beginning Search Engine Marketers Make

With over a decade of experience in search engine marketing, I’ve seen just about every mistake in the book. Whether you’re managing your first campaign or just starting to scale, it’s easy to overlook small details that can have a big impact on performance. The good news? These missteps are avoidable. In this post, I’m breaking down five of the most common pitfalls new SEM marketers face—so you can skip the trial-and-error phase, save your budget, and spend more time on strategies that actually drive results.

One: Launching anything on a Friday

Anyone can make a mistake on the job, but in my experience, they are more likely to make them on a Friday. Maybe it is fatigue from the week, maybe it’s the shift in attention from work to weekend plans, but something about a Friday makes mistakes more likely. Not only that, but if a marketer does make a mistake, it will not be caught until Monday.  So just don’t do it. Trust me on this one.

Two: Not Researching the Role

It’s more common than you’d think—people land in paid search roles only to realize it’s not quite what they expected. I’ve seen it firsthand. On the surface, advertising can seem like a highly creative field—and in many ways, it is. But search engine marketing isn’t all brainstorming sessions and big ideas. It’s data-heavy, detail-oriented work that often means spending your day in spreadsheets, analyzing performance metrics, troubleshooting tracking issues, or building reports.

That can be incredibly rewarding—if it aligns with your skills and interests. But if the idea of living in Excel and optimizing ad copy doesn’t excite you, SEM might not be the right fit. The good news is that marketing has many paths. If you’re curious whether paid search is one of them, start by reading more about what the role really involves:

• What is Paid Search? – Search Engine Land
• PPC 101 – Search Engine Journal
• The Cons of Working in Search Engine Marketing

Three: Neglecting Google Ads Editor

Surprisingly, some search engine marketers don’t know that Google has a desktop tool that enables bulk ad updates. Using this tool, marketers can create and deploy thousands of ads at one time. One aspect that separates bulk edits in the desktop tool compared to the online user interface is the ability to preview and QA changes, and make line item edits before publishing them. Save yourself time and potential headaches by taking the time to download and learn editor. 

Four: Not Understanding Core Marketing Formulas

In performance marketing, numbers matter—and so does knowing how to interpret them. If you’re not familiar with key formulas like CPA, ROAS, conversion rate, or how cost and revenue tie together, you’re flying blind. These metrics aren’t just reporting tools—they’re decision-making tools that help ensure your campaigns are running profitably. Understanding the math behind your performance can be the difference between scaling a winning strategy and burning through your budget.

Need a quick refresher? Check out this primer on essential paid search terms and formulas.

Five: Forgetting the Importance of Ad Copy

 Copy on a paid search ad matters. This may be your company’s first point of contact with a potential customer. It is your chance to state exactly why your company is the answer to a person’s query, and it needs to be as relevant as possible. Not only that, but Google will reward advertisers with a lower CPC and more impressions. Misaligned ad copy means lost clicks and increased cost. So when you are starting in paid search, pay close attention to ad copy and test as much as possible. For a guide to ad testing options, feel free to visit my post.

Get Started on the Right Foot

Now that you’re familiar with the top five mistakes that new search engine marketers often make, you’re better prepared to get started. With a solid understanding of the fundamentals, such as knowing your metrics, understanding job requirements and, making bulk changes, you’ll be on your way to building efficient, high-performing campaigns.

Paid search can be a rewarding and dynamic career path when approached with the right mindset. If you’re just getting started or have questions about working in SEM, feel free to reach out—I’m always happy to connect and help others grow in this space.