Alert Categories Guide

Every alert belongs to one of 8 categories that group similar issues together. Understanding categories helps you quickly identify problem types, apply familiar solutions, and filter alerts by your area of focus. This guide covers all 8 categories with real examples and fix strategies.

What You'll Learn

Time needed: 15 minutes to read

The 8 Alert Categories

Quick Reference

  1. Budget Issues 💰 - Budget pacing, exhaustion, overspend, underspend
  2. Performance Problems 📉 - CTR, CPC, conversion rate, ROAS declining
  3. Technical Issues ⚠️ - Ads disapproved, tracking broken, system errors
  4. Strategy Recommendations 🎯 - Optimization opportunities, best practices
  5. Quality Score Problems ⭐ - Low QS, relevance issues, landing page problems
  6. Conversion Tracking 🎯 - Tracking failures, attribution issues, conversion gaps
  7. Geographic Performance 🌍 - Location insights, geo targeting optimization
  8. Bidding Strategy 💡 - Bid strategy changes, automation opportunities

[Screenshot: Alert categories filter menu] Filter alerts by category to focus on specific areas

1. Budget Issues 💰

What This Category Detects

All budget-related problems:

Why it matters: Budget issues either waste money or leave money on the table

Common Budget Issue Alerts

Example 1: Early Budget Exhaustion

Severity: 8/10
Category: Budget Issues
Title: Campaign budget depleted by 3 PM daily

Your "Brand Campaign" spends its full $80 daily budget by
2:45 PM EST on average over the last 5 days.

Traffic analysis shows:
- 6 AM-3 PM: 1,250 impressions, $80 spent
- 3 PM-midnight: 0 impressions, $0 spent (budget exhausted)

Historical data: 38% of your conversions happen 6-11 PM

Recommended Action: Increase daily budget to $135 to cover
evening traffic, or reduce bids by 25% to extend budget.

Impact: Missing ~$320/week in evening conversions

Fix:

  1. Increase budget if ROI is good
  2. OR reduce bids to make budget last longer
  3. OR use ad scheduling to concentrate spend on best hours

Example 2: Budget Underspend

Severity: 6/10
Category: Budget Issues
Title: Spending only 45% of allocated monthly budget

Your $5,000 monthly budget shows only $2,250 spent with
12 days remaining (expect to spend ~$3,200 total).

Cause: Daily budgets set too low at $80/day. Should be
~$165/day to spend full monthly allocation.

Recommended Action: Increase daily budgets across campaigns
to utilize full monthly budget.

Impact: Missing ~$1,800 in monthly ad spend that could
generate estimated 45 additional conversions

Fix:

  1. Increase daily budgets proportionally
  2. Expand keyword targeting to capture more traffic
  3. Increase bids to be more competitive

Example 3: Impression Share Lost to Budget

Severity: 7/10
Category: Budget Issues
Title: Losing 42% impression share due to budget limits

Your campaigns show "Search IS Lost (budget)" at 42%,
meaning you could get 42% more impressions with higher
budget.

Current: Showing for 58% of eligible searches
Potential: Could show for 100% of searches

Estimated missed opportunity: ~180 conversions/month

Recommended Action: Increase budgets by 70% to capture
full impression share, or prioritize best-performing
campaigns.

Impact: Budget limiting reach and revenue

Fix:

  1. Increase budgets on high-ROI campaigns
  2. Pause low-performing campaigns to free up budget
  3. Shift budget from Display to Search if Search is limited

Budget Issues Best Practices

Daily monitoring:

Monthly planning:

Budget allocation:

2. Performance Problems 📉

What This Category Detects

All performance degradation:

Why it matters: Performance problems directly reduce ROI

Common Performance Problem Alerts

Example 1: Declining CTR

Severity: 7/10
Category: Performance Problems
Title: CTR dropped 28% in past 2 weeks

Your average click-through rate fell from 4.2% to 3.0%
across all search campaigns.

This reduces Quality Score, which increases CPCs, creating
a negative spiral.

Possible causes:
- Ad fatigue (same ads running 8+ months)
- New competitors with better ads
- Seasonal shift in user behavior

Recommended Action: Refresh ad copy. Create 3 new ad
variations per ad group with updated messaging.

Impact: Lower CTR = higher CPCs = 15-20% cost increase

Fix:

  1. Write new ad copy with fresh angles
  2. Test different headlines and descriptions
  3. Update calls-to-action
  4. Add emotional hooks or urgency

Example 2: CPC Spike

Severity: 8/10
Category: Performance Problems
Title: Average CPC increased 63% without performance gain

Your CPC jumped from $3.80 to $6.20 over 10 days with no
corresponding improvement in conversion rate.

Affected: All campaigns
Additional cost: ~$420/week vs previous average

Likely causes:
- Increased competition (new competitor launched)
- Quality Score decline
- Bid strategy became more aggressive

Recommended Action: Review Search Term report for new
competition. Consider lowering max CPC limits or pausing
if ROI is negative.

Impact: Budget exhausting faster, lower ROI

Fix:

  1. Check competitor activity in Auction Insights
  2. Review and improve Quality Score
  3. Lower max CPC caps if ROI is suffering
  4. Switch to Target CPA if using manual bidding

Example 3: Conversion Rate Decline

Severity: 7/10
Category: Performance Problems
Title: Conversion rate fell from 5.2% to 3.1% in 14 days

Your conversion rate dropped 40% in two weeks despite
stable traffic quality (CTR unchanged).

This suggests landing page or offer problem, not traffic
quality issue.

Recent changes detected:
- Landing page redesign deployed 16 days ago
- New checkout flow implemented

Recommended Action: A/B test current vs previous landing
page. Review analytics for drop-off points in new checkout
flow.

Impact: 40% fewer conversions from same traffic = major
revenue loss

Fix:

  1. Rollback recent landing page changes
  2. Check page load speed (slow = fewer conversions)
  3. Test different offers/CTAs
  4. Review mobile experience specifically

Performance Problems Best Practices

Weekly reviews:

Root cause analysis:

Benchmark comparison:

3. Technical Issues ⚠️

What This Category Detects

All technical failures:

Why it matters: Technical issues can completely stop campaigns

Common Technical Issue Alerts

Example 1: Ad Disapprovals

Severity: 9/10
Category: Technical Issues
Title: 9 of 12 ads disapproved for policy violation

Google disapproved 9 ads across your account for
"Misleading content" policy violation.

Affected campaigns: Brand, Competitor, Non-Brand
Active ads remaining: 3 (severely limits ad rotation)

Disapproval reason: Claims like "Best in Industry" and
"#1 Rated" require substantiation with third-party proof.

Recommended Action:
1. Remove unsupported claims from ad copy
2. Add disclaimers or third-party ratings
3. Create replacement ads with compliant messaging

Impact: Limited ad pool restricts impression share to ~15%

Fix:

  1. Review Google Ads policy center for specific violation
  2. Edit ads to be compliant (remove claims, add proof)
  3. Request re-review in Google Ads
  4. Create new compliant ads as backup

Example 2: Conversion Tracking Broken

Severity: 9/10
Category: Technical Issues
Title: Zero conversions recorded in 6 days

Your campaigns show 0 conversions in the past 6 days
despite 1,850 clicks and normal traffic patterns.

Historical baseline: ~95 conversions per 1,850 clicks

This strongly suggests conversion tracking is broken,
not that conversions actually stopped.

Diagnostic steps:
1. Check if Google Ads conversion tag is on site
2. Verify tag is firing (use Google Tag Assistant)
3. Check for recent website changes that removed tag

Recommended Action: Contact developer to verify conversion
tracking implementation immediately.

Impact: Can't optimize without conversion data. Likely
wasting spend on non-converting keywords.

Fix:

  1. Use Google Tag Assistant to check tag status
  2. Verify tag placement on thank-you/confirmation page
  3. Test conversion with live purchase/form fill
  4. Check if recent site update broke tag

Example 3: Landing Page Issues

Severity: 7/10
Category: Technical Issues
Title: Landing page returns 404 error for top ad group

Your highest-volume ad group "Best Seller Products" is
sending traffic to a landing page that returns 404 error.

Affected:
- 850 clicks in past 3 days = $1,700 wasted
- 0 conversions (impossible to convert on 404 page)

Cause: Product page moved or deleted without updating ads

Recommended Action: Update all ads in this ad group with
correct landing page URL immediately.

Impact: 100% waste on this ad group traffic

Fix:

  1. Verify correct landing page URL
  2. Update all ads with fixed URL
  3. Check other ad groups for similar issues
  4. Set up monitoring for 404 errors

Technical Issues Best Practices

Daily checks:

Preventive measures:

Quick response:

4. Strategy Recommendations 🎯

What This Category Detects

All optimization opportunities:

Why it matters: Strategic improvements unlock efficiency gains

Common Strategy Recommendation Alerts

Example 1: Ad Schedule Opportunity

Severity: 6/10
Category: Strategy Recommendations
Title: 78% of conversions occur Mon-Fri 9 AM-6 PM

Analysis of 450 conversions over 30 days shows clear
time-of-day patterns:

High-performing hours (9 AM-6 PM Mon-Fri):
- 78% of conversions
- 6.2% conversion rate
- $38 CPA

Low-performing hours (evenings/weekends):
- 22% of conversions
- 1.8% conversion rate
- $94 CPA

Currently running ads 24/7 with no bid adjustments.

Recommended Action: Implement ad schedule with +40% bid
adjustment 9 AM-6 PM Mon-Fri, -50% other times.

Impact: Estimated 18% CPA improvement by concentrating
spend on best hours

Fix:

  1. Create ad schedule in campaign settings
  2. Increase bids during peak hours
  3. Decrease bids during off-hours
  4. Monitor for 2 weeks and adjust

Example 2: Negative Keyword Opportunity

Severity: 6/10
Category: Strategy Recommendations
Title: 18 search terms cost $1,200+ with zero conversions

You're spending on non-converting search terms:
- "free google ads templates" - $285, 0 conv
- "google ads tutorial youtube" - $195, 0 conv
- "how to set up google ads" - $165, 0 conv
... (15 more similar terms)

These are informational queries, not buyer intent.

Recommended Action: Add these 18 terms as exact match
negative keywords to prevent future waste.

Impact: Saves ~$1,200/month going forward

Fix:

  1. Export Search Terms report
  2. Identify zero-conversion terms with >$50 spend
  3. Add as negative keywords at campaign level
  4. Review monthly for new waste

Example 3: Keyword Expansion

Severity: 5/10
Category: Strategy Recommendations
Title: 8 high-performing search terms not added as keywords

These search terms are converting well but aren't in your
keyword list yet:

- "google ads consultant near me" - 32 conv, $28 CPA
- "hire google ads expert" - 28 conv, $31 CPA
- "google ads management pricing" - 19 conv, $35 CPA

Adding these as exact match keywords gives you better
control, improves Quality Score, and lowers CPCs.

Recommended Action: Create dedicated ad groups for these
high-converters with exact match keywords.

Impact: Better control over top traffic sources, likely
15-20% CPA improvement on these terms

Fix:

  1. Create new ad groups for each theme
  2. Add as exact match keywords
  3. Write highly relevant ads
  4. Use specific landing pages

Strategy Recommendations Best Practices

Monthly optimization:

Prioritization:

Long-term planning:

5. Quality Score Problems ⭐

What This Category Detects

All Quality Score issues:

Why it matters: Low QS = 2-3x higher CPCs

Common Quality Score Problem Alerts

Example 1: Low Quality Score Keywords

Severity: 7/10
Category: Quality Score Problems
Title: 15 high-volume keywords have Quality Score 3-4

Your top keywords by traffic volume have poor Quality
Scores:

Keywords with QS 3-4:
- "google ads service" (QS 3) - 850 clicks/mo, $8.50 CPC
- "ppc management" (QS 4) - 720 clicks/mo, $7.20 CPC
... (13 more)

Average CPC impact: Paying 2.2x more than QS 7-8 keywords

If these were QS 7+: Average CPC would be ~$3.80
Current: Average CPC is $8.20

Recommended Action: Improve ad relevance by creating
dedicated ad groups with highly relevant ads for each
keyword theme.

Impact: Potential savings of $2,900/month with QS improvement

Fix:

  1. Create single-keyword ad groups (SKAGs)
  2. Write ads with keyword in headline
  3. Improve landing page relevance
  4. Match landing page headline to ad

Example 2: Landing Page Experience

Severity: 6/10
Category: Quality Score Problems
Title: 22 keywords flagged for "Below average" landing page experience

Google rates your landing page experience as "Below average"
for 22 keywords, citing:

Issues detected:
- Mobile load time >4 seconds
- Pop-ups on mobile
- Thin content
- Navigation unclear

This drags down Quality Score to 4-5 on affected keywords.

Recommended Action:
1. Improve mobile page speed (compress images, minimize CSS)
2. Remove mobile pop-ups
3. Add more content to landing page
4. Simplify navigation

Impact: Landing page experience is 1/3 of QS calculation

Fix:

  1. Run Google PageSpeed Insights
  2. Fix technical issues (speed, mobile usability)
  3. Add content to meet user intent
  4. Remove aggressive pop-ups
  5. Test on mobile device

Quality Score Problems Best Practices

QS monitoring:

Improvement focus:

Measurement:

6. Conversion Tracking 🎯

What This Category Detects

All conversion tracking issues:

Why it matters: Can't optimize what you can't measure

Common Conversion Tracking Alerts

Example 1: Conversion Tracking Broken

Severity: 9/10
Category: Conversion Tracking
Title: No conversions in 5 days despite normal traffic

5 days of zero conversions with 1,450 clicks suggests
tracking failure, not actual lack of conversions.

Traffic quality unchanged:
- CTR: 3.8% (normal)
- Bounce rate: Normal per analytics
- Time on site: Normal

Historical baseline: ~72 conversions per 1,450 clicks

Diagnostic: Conversion tag likely missing or broken

Recommended Action: Verify Google Ads conversion tag is
installed and firing correctly. Use Google Tag Assistant
to test.

Impact: Flying blind without conversion data

Fix: (Same as Technical Issues example above)

Conversion Tracking Best Practices

Daily verification:

Multiple attribution:

7. Geographic Performance 🌍

What This Category Detects

All location insights:

Why it matters: Location targeting impacts efficiency

Common Geographic Performance Alerts

Example 1: High-Performing State

Severity: 6/10
Category: Geographic Performance
Title: Texas converts at 45% lower CPA than average

Texas performance (230 conversions, 30-day sample):
- Conversion rate: 7.2%
- CPA: $32
- Revenue: $15,680

All other states average:
- Conversion rate: 4.1%
- CPA: $58
- Revenue: $8,240 (per equivalent clicks)

Currently: Texas gets 18% of budget
Opportunity: Could allocate 35% to Texas

Recommended Action: Increase Texas location bid adjustment
to +60% or create Texas-specific campaigns.

Impact: Shifting budget to Texas could reduce overall CPA
by 22%

Fix:

  1. Set location bid adjustment for Texas: +60%
  2. Monitor for 2 weeks
  3. Consider creating Texas-specific campaigns
  4. Research why Texas performs better

Geographic Performance Best Practices

Monthly geo review:

Sample size:

8. Bidding Strategy 💡

What This Category Detects

All bidding strategy insights:

Why it matters: Right bid strategy saves time and improves performance

Common Bidding Strategy Alerts

Example 1: Automation Opportunity

Severity: 5/10
Category: Bidding Strategy
Title: High-volume campaign suitable for Target CPA

Your "Brand Campaign" has ideal conditions for automated
bidding:

Qualifications met:
- 150+ conversions in last 30 days ✓
- Consistent conversion volume ✓
- Stable CPA ($42-$48 range) ✓

Currently using: Manual CPC
Recommended: Target CPA bidding

Benefits of switching:
- Automated bid optimization
- 24/7 bid adjustments
- Reduced management time
- Typical 10-15% CPA improvement

Recommended Action: Switch to Target CPA with target of $45
(your current average).

Impact: Saves management time, likely improves efficiency

Fix:

  1. Switch campaign to Target CPA
  2. Set target at current average CPA
  3. Allow 2-week learning period
  4. Monitor and adjust target based on results

Bidding Strategy Best Practices

Strategy selection:

Monitoring:

Filtering Alerts by Category

How to Use Category Filters

Location: Client Details → AI Alerts Tab → Category Filter

Process:

  1. Click "All Categories" dropdown
  2. Select specific category
  3. Alerts filter to show only that category
  4. Clear filter to see all alerts again

Use cases:

Focus on budget (before month-end):

Filter: Budget Issues
Review all budget alerts
Fix pacing problems
Ensure full spend

Technical audit (weekly):

Filter: Technical Issues
Check for disapprovals
Verify tracking working
Fix errors immediately

Monthly optimization (strategy session):

Filter: Strategy Recommendations
Queue all recommendations
Prioritize by potential impact
Implement top 3

[Screenshot: Category filter in use] Filter by category to focus optimization efforts

Category Patterns and Trends

Common Combinations

Budget + Performance:

Budget exhausting early + CPC increasing = Competition spike
Action: Increase budget OR lower bids

Technical + Conversion Tracking:

Ads disapproved + Zero conversions = Multiple problems
Action: Fix ads first, then verify tracking

Quality Score + Performance:

Low QS + High CPC + Low CTR = Ad relevance problem
Action: Rewrite ads, improve landing page

Recurring Category Patterns

If you see same category weekly:

Action: Fix root cause, not symptoms

Tips & Best Practices

Category-Specific Days

Monday: Technical Issues

Wednesday: Performance Problems

Friday: Budget Issues

Monthly: Strategy Recommendations

Don't Ignore Categories

Every category matters:

Skip categories = miss opportunities

Category Expertise

Build expertise by category:

Become the go-to expert for each category

Common Questions

Q: Can one alert be in multiple categories? A: No, each alert has exactly one category assigned by AI.

Q: Which category is most important? A: Technical Issues (stops campaigns), then Performance Problems (costs money), then others.

Q: Can I customize which categories appear? A: Not currently. All 8 categories are standard. Custom categories planned for future.

Q: Why don't I see all 8 categories? A: You only see categories with active alerts. Well-optimized accounts may only show 3-4 categories.

Q: Which category should I check daily? A: Technical Issues and Conversion Tracking. Others can be weekly/monthly.

Q: Do categories affect severity? A: No. Severity is independent of category. Technical Issues can be severity 2 or 10.

Next Steps

Master alert categories with these guides:

Filter alerts by category to focus your optimization efforts

Track recurring categories to identify systemic issues

Master one category at a time to build comprehensive expertise

Last Updated: October 4, 2025