Series: How to Not Waste Your Ad Budget

Episode 6: The #1 Way Most People Waste Money on Ads

If you’re spending money on ads without proper conversion tracking, you’re throwing dollars out the window. In this episode, April Borovskaya breaks down the single biggest culprit of wasted ad spend—and exactly how to fix it.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• Why not tracking conversions properly sabotages your campaigns

• How to set up conversion tracking through GA4 or Google Tag Manager (GTM)

• The importance of conversion windows (last click vs. first click, wide vs. small windows)

• Why data from tools like Shopify, Glew, or other platforms rarely line up 100% with GA—and what to do about it

• Which conversions actually matter most (hint: it’s not website traffic)

  • Sales

  • Calendar bookings

  • Form submissions

  • Phone calls

Why this matters:
Without reliable conversion tracking, you can’t:

• Accurately report results to clients or leadership

• Train Google and Meta’s algorithms to find more of your best customers

• Run advanced bid strategies like “maximize conversions” effectively

This episode is your step-by-step guide to ensuring your ad budget isn’t silently hemorrhaging because of tracking errors.