Rebuilding a Google Ads Account That Never Worked Instead of Optimizing a Broken One

Context

The account had a history of poor performance. Multiple agencies had touched it. Budgets were spent. Nothing stuck. The belief was simple: “Google Ads just don’t work for us.”

When I reviewed the account, it was clear why.

What I Found

The Mistake
Trying to optimize something that was never designed properly in the first place.

At some point, fixing becomes slower than rebuilding.

What I Did

Stopped incremental optimizations
Audited the account as if it were brand new
Rebuilt campaign structure around actual buyer intent
Defined clean conversion goals from scratch
Removed historical bias instead of inheriting it

Outcome

Key Insight
Not every account needs optimization.

Some need a reset.

When an account “never worked,” that’s often an advantage.
There are fewer bad habits to unlearn.