Conducting campaigns on Google Ads and have seen those recommendations lurking in the wings? Don’t worry; we’ve been here before at Fresh Pies, and the common question always pops up in our office: ‘Should you listen to them?’ 

Some recommendations can be very beneficial towards the performance of your account; however, some other recommendations sometimes do not meet the goals you are trying to achieve when serving ads. Let’s look into this further. 

What you should be listening to 

When you publish a campaign, Google has quick algorithm responses that can be helpful in ensuring you get the best out of your campaigns. These include recommendations such as adding assets, images, or extensions to your ads. These can be helpful as they are aimed at increasing the CTR, which can ultimately lead to a conversion; you should be listening to these. 

Technical issues, suspensions or risk of account closure you should take with urgent care, and these are where dedicated Google reps for your account do finally come in helpful as they can fast-track this process. 

What to Ignore

Some recommendations from reps serve the purpose of benefitting Google themselves, rather than your account. Here are some things you should ignore: 

Budget increases 

Budget increases Google calculate based on forecasted upcoming traffic. Most times the suggested budget increase is not feasible for a small company running ads, or even a medium/big organisation with a set monthly budget. Adjust budget accordingly into what you can afford, you’ll still be growing your visibility through Google Ads regardless. 

Broad Match Keywords

A recommendation Google will often tell you if your keywords are exact or phrase match is to turn your keywords into broad matches. The main reason for this is because broad match keywords bring more traffic to your campaign. However, traffic coming through will be of less quality that phrase or exact match keywords, as broad matches often show for irrelevant searches. Broad match keywords can also drive up costs with irrelevant clicks filtering through. We recommend ignoring this recommendation and sticking with either phrase or exact match. 

Removing Conflicting Negative Keywords

Often, Google will ask to remove negative keywords that conflict with your active ads. However, these negative keywords are often the reason that prevents wasted clicks and irrelevant searches, so this is one to ignore. 

Auto-Apply

Now this feature is a debatable one. You’ll often find, towards the end of a Google rep call, they will mention the auto-apply feature. This feature is meant to automatically apply updates such as bidding, recommendations, ad adjustments, adding negative keywords and a lot more. Whilst adding some of these features is helpful, again some serve the purpose of feeding Google and not aligning with your business goals. 

Also, auto-apply does give you a lack of change visibility on the account as updates and recommendations happen automatically, leaving you out of the loop in your own account. Approach with caution and only choose certain auto-apply features you think will be beneficial to your account. 

Google Ads Reps/Recommendations: What We Advise 

We’d say to treat the Google reps/recommendations as a salesman instead of a strategist. Whilst yes, they’ll most likely have more knowledge of Google Ads, you have more knowledge of the business you are either representing or running. Take every piece of advice objectively, and only agree to what you believe will be beneficial, if it’s adding more budget to a service you are looking to push or being advised to create a campaign to improve performance.

We know from experience that ticking all the boxes doesn’t necessarily mean better business outcomes for you! At Fresh Pies, we are always happy to advise on the best practices for your Google Ads campaigns. If you would like to know more about how we can help your business or start a Google Ads account in future, get in touch by calling 020 7112 9117 or filling out our form.