Why You Shouldn’t Follow Every Google Ads Recommendation or Schedule a Call with your GA Account Manager

Google Ads is one of the most effective digital marketing tools. Everyone uses search and Google has a ton of data! But even though it’s an invaluable tool, should you follow all of Google’s recommendations?

You can probably tell where we’re headed with this. The answer is no. But before we dive into the specific reasons why, let’s first talk about Google Ads and how they make money.

Google Makes a Fortune on Their Google Ads

It’s important to note this upfront. Google makes a ton of money off of Google Ads. And they accomplish this by providing a service that benefits many business owners. However, they want you to give them as much control as possible so they can serve your ads to as many people as possible. This maximizes your spend, of course, not necessarily your conversion rate.

Therein lies the rub: Google wants to maximize profit for Google, which doesn’t always translate into a return on investment for you.

This is why we don’t follow every Google Ads recommendation and think you shouldn’t either.

These following 5 recommendations are generally ones you’ll want to skip no matter what:

1. Google Says, “Use Broad Match Keywords” – We Say, “Dismiss It”

Google tries to push this recommendation because it gives them full control over what keywords to show your ads for. Doing this will maximize your spend and result in many ineffective search terms being used. Google will make a lot of money though!

Instead of using Broad Match use Phrase and Exact Match, they are better to use 95% of the time.

The only exception we can think of to this rule is if you’re using Google Ads Grant. In these cases, if you’re not hitting your $10,000/month limit, some Broad Match keywords would be okay to use to round out the budget. Just make sure to monitor your search terms so you can exclude those that are irrelevant regularly. If a term is irrelevant there’s absolutely no reason to use it.

2. Google Says, “Use the Customer Match Feature” – We Say, “It’s Usually Not Relevant”

The Customer Match feature sounds great on paper but it’s just not going to be relevant for you unless you have a massive email list already. And unfortunately, Google suggests this option without having any idea if you even have an email list, let alone a huge one.

If you are a part of the small percentage of Google Ads users who have a big email list, then the feature is worth using as it can help you to reconnect with prospects and customers across multiple channels based on the information they’ve provided to you.

But again, most of the time, this is suggested for users who do not have well-established email lists, and without such a list, this feature is pretty much useless.

3. Google Says, “Use Irrelevant Audience Segments” – We Say, “No Way!”

Let’s illustrate this point with a story, shall we?

We’ve had Google suggest that we add the audience segment targeting Do-It-Yourselfers for a home renovation company that does high-end kitchens, additions, and custom homes. DIYers are definitely not the target of our home renovation company and would’ve been an absolute waste of money had we went with this recommendation.

Turn those recommendations down and keep money in your pocket.

4. Google Says, “Use Google Search Partners and Google Display Network Ads” – We Say, “No Thanks”

According to WordStream, 99% of the time using Google Search Partners and Google Display Network Ads will “wreak havoc on a PPC account.” And we’ve found this to be true in practice as well.

Users may not be in a shopping mood when they come across your ads in these situations. They are often doing their daily activities, reading the news or blog posts, watching video clips, and so forth. It’s just not a good use of money to spend it on GDN ads when you could put that funding toward a more targeted approach.

The only exception we can see is if you’re running a campaign to increase general brand awareness or if you have compelling video or image ads that stand a chance of breaking through the noise.

5. Google Says, “Smart Bidding is Where It’s At”? – We Say, “I’ll Pass”

While it can save you some time, Smart Bidding is generally not as effective. And since Google doesn’t know your business and you have no visibility into the data being used, Google’s broad data may not reflect your target audience. This reduces your budget control as well. This makes it a recipe for blowing your budget very quickly.

The only time it might make sense to use Smart Bidding is when you’re trying to increase conversions, specifically.

What to Do When Your Google Ads Account Strategist Wants to Schedule a Phone Call

If you’ve had a Google Ads account in use for any length of time, you have likely received one of those phone calls or emails from a Google Ads Account Strategist. And while it may be tempting to respond their free consultation offer, we generally advise against it.

Despite what they might say, a Google Account Manager’s job is to get you to increase your overall ad spend. Their job is not to increase the effectiveness of your campaign. Plain and simple.

They follow pre-written sequences and don’t think for themselves. They are not Google Ad experts; rather, they are good at following scripts and getting you to spend more.

People in these positions are also usually located on the other side of the world sitting in a cubicle somewhere. They don’t know your business or the context of your advertising needs.

It’s sad to say but these consultations are generally a waste of time and will often make your ads perform worse. Yikes!

When you get an email from them asking to schedule a call or saying they’re trying to reach you, it will often look like this:

This is another example:

And still another example:

They usually have a Google Email Address and will sound very official and helpful. They’ll also use a local phone number through Google Voice and are often very persistent. Pushy, even.

I usually just send them a short reply so they stop bothering me:

Hi,

Please stop contacting us via email and phone. We are not interested in a consultation.

Thank you,

This is the best way I’ve found to stop the onslaught.

The Bottomline?

Don’t follow every recommendation that Google offers. Many of them are designed to give Google more control so they can spend more of your money, which won’t necessarily increase your conversions or the effectiveness of your ads.

What to do next?

Want a professional to manage your Google Ads account? We at JohnnyFlash charge a flat fee for Google Ads management – not a percentage of ad spend – so we are motivated by making your ads perform the best, not for you to spend as much money as possible.

Contact Us today so we can discuss your business goals and digital marketing needs.