Businesses often come to me asking why their Google Ads campaigns “aren’t working.” Frequently, after auditing their accounts, I inform them it’s because they’ve applied Google’s bad recommendations and default settings, which are killing their campaigns.

“Why would Google do that?” they rightly ask, because it seems counterintuitive, right? Why would Google make bad recommendations that might make an advertiser quit the platform altogether?

The main reason is that Google wants to control your ad spend, prevent unfulfilled ad budgets and make your CPCs (costs per click) look lower. In this post, I explain why that matters and other reasons for Google’s bad advice.

Quick caveats before we dive in

  • I don’t work for Google. I don’t claim to know the inner workings of Google’s business practices, but I can draw conclusions based on publicly available information and my 20 years of experience using Google Ads.
  • I’m not anti-Google or anti-Google Ads. As a long-time Google Ads manager, I’m forced to strike a delicate balance between promoting the benefits of Google Ads to businesses and warning those businesses about the risks of following Google’s bad recommendations. My clients appreciate this transparency, because they know I am on their side and am motivated by their success. I want clients to succeed, and to do that, I have to steer them away from Google’s recommendations.
  • Every Google Ads account is unique, requiring different strategies and tools. Not all Google recommendations will tank your campaign, especially at larger budgets.

1) Google is a business.

Animated gif from the TV show DuckTales with Scrooge McDuck diving into a vault of gold coins, to represent the idea that Google is a for-profit business with a goal to make money.

This applies to all the reasons below, so keep it in mind.

Google is a for-profit business, obviously. But also, it’s a publicly traded company. It doesn’t just need to make money. It needs to make more money, year after year, to hit its aggressive financial targets.

Google Ads is the biggest source of revenue for Google. So, Google needs as much leverage as possible to eke out as much money as possible from advertisers’ accounts. This is the main driver for all the bad recommendations identified below.

“But wait,” I hope you’re asking. “If they need to make money, why would they give such bad advice for my ad campaigns?”

A few reasons …

2) Google wants you to ‘set it and forget it.’

To be clear, Google does want you to get value from Google Ads (especially if you’re a large advertiser). So, it does want you to be successful – and it gives you the tools to be successful, as long as you know how to use them.

But more than anything, Google wants you to spend your Google Ads budget on autopilot, month after month. And to achieve that, at scale across all accounts, Google needs you to hand over the reins from the very beginning. (More on that below – see #3.)

Some PPC experts estimate that more than 3 million new Google Ads campaigns are created every day. That’s a massive figure. At that scale, Google doesn’t really make money off the individual success of every campaign. It makes the most money by automating ad spend.

Sure, Google would love for every advertiser to endlessly increase their budgets. But that’s not possible (or sustainable, given eventual limits on ad inventory – see #4 below). Google’s greatest money-making lever is automating campaigns as much as possible to ensure every dollar of an advertiser’s budget is spent daily, no matter what those advertisers’ goals or niche.

3) Google wants as much control over your budgets & campaigns as possible.

Animated gif from the movie Space Balls with characters giving orders to "Do something," representing the idea that Google wants control over advertisers' Google Ads campaigns and budgets.

Google can’t increase your ad budget without asking you. But it can make sure you’re spending it fully – which is tremendously valuable to Google, at scale. So Google’s main priority is maximizing advertisers’ ad spend by automating campaigns.

When you create a Google Ads campaign, Google aggressively pushes you to configure your campaigns in a way that ensures every dollar of your desired budget is spent. There are several ways it helps advertisers do this. Here are a few examples.

a) Bad strategies and settings

  • Broad match keywords
  • Performance Max campaigns
  • AI Max expansion
  • Display Network expansion
  • Search Partner Network expansion
  • Dynamic ads and assets
  • Automatic keyword creation
  • Loose location targeting

Advertisers, on their own, would generally not enable these strategies if they fully understood what they did or the impact on their campaigns. This is why Google pushes them so aggressively and increasingly enables them by default.

But Google goes a step further by trying to convince advertisers that these settings improve performance (they rarely do, especially not for limited ad budgets. And the examples they use as evidence are misleading — see #6 below).

b) Bad optimization advice & account warnings

To reinforce the claims of increased performance, Google uses several additional strategies to persuade advertisers to let Google make the changes on their behalf, such as:

But wait, there’s more…

c) Bad “support” rep calls & emails

To Google, the value of enabling these recommendations is so great that it hires third-party partners like Concentrix and Accenture to call advertisers and persuade them to apply the changes.

For advertisers, this is misleading, because these calls and emails appear to come from Google employees, but usually they’re not. They even have official Google email addresses, claiming to be “Account Strategists” and “Support Specialists.” In reality (except for large-account reps), these reps are essentially salespeople incentivized to get advertisers to apply Google’s recommendations.

PPC managers like me get calls from these reps nonstop, for each account we manage. (While writing this post, we received messages from 4 separate reps asking to schedule a call to “share their insights.”) So it’s a frustrating obstacle, especially when the businesses we’re actually helping are made to think that these reps’ advice are better than our own.

But let’s return to the heart of the question: why does Google do this? How does it benefit them?

4) Google has tons of unused ad inventory it wants to sell.

Animated gif from the movie Indiana Jones with a crate being pushed through a large secret warehouse of other crates

Again, above all, Google wants your budget spent fully.

In digital marketing, “inventory” is used to describe the placements where ads can appear (and where revenue can be made for Google) – much like traditional product inventory.

The most obvious place for inventory is Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs). In that case, inventory refers to available ad spots and users’ search keywords that trigger an ad.

For example, maybe you want your ad to appear for the term “criminal lawyer near me” – but Google has tons of other inventory available that it wants you to spend money on too. So it will recommend switching to broad-match keywords to enable your ads to appear to a much wider net of (often irrelevant) searches, like simply “attorney” or “John Doe Esquire.”

But remember, Google’s ad network also extends far beyond the search results page.

Through its massive Display Network and Search Partners, it can place ads on more than 2 million other websites and mobile apps. That’s a ton of unused inventory, with nearly limitless revenue potential for Google.

For advertisers, that might sound appealing – especially since clicks on Display ads are often significantly cheaper than Search ads. But for smaller advertisers, Display ads are often a waste of money, because the people who click them have much lower buying intent than those who are actively searching for a product or service. (Also, Display ads are notorious for bots.)

For Google, this unused inventory is an obvious opportunity to persuade advertisers to expand their budgets beyond Search. Even if advertisers don’t increase their budgets, enabling campaign settings to include these additional ad types and broad-match keywords helps ensure that every dollar of an advertiser’s budget is spent.

This is especially important for Google if there’s limited search volume for an advertisers’ desired keywords.

Example

I often consult businesses who want to target certain searches that simply barely exist in their target locations. It goes like this:

  • XYZ Hot-Rod builder company only wants to target the keywords [1932 Ford Hot rod builders near me].
  • But there’s only 1-2 searches a month for that term in their local target area.
  • The ads get a few clicks, but the budget is not fully spent.

Ideally, the advertiser would target other valuable keywords too. But in this example, the company only wanted to target that single phrase. So, budget wasn’t spent.

Google doesn’t like that. For them, that’s a missed revenue opportunity.

With Google’s recommendations enabled, like Broad-Match or Display Network, Google will likely spend the advertisers’ budget fully each month, even if there are almost zero searches for those exact keywords. (This is always why Google has been continually loosening the controls of its “Exact Match” and “Phrase Match” keyword matching – to ensure budget is spent on other (often irrelevant) keywords.)

By default, all keywords entered into a Google Ads campaign are entered as “Broad Match” – the broadest targeting available. This is a huge mistake for most small advertisers.

5) Cheap ad clicks make your CPCs look cheaper.

Animated gif from the TV show The Simpons, showing Homer looking shocked at the price on a bill. A funny representation of high CPCs in Google Ads.

Costs per click (CPCs) are increasing all the time. And because there’s a limit to the available keywords for advertisers to bid on (and more advertisers trying to compete for those same keywords), these costs will only continue to get more and more expensive.

Many first-time advertisers are often shocked to discover that their CPCs can exceed $20, $30, $40 and higher in highly competitive niches, such as attorney services and home services.

For some advertisers, all it takes is one of those clicks to make them too fearful to continue with their campaigns (which is unfortunate, because generally if the CPCs are high, it means other advertisers are having success and willing to pay for them. The campaigns just need to be managed properly to successfully compete.).

Google approaches this problem by convincing advertisers to expand to broader keywords and ad networks. To unassuming advertisers, this appears to make their CPCs look more reasonable. For example, if you spend $20 on a Search ad click, but then 2 clicks on a $1 Display ad, your total average CPC appears closer to $7. Seems reasonable, but chances are those Display clicks got you nothing in return.

So, how can Google claim that its recommendations improve performance if it’s not actually true?

Excellent question. Here’s a key reason ..

6) Not all conversions are made equally.

Here’s an example of one such Google claim:

Screenshot from Google Ads showing a recommendation to enable AI Max.

When promoting settings like AI Max, Display Network Expansion, broad-match keywords or campaign types like Performance Max, Google will often claim that these strategies can generate more conversions, more cost efficiently.

Are they lying? No. More likely, Google is basing these claims on unreliable, high-level data – not advertisers’ actual success.

Yes, these settings sometimes do result in more conversions for less ad spend – but not the conversions my advertisers want.

Example: Pmax Google Ads for Attorneys, Gone Wrong

I manage Google Ads for attorneys who specialize in criminal defense for very specific types of crimes. As such, these clients need to be very careful about the keywords they target, so they don’t waste money on irrelevant clicks.

Occasionally, at Google’s suggestion, I’ve tested Performance Max for these clients – and every time, I’ve regretted it.

Here’s the issue — yes, Performance Max has generated more calls and form submissions for these clients (sometimes a lot more), but most of these leads were worthless. Because of the loose nature of the targeting (and the minimal text on some ad versions), my clients received calls from people looking for all kinds of irrelevant legal services, from bankruptcy protection to child custody matters.

So yes, on paper, Google would naturally assume these attorneys’ campaigns were performing amazingly well. After all, the conversion rate was higher, and the avg. cost per conversion was lower. But in reality, the conversions were useless and the Performance Max campaigns were a waste of money.

Same with broad-match …

Yes, I have occasionally had some surprisingly good conversion rates from broad-match keywords, but often it’s from irrelevant searches by users who respond to the ad without reading what it says (because some ad types barely show any text at all). Broad match tends to work best with larger budgets, or when search volume for your targeted keywords is limited or nebulous/wide-ranging.

Same with display ads …

As noted above, display ads are notorious for bot clicks, which can also produce spam form submissions. So again, these spam submissions artificially inflate conversion rates on paper. In reality, it’s wasted ad spend.

7) Larger companies can afford to leak money on bad campaign strategies.

Animated gif of cats in an office sitting at desks with computers.

At MarlinSEM, my role is helping small to mid-sized businesses with Google Ads, because I know the results they can achieve when campaigns are implemented correctly (i.e. by not following Google’s recommendations).

But keep in mind that large advertisers – companies like Amazon, eBay, Home Depot, etc. – spend millions of dollars a day on Google. These companies can apply Google’s recommendations and allocate budget toward every campaign type available, and it likely doesn’t matter if they’re wasting a few thousand dollars on bad clicks, as long as they’re seeing return in other areas.

For smaller companies, the wasted ad spend is a lot more noticeable. Small-business owners feel the pain of money going out the door, and the lack of calls coming in … like the pet-transportation company owner who told me “something is not right” because his Display campaign was showing tons of conversions but not a single good lead in reality …. or the couples therapist who spent a year paying for Performance Max without getting a single phone call before she came to me and started getting clients again within days of switching to a Search campaign.

These are real scenarios I see every month with small advertisers who wasted money on Google Ads because they followed Google’s recommendations or applied the default settings.

Smaller businesses need to be extremely careful with how they spend their money on Google Ads. My smallest clients have budgets as low as $500 a month. They need every dollar to go toward ad clicks that deliver the best-possible returns.

Frequently Asked Questions about Google Ads Recommendations

1) How are Google Ads recommendations actually bad?

Several of Google’s recommendations waste money on strategies that often do not deliver results, especially for smaller budgets. Here are some examples:

  • Broad match keywords waste money on irrelevant keywords.
  • Performance Max campaigns waste money on irrelevant keywords and underperforming ad types / networks (such as Display ads).
  • AI Max is often broader than broad-match. It wastes money on low-intent searches, far removed from your target keywords.
  • Display Network expansion wastes money on underperforming Display ads, which appear on other websites and mobile apps.
  • Search Partner Network expansion wastes money on lower-quality sites, some of which generate bot traffic.
  • Dynamic ads and assets increase click rates for clicks you don’t always want.
  • Automatic keyword creation lets Google add looser, lower-intent keywords.
  • Loose location targeting (Interest-based) creates the risk of your ads getting clicks outside your target area.
  • Optimization score is meaningless and simply pushes the bad strategies listed above. (Tip: Dismiss all recommendations and bam! Instant 100% optimization score.)

All of these lead to wasted ad spend, but for Google that’s kind of the point: to ensure your budget is fully spent, no matter what.

Related post: 9 Default Settings to Disable in Google Ads (Especially if Your Budget is Limited)

2) Are all Google Ads’ recommendations bad?

Some of Google’s recommendations may be useful for some advertisers, especially for testing purposes. For example, advice to switch to a Conversion-Based bid strategy is generally solid, as long as the conversion tracking is properly set up. Advertisers should maintain a healthy skepticism about each recommendation, and if they are unsure of the potential impact, they should implement the strategies manually as a limited test.

3) Are Broad-Match, Pmax and Display Ads always a waste of money?

Not necessarily. But if your ad budget is limited, these strategies should generally be avoided. If your campaigns are actively tracking conversion value (based on actual purchases or converted leads), then you’ll have clearer insight into the return that these strategies deliver (or lack thereof). Larger advertisers may find that these strategies do deliver a return, but it’s critical to monitor how much of return to ensure they’re profitable.

Are your Google Ads campaigns wasting money?

If you’re not getting results from your Google Ads campaigns, request pricing for information on how I can help. I offer complimentary account audits for most advertisers and I never take on a new client unless I see room for improvement.