Stop Using this 'Automation' Tool in Google Ads!

As I continue to build my Google Ads client base, I have taken on a lot of already-existing accounts, some that have been up and running for years. Often, I am hired because the account quality and performance drops, either all at once or over the course of many months. One day, many business owners realize they do not know how to effectively run their ads, and it begins to show in the results.

As Google realized this - the presence of a lot of business owners who want ads but do not know how to manage them - they started to provide calls with ‘experts’ to diagnose issues and ‘optimize accounts.’ I decided to hop on a call with one of these experts, and I personally was less than impressed. On the one hand, I’m sure they have a lot of ads knowledge, and have been trained by Google…but on the other hand, they do not know YOUR business or YOUR goals, so any advice should be taken with a grain of salt.

One thing they will advise in a lot of cases is to use the ‘Auto-Apply’ feature under Recommendations. Please, do not use auto-apply in Google Ads.

The issue with auto-apply is many fold…

1) You do not know what changes they are making. What if they begin to target keywords that are similar to yours, but do not have the same meaning? For example: your business is pet grooming. You might have keywords such as ‘where to get my dog groomed’ or ‘cat grooming businesses.’ What if auto-apply sees these words and adds things like ‘how cats groom’ or ‘why do cats groom themselves’ or other queries that are tangential to your business, but not related.

If these are auto-applied, you will not know until it’s too late - and even then, you may never find out you’re spending money on irrelevant keywords unless you know how to analyze your account in the first place - which you might not if you are relying on auto-apply as a magic fix.

2) You cannot track changes with results. Again, the core issue is that you will not know what gets changed or when it is changed. If your account starts doing better, you won’t know how to replicate that success. If it tanks suddenly, you won’t know how to diagnose the issue. Unless you are the one making changes - and keeping track of the changes you make - you cannot solve a problem or improve on your success.

3) You can’t just ‘undo’ the changes and expect better results. The final issue I’ll cover is scary even to me. Let’s assume for a moment that you can figure out what changes were made and ‘undo’ the damage that was done. The truth is this: your account may never recover from the original changes. Google Ads do not work like an on/off spigot. They are a growing, learning, algorithmic-based machine. This has is pros and cons, but one core component is that it does not turn on a dime.

If your account tanks due to changes you made - whether through auto-apply or because you made a simple error - undoing the change in your settings will not turn the ad account back to its original position. It may steer the proverbial ship back towards the shore, but it will not reset the navigation completely. It’s extremely important to know what changes to make and why to make them so you don’t end up in a place far, far away from where you want to be.

Have you ever made Google Ads changes - whether by yourself or as suggested from an expert - that set you off course? Comment below or schedule a call. I’m always happy to give some tips and advice to help you on your way to success, whether or not you hire me as your trusty Google Ads manager - although you could do that, too…