Google Ads offers a feature called the “Google Ads optimization score,” which shows up prominently in your account’s ‘Recommendations’ tab. It seems like a useful tool designed to help improve your campaigns. But, in reality, this score is more about Google’s interests than your business’s. The recommendations are meant to push you toward changes that can often lead to higher ad spend, benefiting Google while not necessarily improving your campaign performance.
When advertisers see a low optimization score, they tend to panic and assume their campaigns are underperforming. This can lead to knee-jerk reactions and implementing changes that don’t necessarily make sense for your business. While it’s tempting to follow Google’s suggestions to raise your score, this can sometimes do more harm than good. Instead, you should focus on metrics that actually matter, like conversions and return on ad spend (ROAS), rather than obsessing over this score.
Common Recommendations and Their Impact
Google often suggests several changes in order to increase your optimization score. While these might sound like good ideas, they don’t always align with your business goals. Let’s break down the most common recommendations and their real impact on your campaigns.
Increase Your Budget
Google loves recommending that you increase your budget. The idea is simple: spending more leads to more visibility, which should result in more clicks and conversions. But it’s not that straightforward. Just because you’re spending more doesn’t mean your campaign is running efficiently. In fact, increasing your budget without proper optimization can just mean throwing more money into a system that isn’t driving the right results.
If your campaign isn’t converting well, increasing the budget won’t solve the problem. You’ll just be wasting more money on clicks that don’t turn into sales or leads. Before raising your budget, make sure the basics of your campaign are solid—such as your targeting, ad copy, and keywords.
Switch to Automated Bidding
Google also pushes advertisers toward automated bidding, suggesting that letting their algorithms manage your bids will improve your performance. While automation can be useful in some situations, it’s not always the best option. By switching to automated bidding, you’re giving up a level of control over how your ads are run. Google’s system doesn’t know the ins and outs of your business, and automated bidding strategies can sometimes drive up costs without improving conversions.
Manual bidding, on the other hand, allows you to make real-time decisions based on your data. It gives you more control over where your money is going and lets you fine-tune your strategy based on performance. Automation isn’t inherently bad, but it shouldn’t replace active management of your account.
Add Broad Match Keywords
One of Google’s favourite recommendations is to add broad match keywords. The idea here is that broad match will expand your reach by showing your ads to a wider audience. But with this wider net comes a lot of irrelevant traffic. Broad match keywords allow your ads to appear for searches that may not be related to your business, leading to wasted clicks on visitors who are unlikely to convert.
Instead, using more specific phrase match or exact match keywords helps you maintain tighter control over who sees your ads. These keyword types ensure your ads are only shown to people who are actively searching for what you offer, which improves your chances of conversions while keeping your ad spend efficient.
Add Search Partners
Google also encourages advertisers to add search partners to their campaigns. This means your ads will be shown on websites that are part of Google’s search network but aren’t Google’s actual search results pages. While this may seem like a good way to expand your visibility, the reality is that the traffic from search partners often doesn’t convert as well as traffic from Google search itself. You might see an increase in clicks, but these clicks often come from lower-quality traffic, leading to higher costs without better results.
The Problem with Following Google’s Advice Blindly
When you follow Google’s recommendations blindly, you risk losing control over your campaigns. Many of their suggestions are generic and don’t take into account the specifics of your business or industry. Implementing these changes might increase your optimization score, but it could also lead to higher costs, lower-quality traffic, and ultimately, lower return on ad spend.
For example, increasing your budget without fixing underlying issues like poor targeting or weak ad copy will only waste more money. Similarly, switching to automation can make it harder to manage your campaigns effectively. Automation works in certain contexts, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution.
Why Dismissing Recommendations Can Improve Your Score
It might seem counterintuitive, but dismissing some of Google’s recommendations can actually increase your optimization score. That’s because the system is designed to give you credit for taking action—whether you accept or dismiss a recommendation. If the recommendation isn’t right for your campaign, don’t hesitate to dismiss it. This will help maintain your score without implementing changes that could harm your performance.
Moreover, the optimization score itself is not a measure of success. You could have a low score and still be running a highly profitable campaign. The real metrics that matter are conversions, click-through rates, and return on ad spend—figures that directly impact your business goals.
Focus on What Matters
Instead of obsessing over your optimization score, focus on the metrics that truly matter to your business. Conversions, leads, sales, and return on ad spend are the numbers that show whether your campaign is working or not. Don’t let Google’s recommendations dictate how you manage your account. You know your business best, and it’s up to you to decide what strategies will work for your specific needs.
About the Author:
Josh Maraney is the CEO of Top Click Media, a digital marketing agency in South Africa. Top Click are Google Premier Partners and specialise in Google Ads, SEO and Social Media Advertising.
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