Dear Google Ads,
As a professional Google Ads manager, each quarter I’m inundated with phone calls from your Google Ads Strategists looking to help improve campaign performance for my clients. These calls, though they may appear to be of good intention, are unfortunately, a complete waste of time. They do nothing to enhance performance and are nothing but a sales pitch at my clients expense.
I won’t sugarcoat this: your calls are extremely intrusive, borderline harassment and bring absolutely no performance improvements to my clients campaigns.
Allow me to break down these 3 points in more detail:
Your calls are extremely intrusive:
I’ve been working with Google Ads for since 2011 and I know my way around the platform very well. I also know my clients extremely well and know what works and what doesn’t for their businesses.
Your usual strategy for contacting the account holder often consists of bypassing me completely (the manager) and contacting my clients directly. This is infuriating and is extremely objectionable.
I’ve spent months or even years building a relationship with my client, getting to know their business, their goals and getting them great results with Google Ads.
Now ask yourself: what do you think my client thinks of my role as their account manager when Google Ads Strategists contact them directly to tell them that their campaigns aren’t performing optimally?
You guessed it: my relationship with my customer is challenged and I spend countless hours re-iterating my strategy. Thanks Google.
Your calls and emails are borderline harassment:
It starts with a phone call, then a second, and often a third. If I don’t respond immediately, a manipulative email is sent with wording meant to incite fear and get a call back as quickly as possible.
Here are a few examples of lines copied/pasted from emails :
The reason why I am reaching you is that I came across a few things in regards to the Ads Account and would like to discuss that with you.
My intent is certainly not to bother you, but I think we should connect as I would be able to help you get the most out of your Google Ads spend.
It is really important to review your campaigns as you are missing out on critical features that might be impacting your ads visibility and performance.
We have run internal tests and see great opportunities to improve your account.
And what if I ignore your calls and emails? More calls and emails, this time urging a reply before a deadline:
As this is my last month to work on this Account, I would like to share a few important things which I observed and would like to drop a few important things as well.
Google, why do you need to be this persistently annoying?
Your calls bring absolutely no performance improvements to campaigns:
Much like your “recommendations” page in the Google Ads interface, I often question the reason behind them… and rightly so! Most managers and top companies agree, they should be taken with a grain of salt.
Let’s have a look at some often heard recommendations from your strategists during a call:
Have you tried the display network? I can help you create great custom intent audiences to target.
Me: No thanks. If you had bothered checking the account history, you’d see how this was tested and wasn’t a good fit for my client.
Let’s go ahead and switch your bidding strategy to maximize conversions.
Me: Why? So that the CPC increases and I get less clicks for my budget? If I really want to test this option, I’ll run an experiment first.
But our algorithm for the maximize conversion bidding strategy has really improved recently. You should consider switching to this now.
Me: No thank you.
I recommend adding a responsive search ad to all your ad groups.
Me: I’ve used it on occasion and in some instances it’s worked well, but for this client it’s not a good fit.
We get it. Account strategists are evaluated on performance. They need to suggest the latest features, they need to try to get my clients to spend more money… and they need me to apply at least ONE of their suggestions during the call (otherwise they know I won’t do it) or they’ll get a slap on the wrist – or something.
Now, the real question is:
Why is it that strategists never offer any recommendations backed on actual data in the account? How about some data-driven, actionable suggestions to improve ROI, ad group, keyword or ad-copy performance?
Now that, might be actually worth my time.
Instead, it has become very clear that the only purpose for these calls is to improve your bottom-line, which is of course, making as much money as you can.
Google, I love using your Ads platform and I love how it can help grow businesses, but it’s your strategists’ approach that needs some serious fine-tuning. I often hear from other managers: “we’re supposed to be Google Partners, but they sure don’t act like it” – and I agree.
It’s time for a change.
What do you think about Google Ads Strategists and their approach? What do you think should change, if anything?
Sound off in the comments below!
