The Santa Barbara Web Design and Marketing Blog

For businesses looking to make an impact in the digital marketplace, Google Ads—formerly known as Google AdWords—offers a tantalizing promise: get your business in front of people who are searching for exactly what you offer, and only pay when you attract attention. Pay-per-click (PPC), when used wisely, can be an absolute game changer. But for many business owners, marketers, and entrepreneurs, Google’s ad platform comes with an additional, unexpected layer: Google’s own automated advisors and recommendations.

If you have ever run PPC campaigns through Google, you’ve likely received a steady drumbeat of emails from Google suggesting improvements, highlighting “missed opportunities,” or recommending that you schedule a call with a Google Ads advisor. On top of that, your AdWords dashboard is constantly alerting you to new “recommended” updates, campaign tweaks, or automated features to “help you grow.” While these might sound helpful, many advertisers don’t realize the deeper implications of these suggestions and the risks they may be accepting—often by default.

In this comprehensive blog post, I’ll break down why it’s essential to treat Google’s automated campaign recommendations with healthy skepticism, what you risk by letting Google make the decisions, and how you can stay in control of your account—and budget—for the best results.

The Rise of Google Advisors and Automated Recommendations: What’s Happening?

If you’ve used Google Ads over the past few years, you’ve likely noticed increasing automation. Google now assigns every account an advisor or strategist, who will reach out every few months with tips and offers for “free consultations.” Simultaneously, the platform is peppered with in-dashboard recommendations—a persistent blue number that promises higher performance with just a few clicks.

These recommendations are often positioned as “must-do” tweaks: expanding your keyword targeting, raising your daily or monthly budget, activating Smart Bidding options, or enabling broad match. Google frequently frames these as necessary for staying competitive or taking advantage of new search trends. Sometimes, there are even strong calls to action—suggestions that your campaigns will underperform if you don’t accept them.

The Hidden Feature: Automatic Application of Recommendations

Here’s where many advertisers get caught off guard: unless you’ve actively disabled it, Google has the ability to automatically implement certain recommendations after a set period—which means changes to your campaigns can go live without your explicit approval.

That’s right: if you don’t click “dismiss,” “turn off,” or proactively manage your campaign settings, Google may go ahead and enable those suggestions for you. Many advertisers don’t catch this buried in the settings, and as a result, wake up to campaigns that look very different from what they intended.

Worse still, there have been cases where Google has increased advertisers’ ad spend limits or daily budgets without explicit agreement, directly impacting the amount of money coming straight out of your business’s pocket. This is particularly concerning for small to medium-sized businesses that are working within tight budgets and need to account for every penny spent.

Who Really Wins With These Changes? (Hint: Google)

On the surface, Google’s recommendations sound helpful. They use persuasive language and generate an impression that by not following this advice, you’re missing out on growth or leaving money on the table. Phrases like “missed conversions,” “lost impression share,” or “untapped audiences” make a compelling case for change.

But let’s ask a fundamental question: who benefits the most when Google’s recommendations are applied?

The answer, time and again, is Google itself.

When Google suggests you broaden your targeting, activate more keywords, enable aggressive bidding, or raise your budget cap, the direct beneficiary is Google’s ad revenue. Each new click or impression—even those that are marginally relevant—puts more dollars in Google’s pocket. The company’s incentives are unmistakable: the more you spend, the bigger their bottom line.

The Opportunity Cost: What Google Doesn’t Tell You

Google’s advice comes at a time when the digital advertising landscape is rapidly shifting. In recent years, more users are turning to AI-powered search tools, reducing the number of high-quality human eyeballs using traditional search engines. Recent studies estimate around 31% of traditional search engine users have begun favoring AI-powered alternatives for certain queries.

Additionally, the rise of bots—many created by AI companies—means more non-human interactions with ads. These bots may be scraping websites, gathering data, or even experimenting with ad click patterns. That means your ad budget could be partially—or even significantly—depleted by clicks from non-human traffic that will never convert into paying customers.

The result? Even as Google’s recommendations drive more traffic to your site, quality is slowly declining. The percentage of real, valuable customers among those clicks continues to fall as bots and uninterested users take up a growing share.

This isn’t something Google will spell out in their messages or calls. Their interface will report only the raw numbers: more impressions, more clicks, and perhaps even a nominal bump in conversions. But the subtle loss in “conversion quality,” a higher proportion of wasted spend, and a creeping inefficiency in your campaigns is rarely highlighted.

The Importance of Control: Why You Must Take Charge of Your Campaigns

Given this background, it’s critically important for advertisers to remain vigilant and keep tight control over their Google Ads accounts. Here are the top reasons why you must stay hands-on:

1. Protect Your Budget

Automated changes can inadvertently raise your budget or push spend toward low-performing keywords or audiences, burning through your money before you get meaningful results.

2. Preserve Campaign Focus

Google’s “growth-oriented” suggestions often favor broader targeting or automated bidding strategies, which can dilute your message or reach people less likely to convert.

3. Defend Your Data Integrity

Bot clicks and uninterested users inflate your reported success but rarely translate to genuine sales or inquiries. The more you expand indiscriminately, the more likely you’ll pay for empty traffic.

4. Maintain Accountability

You should always know what’s happening in your ad account—down to the last setting. If you allow Google to make changes on your behalf, you lose the ability to track exactly what’s driving or stalling your results.

5. Develop Real Expertise

Understanding how pay-per-click works puts you in command. The more you know about the mechanics—ad auctions, targeting, copywriting, bid adjustments—the more effective your campaigns become and the harder it is for anyone (including Google) to mislead you.

How To Regain (And Keep) Control Over Your Google Ads Account

Now that you understand the risks, let’s walk through steps you can take to stay in the driver’s seat of your PPC campaigns and resist the “easy update” temptations from Google.

1. Turn Off Auto-Apply Recommendations

- Log into your Google Ads account.

- Navigate to the “Recommendations” page.

- Look for the settings or gear icon, often labeled “Auto-Apply.”

- Uncheck or disable all auto-apply features. Review this regularly, as Google periodically adds new options.

2. Audit Current Campaign Settings

- Review your existing campaigns for any changes you may not have personally made.

- Check daily budgets, keyword match types, bidding strategies, and audience settings to ensure they match your original intentions.

3. Monitor Recommendations Manually

- Instead of letting Google make the call, review each recommendation yourself.

- Ask: “Does this align with my goals?”

- Make a change only if you fully understand its impact.

4. Use Third-Party Analytics

- Supplement Google’s metrics with your own analytics tools—such as Google Analytics, HotJar, or specialized PPC tracking suites.

- Keep track of conversion quality, actual leads, and sales, not just clicks or impressions.

5. Educate Yourself and Your Team

- Invest time in learning PPC fundamentals. Many resources (including my own upcoming courses) break down these concepts in plain language.

- The more you understand, the better you’ll be at pushing back when a “recommended” update seems fishy or self-serving.

6. Network with Other Advertisers

- Ask colleagues, business owners, and marketing groups about their own experiences.

- Real-world stories and advice from those who have run campaigns over weeks or years can prove invaluable.

The Myth of “Set It and Forget It”

Probably the biggest misconception Google—and the digital advertising community at large—promotes is that you can launch a campaign and let algorithms handle the rest. This is particularly dangerous for small or new advertisers.

No matter how sophisticated Google’s AI claims to be, a hands-off approach almost always leads to wasted budget, diluted campaign intent, and ultimately, frustration with lackluster results.

Imagine trusting your financial advisor with your life savings and then never checking your bank statements. That’s what it’s like enabling Google’s automatic changes without careful oversight.

Seasoned Advice: What I’ve Learned from Decades in the Field

After 30 years in web development, marketing, and hundreds of successful pay-per-click campaigns—across both PC and Mac using clients—I’ve seen the best and worst of Google’s suggestions. Often, the “best” ideas are those tailored specifically to the client’s business, the nature of their audience, and the nuances of their product or service, not one-size-fits-all recommendations from a distant algorithm.

For example, I’ve seen real- world examples where Google pushed expanded keyword matches, resulting in irrelevant clicks from the wrong states or industries. In some cases, ad spend quietly creeped upward when new “smart bidding” options were enabled. Each time, results improved again only after actively dialing back Google’s interventions and returning to focused, manual optimization.

The bottom line? Trust, but verify. Google’s advisors and auto-updates are only valuable when they pass your own judgment, borne of experience and data.

Best Practices for Running a PPC Campaign on Google Ads

To wrap up, here’s a checklist to help you get the most from your Google Ads spend—while protecting your business from the platform’s more self-serving tendencies:

1. Opt-Out of Auto-Applied Recommendations.

2. Review your campaigns weekly (at minimum) for unauthorized or unintentional changes.

3. Track conversions outside of Google Ads—use your own CRM or lead tracker.

4. Be wary of recommendations to “raise budget” or “expand audience” unless there’s proven ROI.

5. Invest in basic training for yourself or your team to confidently manage settings.

6. Network with other business owners about what’s worked (and not worked) for them.

7. If you need guidance, seek help from an independent marketing professional—not just Google’s phone reps.

Conclusion: Own Your Success

Google Ads is one of the most powerful advertising tools ever created—but its power comes with responsibility. The company’s automatic advisors and updates can quickly turn into a drain on your budget, and much of the advice you receive is designed to benefit Google, not necessarily you.

By taking the time to slow down, review every recommendation, and learn the basics of PPC marketing for yourself, you’ll not only save money but actually see better, more sustainable business results.

Ready to take command of your online marketing? Stay tuned as I share more in-depth courses, tips, and resources—so you can finally feel confident running your own campaigns, with Google working for you, not the other way around.

I’m your Santa Barbara Web Guy, here to help you navigate the changing digital landscape—on your terms. If you have questions about your Google Ads campaigns or want training tailored to your unique business, reach out. Until next time, happy (and smart) advertising!