Not long ago, Google announced that in addition to the new Insights page, advertisers would now be able to automatically apply the platform’s customized campaign performance recommendations with a single click. This is to assist businesses in operating more efficiently, saving time, and providing value to their customers.
Pros of Google Ads auto-applied recommendations
There are several good reasons to use auto-applied recommendations in your accounts:
1. Some are “no-brainers:” Contrary to popular belief, the changes on this list are not solely for the benefit of Google. They may be in yours as well. The first option is to opt for data-driven attribution for all of your campaigns. There is rarely a difference in the attribution models, which means that your top-of-funnel/mid-funnel campaigns will receive additional credit where necessary.
2. Is capable of being used in conjunction with a hands-off management style: If you are not a full-time manager who is in the accounts all day, every day, some of these changes may help you keep your account fresh. Adding new keywords, negatives, and ad variants to your account may help keep things moving and your account dynamic, if you’re not already doing so.
3. Optimization Score: Regardless of your feelings about Optimization Score, you are guarantee that opting into these automatically applied recommendations will help improve your account score.
Cons of Google Ads auto-applied recommendations
1. They are oriented around “best practices:” If you’ve worked with Google Ads for an extended period of time, you’re well aware that best practices are not always the best. At times, you may wish to disable phrase or broad match keywords in your account. Perhaps your lead generation strategy is sufficiently sophisticated that setting target CPAs is unnecessary. Many of these suggestions are simply inappropriate for the majority of cases.
2. You must monitor changes on a daily basis: Without proper monitoring, you can easily spend a lot of money on items that are not a good fit for you. By opting into these automated changes, you agree to react to their consequences rather than approve them prior to their implementation.
Best practices for auto-applied recommendations
1. Examine each alternative in isolation: Each alternative has a distinct set of consequences. Simply because you want to participate in one type of bidding automation does not mean you should participate in all of them.
2. Keep a close eye on initial changes: Once you enable any feature in your account, be sure to check in frequently, if not daily, to see what changes Google makes on your behalf. Set it and forget it; otherwise, you may log in a month later to discover that you’ve been running campaigns that aren’t in your best interest.
3. Adopt a long-term strategy of “trust but verify”: After closely monitoring the initial changes made by these automation, you can step back and allow them some breathing room. However, as with all other forms of automation, this does not mean you should abandon them completely. Check in every other day, every other week, or monthly to ensure that the changes you’ve made are still beneficial to you. At the very least, schedule a calendar reminder to check in every 30 days so that you can easily undo any changes you dislike directly from the Change History tab.
Should you rely on Google Ads’s algorithmically generated recommendations?
As with all other Google Ads features, these new automatically applied options are neither good nor bad in and of themselves. They may be an excellent fit for you or they may be disastrous, depending on your account goals and management style. Due to the fact that no automated system is perfect, human interaction is required.