Should You Follow Your Google Ads Rep's Recommendations? (Probably Not)

When Google calls you about your ads account, the person on the line typically isn't a Google employee. Most are contractors working for outsourced teams, trained on scripts, and incentivised based on how many of their recommendations get implemented — specifically recommendations that increase spend.

They're called “Google Ads Strategists” or “Account Strategists,” which sounds impressive. But their job isn't to optimise your account for your business goals. Their job is to hit their own targets, which are measured in additional spend generated across their book of accounts.

This doesn't make them bad people. It makes them salespeople in a system with misaligned incentives. Understanding this changes how you should evaluate every recommendation they make.

1. “Switch your keywords to broad match.” This is their single most damaging recommendation. Broad match dramatically expands who sees your ads, generating far more clicks — most of which are irrelevant. Your spend goes up, your conversion rate drops, and Google earns more. Read our full guide on why broad match drains budgets.

2. “Raise your daily budget.” If your campaigns are “limited by budget,” their solution is always to spend more. But if your targeting is wrong, spending more just means losing more. Fix targeting first, then consider budget increases only for campaigns with proven ROI.

3. “Enable auto-apply recommendations.” This gives Google permission to make changes to your account without your approval. They can add keywords, change match types, adjust bids, and enable features — all automatically. It's like giving your credit card to someone whose bonus depends on how much they charge to it.

4. “Remove negative keywords.” Google frames this as “removing conflicting negative keywords that might limit your reach.” In practice, your negative keywords exist because those searches were wasting money. Removing them re-opens the floodgates to irrelevant traffic.

5. “Switch to Performance Max.” PMax gives Google maximum control and you minimum visibility. For some businesses it works well. For many, it becomes a black box that spends money across Display, YouTube, and Gmail with no way to see what's working. Read our guide on Performance Max problems before accepting this recommendation.

Not everything Google reps suggest is bad. Here are the recommendations worth considering:

• Ad extensions/assets — Adding sitelinks, callouts, and structured snippets is almost always beneficial. They make your ads bigger and more informative.
• Fix disapproved ads — If an ad is disapproved, fixing it is obviously necessary.
• Responsive search ads — If you're still running old expanded text ads, migrating to RSAs is worthwhile (they're now mandatory anyway).
• Conversion tracking improvements — If they suggest enhanced conversions or better attribution, evaluate it on merit. Better data usually leads to better decisions.

The pattern: technical improvements and ad format changes are often fine. Strategy changes around targeting, bidding, and budget are where the misaligned incentives kick in.

1. Never make changes during the call. Say “That's interesting, I'll review it internally and decide.” This removes the pressure and gives you time to evaluate.
2. Ask them to explain the downside. Every recommendation has trade-offs. If they can't articulate what you might lose by implementing their suggestion, they haven't thought it through.
3. Check the data yourself. Before and after any change, document your metrics. If a recommendation was supposed to improve performance and didn't, revert it.
4. Turn off auto-apply. Go to Recommendations → Auto-apply and disable everything. This is non-negotiable. You should approve every change to your account.
5. Use the “optimisation score” cautiously. Google penalises your optimisation score if you dismiss their recommendations. Ignore the score — it measures compliance with Google's goals, not your account's actual health.