A few weeks ago, PPC Live Ambassador, Scott Carruthers wrote on his LinkedIn: The Google Ads feature I never use?
Maximise Conversions or Maximise Conversion Value (without a tCPA or tROAS target).
On the surface, these bid strategies seem like an easy way to drive results within your budget. But here’s why I never use them in isolation:
I’m a control freak – With tCPA or tROAS, you can fine-tune how aggressive your bidding is. Need more efficiency? Tighten the target. Want to scale? Loosen it. Without these controls, you’re leaving Google to decide your bid strategy with no way to adjust when performance fluctuates.
I’m a sceptic – Google claims it will maximize conversions within your budget. But is it really? Without a clear efficiency goal, it may just be spending your budget rather than delivering the best results. And if you’ve been in PPC long enough, you know that “spending the budget” doesn’t always mean “spending it wisely.”
I like strategy – PPC success isn’t just about getting conversions—it’s about getting the right conversions at the right cost. If you let Google take full control, you’re essentially saying, “Whatever happens, happens.” That’s not a strategy; that’s a gamble.
That said, I will occasionally use Maximise Conversions when launching a new campaign to gather data. But once I have insights, I switch to tROAS or tCPA to take control and scale in the right direction. “The Google Ads feature I use briefly before never touching again” just isn’t as catchy of a title!
I then asked 13 experts about tactics they would never use, and here’s what they had to say:
PPC experts on what they’d never try in Google Ads
Susan Richards-Benson: Targeting “All Locations” and expecting Google’s algorithm to automatically adjust to where we need to be. Nope.
Hannah Zora Strong: Launching a Search campaign with Display Network enabled. After 11 years and hundreds of accounts, I’ve NEVER seen this work!
Joseph Williams: Running multiple campaigns without forecasting budgets, CPCs, or keywords. That’s just asking for trouble.
Ben Luong: Testing auto-apply recommendations. At best, it makes your job redundant; at worst, it just makes Google richer.
Jennifer Mussell: Broad match with a Maximise Clicks strategy. You’ll burn budget on irrelevant searches. If you must use broad match, do it with value-based bidding and strict monitoring.
Nidhi Jain: Cutting budgets on top-performing campaigns. If they’re driving conversions and ROI, why throttle them?
Chris Ridley: Running ads with no conversion tracking. The thought alone gives me anxiety.
Georgi Zayakov: Breaking tracking on purpose (like John Moran does). Garbage in = Garbage out. We need clean data for the best results.
Peter Guba: Manual bidding. I don’t believe in it, and it’s disappearing anyway.
Ameet Khabra: Going full broad match in a new campaign. Every time I’ve audited an account that did this, it’s been a disaster.
Robert Horvath: Fully automating an account without any manual oversight. Bad idea.
Chris Nightingale: Unpinning & pinning headlines at random. It needs a clear purpose.
Gokce Yesilbas: Fully automated, AI-generated creative assets in PMAX campaigns. AI is useful, but without human oversight, it’s risky and unpredictable.
Final Thoughts
Some Google Ads features seem tempting, but seasoned PPC pros know that not all automation leads to success. Whether it’s trusting Google’s bid strategies blindly, cutting budgets recklessly, or handing over too much creative control to AI—these are the mistakes we avoid at all costs.
Have you had an experience with one of these “never again” strategies? Let us know in the comments!
Our Experts
Susan Richards-Benso – Data-driven PPC strategist, navigating the ever-changing world of Google—one day at a time
Hannah Zora Strong – Google Ads and LinkedIn Ads specialist working with brands who have local customers.
Joseph Williams – Google ads and LinkedIn performance lead with 8 years experience
Ben Luong – Expert Google Analytics and Google Ads freelancer.
Jennifer Mussell – With 8 years of experience in paid search now working as a head of business partnerships at YBA PPC.
Nidhi Jain – Seasoned professional in Digital Marketing Strategy, tactics and online consultant
Chris Ridley – Head of Paid Media at Evoluted & Hero Conf UK Speaker
Georgi Zayakov – The Google Ads Detective
Peter Guba – I spent over 8 years at Google managing 1,000+ ad accounts. Now, I help ambitious lead-generating companies achieve profitable growth through Google Ads.
Ameet Khabra – Founder of Hop Skip Media & University Instructor with 16+ years experience.
Robert Horvath – Over 15 in online marketing and still there are things new to me
Chris Nightingale – PPC & Paid Social Agency Owner with a Can-Do attitude!
Gokce Yesilbas – Senior Paid Media Consultant at Vervaunt and Regular Speaker at International Conferences
