I open an email from a PPC friend.
It was very short, only two words: “Code steal?”
There’s a screenshot. I zoom in, see an unknown account name, and start looking at the code.
Indeed, my friend rightly recognized the code as mine. (I use specific coding styles when writing custom scripts for clients.)
Someone did, in fact, steal custom code that I created for an agency a while back.
Having someone copy your code and ignoring (as well as removing) the license feels bad. Of course it does. It’s stealing.
However, the PPC “pro” in question is ultimately on the losing side of things.
One, because of karma.
Two, because the most powerful scripts solve a specific problem for a specific strategy in a specific Google Ads setup during a specific time.
If the context changes, the script must change too. Therefore, simply copy-pasting a custom script can be dangerous.
Just because the script created great value for a specific account at a specific time, it doesn’t mean it will do the same today in a different account.
Google Ads is constantly changing, and so should your strategy.
Scripts and other automations (think AI) should evolve with the platform, your strategy, and your setup. They are not static, copy-paste, or “set and forget.” And yet, so many people try to use them this way, as if they were silver bullets.
There are no silver bullets in PPC, I’m afraid.
– Nils