{"id":1570,"date":"2026-03-25T22:44:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T21:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nilsrooijmans.com\/daily\/?p=1570"},"modified":"2026-03-26T10:09:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T09:09:00","slug":"ama-whats-the-one-google-ads-setting-beginners-almost-always-get-wrong-and-waste-the-most-money-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nilsrooijmans.com\/daily\/ama-whats-the-one-google-ads-setting-beginners-almost-always-get-wrong-and-waste-the-most-money-on","title":{"rendered":"[AMA] “What\u2019s the one Google Ads setting beginners almost always get wrong and waste the most money on?”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A coaching client asked:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“What\u2019s the one Google Ads setting beginners almost always get wrong and waste the most money on?”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

My answer, based on 80+ audits and Google Ads Strategy Calls: it’s the “Auto-Applied Recommendations” (AAR) trap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AARs are the digital equivalent of letting a hungry wolf manage your sheepfold. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Google pitches it as “AI-powered efficiency,” it\u2019s more like a revenue-padding feature for Google, not a performance-booster for you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Google will automagically start broadening your targeting (keywords) -> more clicks from irrelevant user queries, with lower conversion value.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Google will switch bidding strategies -> higher CPC bids for clicks with similar\/lower conversion value.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Google will create new creatives that look fancy but are generally clickbait -> higher CTRs, lower CVRs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Google will increase campaign budgets because, yes, there is more demand. Just not at the same acquisition costs. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    My recommendation: turn AAR off, look at what it promises to “optimize for you,” then optimize it yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Always ask yourself: is this recommendation in line with my<\/em> objective, or somebody else’s?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    My 2 cents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    – Nils<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A coaching client asked: “What\u2019s the one Google Ads setting beginners almost always get wrong and waste the most money on?” My answer, based on 80+ audits and Google Ads Strategy Calls: it’s the “Auto-Applied Recommendations” (AAR) trap. AARs are the digital equivalent of letting a hungry wolf manage your sheepfold.  While Google pitches it … Continue reading “[AMA] “What\u2019s the one Google Ads setting beginners almost always get wrong and waste the most money on?””<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-google-ads"],"yoast_head":"\n[AMA] "What\u2019s the one Google Ads setting beginners almost always get wrong and waste the most money on?" - Nils Rooijmans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nilsrooijmans.com\/daily\/ama-whats-the-one-google-ads-setting-beginners-almost-always-get-wrong-and-waste-the-most-money-on\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"[AMA] "What\u2019s the one Google Ads setting beginners almost always get wrong and waste the most money on?" - Nils Rooijmans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A coaching client asked: “What\u2019s the one Google Ads setting beginners almost always get wrong and waste the most money on?” My answer, based on 80+ audits and Google Ads Strategy Calls: it’s the “Auto-Applied Recommendations” (AAR) trap. 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