The Things Nobody Wants to Say

Uncomfortable Truths

The Google Ads industry runs on comfortable fictions. Platform metrics that look good but mean nothing. Agency incentives that conflict with yours. "Best practices" that benefit everyone except the brand writing the cheques.

Here's what we think you should know.

Your 4.0 ROAS might be losing money

After VAT, COGS, shipping, and returns, that 'great' ROAS often translates to single-digit profit margins. Sometimes negative.

Platform metrics are designed to look good. Your bank balance tells the real story.

Your agency has a conflict of interest

If they charge a percentage of spend, they're incentivised to increase your budget, not your profit.

The more you spend, the more they earn. Even if that spend is wasteful.

Performance Max hides more than it reveals

Google's 'fully automated' solution is a black box by design. You can't see which products, search terms, or placements drive results.

The opacity isn't a bug. It's a feature that benefits Google, not you.

Broad match is a tax on lazy management

Google pushes broad match because it inflates impressions and spend. Most of those extra clicks are low-intent noise.

Every 'recommendation' Google makes is designed to increase their revenue, not yours.

Your best-selling SKU is probably your worst ad performer

High-volume products often have the lowest margins and highest competition. You're paying to acquire customers who would have bought anyway.

Incrementality matters more than volume. Are you buying sales or just recording them?

Scaling often makes things worse, not better

The first £10k of spend is efficient. The next £50k hits diminishing returns. But nobody warns you until the P&L bleeds.

More budget = more volume, but also worse margins. The maths stops working at scale.

Monthly reports are designed to obscure, not illuminate

A deck full of graphs and impressions numbers exists to justify the retainer, not to drive action.

If you can't explain what changed and why, the report is theatre.

AI won't save mediocre strategy

Smart Bidding optimises for the goal you set. If the goal is wrong (ROAS instead of profit), AI just makes you lose money faster.

Garbage in, garbage out. Automation amplifies decisions, good and bad.

Free shipping is eating your margins

That 'competitive' free shipping threshold is costing more than you think. PMax optimises for conversions, not profitable conversions.

Every order under threshold is subsidised by orders that would convert anyway.

#10

Your agency won't fire themselves

Even when the relationship isn't working, they'll find ways to explain away underperformance. Sunk cost keeps both sides stuck.

The switch is painful. But staying can be more expensive.

#11

Most 'optimisations' are just bid adjustments

When your agency says they're 'optimising,' they often mean moving budget around. Real strategy requires understanding your business.

Tactics without commercial context is guesswork dressed up as expertise.

#12

The junior does the work, the senior does the pitch

At most agencies, the experienced strategist in the pitch deck isn't the one managing your account day-to-day.

Ask who's actually in the account. Get names and LinkedIn profiles.

Ready for an honest conversation?

We'll tell you what's working, what's not, and whether we can actually help. No pitch deck theatre.

Book a Candid Review