How to Use Google Ads Recommendations Without Getting Burned

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Log into Google Ads and you'll almost always see a Recommendations tab waiting for you, usually with a list of suggested changes and an Optimisation Score — a percentage from 0 to 100% that tells you how "optimised" Google thinks your account is. It sounds helpful. And sometimes it genuinely is. But applying recommendations blindly is one of the most common — and costly — mistakes in Google Ads management.

Here's the reality: Google's recommendations are generated by algorithms designed to improve performance, but they're also generated by a company that earns revenue when you spend more. Those two motivations don't always point in the same direction. Understanding which recommendations to embrace and which to dismiss is a core management skill.

What Is the Optimisation Score?

The Optimisation Score is Google's assessment of how closely your account follows its recommended practices. A score of 70% doesn't mean your campaigns are performing poorly — it means there are recommendations you haven't applied yet.

There's no meaningful correlation between Optimisation Score and actual business outcomes like revenue, leads, or ROAS. Accounts with a 60% Optimisation Score often outperform accounts at 95% because the latter have applied recommendations that increased spend without proportional returns.

Types of Recommendations: A Practical Guide

Not all recommendations are created equal. Here's a breakdown of the most common ones and how to approach each:

Recommendation	Verdict	Why
Add responsive search ad assets (headlines, descriptions)	Usually Good	More ad copy variations let Google test what resonates. Worth reviewing and applying thoughtfully.
Add sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets	Apply	More ad real estate at no extra cost. These are almost always worth adding if you haven't already.
Switch to broad match keywords	Caution	Broad match can increase conversions, but only when paired with Smart Bidding and strong conversion data. Don't apply early in a campaign's life.
Raise your budget	Review carefully	Sometimes valid if campaigns are limited by budget and showing a strong ROAS. Often just a revenue play for Google.
Add target CPA or target ROAS bidding	Timing matters	Good recommendation — but only once you have 30–50 conversions per month. Before that, set a manual CPA target too aggressively and you'll choke the campaign.
Expand to Display Network	Usually Avoid	Display traffic converts at a fraction of Search traffic. Running them from the same budget and targeting dilutes performance.
Add new keywords (broad)	Review carefully	Google often suggests keywords that are tangentially related at best. Check each one manually before adding.
Enable auto-applied recommendations	Avoid	Letting Google automatically apply its own recommendations — without human review — is almost never in your best interest.

Auto-Applied Recommendations: Proceed With Extreme Caution

Google offers an option to auto-apply recommendations — essentially letting the platform make changes to your campaigns automatically. This might sound convenient, but it means Google can add keywords, change bids, update ad copy, and switch bidding strategies without your approval.

If you have auto-applied recommendations enabled in your account, check right now what's turned on. Go to Recommendations > Auto-apply in your Google Ads account. Most experienced advertisers turn this off entirely and prefer to review changes manually.

When Recommendations Are Genuinely Useful

To be fair, some recommendations are genuinely valuable — particularly those focused on:

• Adding missing ad assets (sitelinks, callouts, image extensions)
• Fixing broken URLs or landing page issues
• Upgrading outdated ad formats (e.g., migrating from expanded text ads — deprecated in 2022 — to responsive search ads)
• Switching to more appropriate bidding strategies as your data matures
• Enabling conversion tracking improvements via enhanced conversions

The key question to ask with any recommendation: "Is this optimising for what I actually care about, or is it optimising for volume and spend?"