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.
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.
Don't let the Optimisation Score drive your decision-making. Optimise for conversions, ROAS, and cost per acquisition — not for a number that Google assigns based on its own criteria.
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. |
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.
Check your Recommendations tab weekly. Dismiss anything that doesn't align with your goals (dismissing doesn't hurt you) and thoughtfully apply the ones that genuinely make sense. This keeps your account tidy without letting Google make decisions for you.
To be fair, some recommendations are genuinely valuable — particularly those focused on:
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?"
Google Ads Help: Optimisation Score explained · Auto-applied recommendations
Common questions about this topic.
Not automatically. Google's recommendations are generated to improve performance according to Google's own metrics (often conversion volume or spend efficiency), but they're not always aligned with your specific business goals, budget constraints, or account strategy. Review each recommendation critically: some (adding sitelinks, fixing disapprovals) are almost always beneficial. Others (expanding match types, adding keywords, raising budgets) should be reviewed against your actual account context before applying.
Google's algorithm favours broader matching because it increases auction participation and typically increases spend. Broad match keywords reach a wider range of queries, which generates more clicks and often more conversions in aggregate — but not necessarily at a better return. Google's recommendations engine optimises for conversion volume, not efficiency. Only add broad match if you have sufficient budget to absorb irrelevant clicks and a robust negative keyword list to filter them.
Treat these recommendations with caution: upgrading to Smart Bidding (timing matters — only when you have sufficient conversion data), adding new keywords (may introduce irrelevant traffic), increasing target CPA or reducing target ROAS (loosens your efficiency target), enabling URL expansion (sends traffic to pages you haven't vetted), and applying budget recommendations (Google's suggested budgets often exceed your actual needs). Always check the projected impact data and test incrementally.
The optimisation score is a percentage (0–100%) that Google calculates to indicate how well your account is set up according to Google's recommendations. A score of 100% means you've applied all of Google's suggestions — not that your account is perfectly optimised for your goals. Many expert advertisers maintain scores of 50–70% by deliberately not applying recommendations that conflict with their strategy. The score is a useful prompt to review suggestions, not a definitive performance indicator.
In the Recommendations tab, each suggestion has a 'Dismiss' option. You can dismiss individual recommendations and provide a reason (which Google uses for feedback). Dismissed recommendations don't count against your optimisation score. It's good practice to regularly clear your recommendations queue — either applying or dismissing each one — so you're actively managing your account posture rather than ignoring recommendations entirely.
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