There are a growing number of reports across the web of Google Ads accounts managers threatening to contact clients directly, despite not being allowed to.
According to the reports, agencies who don’t respond to emails from Google Ads account managers are being met with threats from Google reps to contact clients directly.
In some cases, the Google Ads account managers call clients and tell them to drop their agencies.
There are two things to make clear here:
- Agencies are not required to speak with Google reps
- At no point should a Google Ads account manager call an agency’s client
A Google Ads rep telling clients to fire their agency crosses the line.
However, these reports are becoming more frequent.
Matt Janaway, CEO of Marketing Labs, shared his experience on LinkedIn this week:
Screenshot from: linkedin.com/posts/mattjanaway, November 2022.Janaway’s post caught the attention of Google Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin, who says the issue will be addressed “immediately.”
Marvin adds, “This is not in line with how we expect our team to support our advertisers and agency partners.”
Screenshot from: linkedin.com/posts/mattjanaway, November 2022.Janaway isn’t alone in his experience.
Throughout October, reports circulated on Reddit of Google reps engaging in similar practices.
One Reddit user posted a screenshot of an email received by a Google Ads Account Strategist, which reads:
“I am writing to you one last time as a courtesy, because my honest goal is to provide you value and advanced strategies with google ads and work with you closely, to help you save time and make your clients more successful with google ads , thus I am contacting you for the last time to inform you that if I do not reach you, I will assume that you are not getting my emails and will contact the clients that I have been assigned directly.”
Another Reddit user has nearly the same story, saying they’ve been “harassed” with daily emails from a Google Ads rep to get on a call and implement campaign changes.
Again, agencies aren’t obligated to speak with Google reps or implement changes clients aren’t asking for.
Should you receive an email like the one above, the best thing to do is submit a complaint via Google’s official form.
Beware of these aggressive sales tactics. As long as you’re not breaking any policies, Google has no say over how you run your clients’ campaigns.
Featured Image: FGC/Shutterstock
