Google has made a significant change to the way AdWords budgets can be used, and the advertising community is not the least bit happy.
Campaigns are now able to spend up to twice their average daily budget. The means on high traffic days, costs could soar as high as double the budget you have set.
Google says this change is being made to help advertisers better reach their goals, while noting it’s balanced by days when costs are below budget.
To help you hit your advertising goals, your campaigns can now spend up to twice your average daily budget. https://t.co/TUO08wXnl3
— Google AdWords (@adwords) October 4, 2017
Advertisers will not ever be charged more than their monthly limit, which is the number of days in a month multiplied by your average daily budget.
Reactions from the Advertising Community
This change won’t cost advertisers more money and it may even help them reach their goals more consistently.
So why are advertisers upset?
Many advertisers do not like the idea of spending their monthly budget earlier than usual.
With this change, if advertisers see a few really high traffic days early in the month it’s possible they may spend through their budget well before the month is over.
Of course, that would mean ads would no longer be shown throughout the duration of the month.
On the other hand, if that were to happen, it means advertisers would have hit their goals. So it’s easy to see both sides of this dilemma — why Google thinks it’s a good idea but advertisers do not.
Here’s a sample of the (safe for work) tweets that have been directed at Google AdWords since this change was announced.
Seriously?! So if you do this…I could theoretically be out of ad budget by the 15th of a month? WTAF guys? This is not helpful.
— Michelle M (@michellemsem) October 4, 2017
Seriously, one of the most anti-advertiser changes you've made in my career. Same day notice for implementation too? Really? 1.
— Evan Levy (@EvanLevy) October 4, 2017
We set budgets for A REASON. Do not make us guess what that figure should be. And what "goals" are you referring to exactly?
— Julie F Bacchini (@NeptuneMoon) October 4, 2017
It's unbelievable that this is mandatory and not an option #ppcchat
— Tad Miller (@jstatad) October 4, 2017
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