Item: Google Ads
Rating: 7
Author: Patrick Stephens

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

It is used solely in my department. I do use it on consulting assignments, and have often taught individuals how to use it, so my experience lies in several facets with the program. Ultimately, it addresses our need for digital marketing.

Pros and Cons

Options. It gives you plenty of ways to customize and build your ads as you wish (obviously within their parameters).
User Functionality. While it would be burdensome (see weaknesses) for some, if you are familiar with these types of programs then you will be able to navigate around Google Ads pretty easily.
Budget Friendly. You can set your own budget. That, in and of itself, is key for us.

Support. Almost every account rep we've had has been a bully. They've harassed our employees to get to me, all to tell me that they think I need to raise my budget (mind you, as a school we aren't able to simply raise a budget just because someone thinks we should). In another instance, an account rep was claiming to help us (this was several years ago), and made changes on the ads - they ended up making the ads for something we were not affiliated with.
Not for Beginners. Many marketing companies use the expansive display as a way to stymie clients, making it seem like the overview is more complicated than it seems. If you are new to the program, you will be fooled. Be mindful that this facet of Google Ads allows for manipulation.

Most Important Features

Budgeting.
Customizability.

Return on Investment

Increased our online presence by 450% in two years.

Alternatives Considered

Microsoft Advertising (formerly Bing Ads) and Amazon Advertising Sponsored Products

There is no reason to compare. You use different programs to attract different types of users. You just need to balance your budget accordingly.

Key Insights

Do you think Google Ads delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Google Ads's feature set?

Yes

Did Google Ads live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Google Ads go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Google Ads again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Amazon Advertising Sponsored Products, Microsoft Advertising (formerly Bing Ads)

Likelihood to Recommend

It can be a great deal of your marketing. If you study how the program works, and how the ad space runs, then you can make this work for you very well. For us, we have run ads for many years on Google Ads, refining the budget very carefully. We have been able to suss out competitors' tactics based on how the bids in our area look. It has not just readability for you, but for your industry.

Just be mindful that the representatives are there to raise your budget, first and foremost. Most marketing companies will go out of their way to confuse you by downloading the Overview and making it seem like they put in hours of work, especially if it nets them profit. Many industries just need someone to train an in-house person to handle the ads (which is also better because then you can avoid the third party not fully knowing your brand). Once you get it, you get it.

Support Rating

We have not yet had an account rep who hasn't tried to bully me or other employees to raise our budgets. At the same time, several years ago, one attempted to help refine our ads and ended up changing the ads to be something we were not affiliated with.

Google Ads Customer Support Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
None	Slow Resolution Poor followup Problems left unsolved Escalation required Need to explain problems multiple times Support doesn't seem to care

A Quick Review of Google Ads

Overall Satisfaction with Google Ads (formerly AdWords)