Google Ads Automated Rules Bug? It Looks Like It!

You can say many things about the lives of digital marketers - you can call them exciting or challenging, but not boring. The latest source of challenge and excitement? A possible Google Ads automated rules bug. 

With Google constantly updating its algorithms and working on improving its services, you always need to stay on top of your game. Unfortunately, improvements also lead to increased complexity and even some unfortunate bugs. Here’s what we know so far about this potential issue. 

Automated rules on Google Ads

According to Google, "automated rules let you make changes in your account automatically, based on settings and conditions you choose”. This feature allows users to automatically change ad status, budget, bids, etc. It also allows them to trigger automated e-mails, for example.

When Google first rolled out this new feature, worries have been ignited that too much automation could make campaign managers obsolete. We are however still far away from this scenario. Humans still need to stay in charge of their campaigns.

Google Ads automated rules can indeed help marketers better manage and optimize their campaigns. After all, automation should equal efficiency. All of this sounds good in theory, but in practice, things are different. A Google Ads automated rules bug may be complicating campaign matters, rather than simplifying them. 

So, what is going on?

Users have been reporting a Google Ads automated rules bug for a while now. However, the number of reports has been increasing, recently getting the attention of the team at Google. 

What is the problem, exactly? Essentially, the rules set up are simply not working - or are not being applied properly. 

Users like Kevin Adams have been complaining that they have had to set the rules multiple times for them to “stick” - in some cases, after several attempts, the rules won’t stick.

Another Twitter user, James Svoboda has highlighted that this Google Ads automated rules bug seems to be quite random: some rules are applied, some aren’t, and some are… well, it’s hard to tell, but they don’t seem to be applying. Confusing, indeed. 

What is the cause of all this? According to official tweets from Google's ads product liaison, the issue is under scrutiny. We don’t know the cause yet, but here’s to it being fixed soon!

What can I do about it? If you are experiencing issues with your automated rules on Google Ads, you should first check out the official guidelines by Google. If these don’t help you, you might be an unfortunate victim of this bug…

Google Ads automated rules have been designed as a useful tool for complex digital marketing campaigns. As we have already pointed out, they have the potential of making campaigns more efficient through automation. 

Unfortunately, this Google Ads automated rules bug can potentially affect many campaigns. We don’t know when it will be efficiently and completely solved. So, if you have embraced automated rules on your Google Ads campaigns, make sure to check up on them frequently and create a plan B.🤞