Smart Bidding, AI & Why PPC Fundamentals Still Matter

Google Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin joined me on PPC Live The Podcast for a candid discussion about the mistakes she has made, the lessons she has learned, and the takeaways the PPC community should be paying attention to. Her core message for advertisers navigating the rapid pace of automation and AI: resist the urge to react impulsively to platform changes and instead focus on how those updates impact your actual business objectives.

The conversation covered everything from costly campaign errors early in her career to Google’s August Smart Bidding modifications, the rise of AI-powered tools, and what advertisers can expect on the horizon.

One common misstep Marvin highlighted is the tendency for advertisers to immediately label a Google Ads change as detrimental without first understanding the specifics of what is shifting. Her advice? Return to the fundamentals. Identify which campaigns are affected, review the current implementation, and evaluate what the change means for the strategies and targets already in place. That distinction matters more than ever as Google rolls out increasingly automated products and bidding systems.

Marvin addressed the August 17 Smart Bidding change directly

A major focal point was Google’s August 17 Smart Bidding update. Marvin stressed that the change applies only to campaigns that are both budget-constrained and overachieving against their target. Campaigns that are not limited by budget already function this way, she noted.

For advertisers working within fixed budgets, alternatives still exist. Marvin pointed to Maximize Conversions and Maximize Conversion Value without a target as viable options for those needing to stay within a defined spend limit.

Targets become an even more important lever

Advertisers running budget-constrained campaigns with targets should pay close attention to current performance. Marvin recommended reviewing average target performance and accounting for the full conversion cycle. If you want to maintain your current average performance, you may need to adjust your targets accordingly. Keeping an existing target could lead to entering different auctions, which may shift bids and CPCs.

The broader point: think of a campaign’s target as an efficiency lever tied directly to business goals, not just another setting inside Google Ads.

Business goals should be the North Star

That business-first approach was a recurring theme. Marvin said bidding strategies should consider factors beyond what is immediately visible in Google Ads, including promotions, inventory availability, and product margins. She made a similar point about testing new products and features. If the goal is to increase conversion value, for example, CPCs may not be the right metric for judging whether a test succeeded. Instead, advertisers should identify metrics that reflect the actual outcomes the business is trying to achieve.

Don’t ignore Google’s Help Center

One surprisingly simple recommendation from Marvin: read the Help Center documentation. She acknowledged that documentation is not always updated as quickly as advertisers might like, but Google’s help pages can contain valuable details about how products and bidding systems actually work. Marvin recalled discovering information in a Help Center article during her time at Search Engine Land despite believing she was already familiar with the subject. For advertisers unsure whether they fully understand a feature, revisiting the documentation can serve as a useful refresher before making major account changes.

The conversation also turned to newer AI-powered tools like Ask Advisor. Marvin cautioned against expecting these products to be 100% accurate, especially as the underlying models continue to evolve. Advertiser feedback is important in helping those systems improve, she said. That means marketers still need to bring their own expertise and judgment to AI-generated recommendations rather than treating them as unquestionable instructions.

Tried an automated feature before? It may be worth testing again

The speed at which Google’s systems are improving could also change how advertisers approach features they have previously tested unsuccessfully. Marvin argued that the old advice to try something again after it failed is increasingly relevant because many improvements now happen behind the scenes. A feature or campaign approach that underperformed in an earlier test may behave differently after months of changes to Google’s models and infrastructure. That does not mean blindly retesting everything. Advertisers still need a clear hypothesis, appropriate success metrics, and a defined testing strategy.

Build a testing culture around Google Ads

Marvin recommended establishing a dedicated testing budget where possible and developing a testing mindset across teams. That also means setting expectations with clients and stakeholders. As Google Ads continues to change rapidly, advertisers with room to experiment may be better positioned to understand new capabilities before they become more central to the platform.

More AI and automation are coming

Asked what advertisers should expect over the next six to 12 months, Marvin pointed to features announced at Google Marketing Live that are still rolling out. More broadly, she referenced comments from Google’s head of Ads and Commerce, Vidya Srinivasan, as a signal that Google remains committed to its current direction. For advertisers, Marvin’s message was to start planning rather than waiting for the direction of travel to reverse. Teams that are not already testing newer capabilities should consider how they can begin doing so and prepare clients for what is ahead.

Mistakes happen; how you respond matters

Marvin also shared a mistake from earlier in her PPC career involving an international client whose campaign budgets were accidentally set too high by a junior team member. Her team responded by acknowledging the error without becoming defensive, explaining what happened without over-explaining it, and quickly shifting the conversation toward what they could do next. They also increased communication and introduced stronger internal processes. The relationship survived, and the client remained with the company for years.

Don’t throw junior team members under the bus

For managers dealing with a serious account mistake, Marvin was particularly clear about one thing: do not blame the junior employee in front of the client. Leadership should take responsibility for the team’s work, even when an individual made the error. Marvin argued that blaming an employee does not reflect well on the manager from the client’s perspective. Internally, mistakes should still be reviewed, but the goal of that conversation should be learning and growth rather than blame. Marvin recommended first resolving the immediate client problem, then giving people enough space before reviewing what happened and improving the processes that allowed it to occur.

The takeaway for PPC marketers

Despite the increasing role of AI, automation, and Smart Bidding, Marvin’s message throughout the conversation was surprisingly consistent: the fundamentals have not gone away. Understand what you are trying to achieve, connect campaign decisions to business outcomes, choose metrics that reflect those outcomes, test deliberately, and understand how the systems you are using actually work. Google Ads may be changing faster than ever, but advertisers still need to decide whether those changes make sense for the businesses they are responsible for.