A new wave of free credit to invest in Google Ads is arriving in email inboxes and I think it’s good to quickly clarify why you shouldn’t use it, especially if you don’t really know what you’re doing. This will be the usual thing, since it’s credit for new accounts, especially aimed at beginners. There are plenty of reasons:
First, because if you don’t use this credit with an online marketing professional who really knows how Google Ads works, it’s very likely you’re flushing your money down the toilet. Google Ads’ default settings are not very advisable, they usually require a lot of refinement. It’s very easy to pay for irrelevant clicks, the relevant ones are usually well covered and expensive.
Another reason, because this free credit actually serves to increase the advertising cost for the rest of the market. In theory, Google Ads works as a bidding system, so if more people join in, it becomes more expensive for everyone.
Third, because there’s fine print that is really worth reading carefully. In fact, if you want the €1.200 gift, you have to invest the staggering €2.400 (at least in the offer that reached me). The minimum you must invest is 400 euros, that is, it requires prior investment. There are also time limits, among other things. This way, it’s easy to spend the money and not get the free Google Ads credit; Google doesn’t provide a visual and clear view of whether the offer criteria are being met. And remember that you pay first and then, if you meet the criteria, over time they give you the free credit.
More reasons, because Google is a de facto monopoly in many areas and it’s not at all advisable to keep feeding the beast. Antitrust lawsuits keep coming, but nobody is able to bell the cat, not even in the United States. Obviously attempts from the European Union turn out to be even more fruitless.
Because Google has made aggressive changes to its search engine against the open web and content creators who aren’t on its platform, YouTube, a platform that is clearly favored.
In the end, Google Ads is a zero sum game in which we all compete to cover ourselves against the competition and the one who wins is Google. In fact, there are many people wondering these days whether the money used to get leads from Google at a high price wouldn’t be better spent on other things like retention or on other channels.
In conclusion, open the account and make the spend only if you know well how the product works, you know how to configure it perfectly and you also have a quality website, since this is also evaluated in Google Ads.”.
* Original article written in Spanish, translated with AI and reviewed in English by Jorge Mediavilla.
