The three leading ad platforms–Google, Amazon, and Facebook–all send out ad notifications about optimization. Here’s why you shouldn’t trust them!

What are you supposed to do with ad notifications? Do you follow their advice? Ignore them?

Short answer: it depends.

The long answer makes up the rest of this post. Read on to find out why listening to your account’s ad notifications isn’t necessarily black or white.

You don’t want to screw up your account.

We’re trained to respond to notifications. They’re on our phones and our computers. 

Clearing the little red dots is expected, so it’s no surprise that when you see ad notification on your account, the first thing you want to do is make them disappear.

The logic: clear the ad notifications so that my account is optimized.

But remember, the ad platforms don’t have the same goals you do. They aren’t interested in your cost-per-click or click-through-rate. They have one purpose and one purpose only, and it’s the reason Google, Amazon, and Facebook are some of the most valuable companies on the planet.

The reason ad notifications aren’t trustworthy.

The purpose of the various ad platforms is to make money.

The entire ad ecosystem exists to monetize their networks, create more value, and drive their stock price up.

So ask yourself: is there any way the various platforms are showing ad notifications so they can get my account to spend more money?

Types of ad notifications.

There are numerous types of ad notifications. All of them are worthy of investigation, but just because you look into an issue doesn’t require any action.

Google

Two types of ad notifications we don’t mind ignoring on Google: eligible (limited by budget) and T.O.S. (top of search).

Depending on our strategy and budget constraints, these can have a constant presence in our dashboard.

For example, Google wants you to spend money on T.O.S. If you bid a high amount, and your competitors bid a high amount, you could create a bidding war that drives the cost sky-high!

A.M.S. (Amazon)

Amazon is notorious for not spending the full budget. But, when it does, an email AND a dose of red text are there to remind you that you are out of budget.

These ad notifications are ok. In fact, for A.M.S. ads, this is good! It means you are getting the system to spend all your money. If you have budgeted correctly, this is not a problem at all. Ignore those ad notifications.

Amazon wants you to increase your budget so they can show your product to more potential customers. Larger budgets are great if you have the numbers to back up your reasons for raising them in the first place.

Facebook

There has been an increase in Facebook ad notifications. A recent update to the dashboard includes a new designation under the “Ad Set” tab.

It describes where your ads are in the learning phase; a term Facebook uses to describe your ads’ optimization.

When there aren’t enough optimization events (most commonly clicks, but they could be anything from sign-ups to downloads), the ad notifications say “learning limited.”

If you notice a drop in performance, visit their recommendations. If not, determine if their suggestion is genuinely the best option for you moving forward.

What should I do about an Amazon advertising budget email?

Amazon advertising budget emails show up when campaigns run out of budget. Full budget spend is a great sign, since A.M.S. ads are notorious for not spending.

The risk of ignoring the email, and any other ad notifications about budget, is that your money is spent early in the day, leaving potential customers without the chance to buy your product at night.

Determine if your budget can be tweaked to include more money in the campaign that is performing well. If not, thank your lucky stars you hit upon an ad Amazon has decided is worth serving!

Why are my Facebook ads learning limited?

Facebook ads are learning limited if there aren’t enough optimization events. The designation can occur because your audience needs changing, or your budget is too low.

Serving Facebook ads on a low budget is a surefire way to get the “learning limited” designation, but if there isn’t any wiggle room on the budget, it’s ok to leave them with that status.

One thing we always do is take a fresh look at is the cost-per-click for our various audiences. As long as they are within the tolerable range, we ignore the designation.

If the cost-per-click is creeping up, we revisit the setup of the ad sets. The ad notifications don’t play a role in our decision-making process; these steps would be taken based on the numbers, not anything Facebook says.

Is it ok to ignore Google ads’ red text?

Ignoring red text in the Google ads dashboard isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The size of the budget, the cost-per-click, and the click-through-rate all factor into the decision to take action whenever the ad notifications pop up or ignore them.

If your numbers are what you expect, why listen to the suggestions? Google’s algorithm is a tool, one that requires a human operator to optimize. Remember, Google wants you to spend money.

Google serves up more ad notification than any other platform. It’s because they also offer the most data.

Wasn’t it Uncle Ben who said, “With great data comes great responsibility?”

Stick to the plan.

The number one rule when it comes to ad notifications: stick to your plan. 

If the numbers are looking good, don’t change course. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

If the numbers aren’t quite where you think they should be, take a look at the setup, regardless of the ad platform.

The worst-case scenario for ad notifications about a budget is that your ads are served too early in the day. You’re getting clicks! Now it’s just a matter of adjusting things to make clicks arrive throughout the day, without spending any more money.

Need help?

You know what’s best for the accounts of you and your clients. Take ad notifications from companies trying to get you to spend more money with a grain of salt.

Your goals determine your optimization strategies. Does the system know what you’re trying to do?

Algorithmic Global runs ads on all three of the big platforms–Google, Amazon, and Facebook. If you want to learn more about navigating your ad notifications or want to discuss ways we can work together to optimize your ads, reach out via our contact page.