Google Ads gives marketers plenty of buttons to push, settings to adjust, and recommendations to apply. And when performance dips, the temptation to start changing everything is very real.

But some optimizations can actually make campaigns perform worse.

WordStream’s Michelle Morgan identifies six common mistakes marketers make while trying to improve their Google Ads results, from chasing platform scores to making constant bidding adjustments.

Here’s what to watch out for:

• Chasing optimization scores. A high Google Ads optimization score doesn’t guarantee better business results. Evaluate recommendations against your actual campaign goals before applying them.
• Changing bids too aggressively. Frequent adjustments can disrupt automated bidding. Morgan recommends allowing around 14 days after major strategy changes and making smaller target adjustments gradually.
• Oversegmenting campaigns. Splitting campaigns into too many small groups can limit the data available to automated bidding systems. Consolidate where it makes sense.
• Underusing Responsive Search Ads. Avoid unnecessarily restricting Google’s ability to test different headline and description combinations. Use pinning when messaging requirements genuinely call for it.
• Pausing campaigns too quickly. Low initial performance doesn’t always mean a campaign has failed. Consider learning periods, conversion delays, and the amount of data available before making decisions.
• Tracking too many low-value conversions. If every minor interaction is treated as a primary goal, automated bidding may optimize toward actions that don’t contribute much to the business.

The lesson? More changes don’t automatically mean more progress. Sometimes a campaign needs better data, a clearer goal, or enough time to show whether an adjustment is working.

Head to WordStream for more.

Going live to sell products is fun. Keeping up with all those orders? Maybe less so.

SoldLive helps Shopify sellers turn Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok livestreams into shopping experiences. Viewers can claim products through comments or texts and receive checkout links automatically, without you having to chase down every order.

It also offers product overlays, cart holds, waitlists, and automated notifications to keep things running smoothly. Pretty handy when you’d rather focus on showing off your products than managing a flood of messages.

States are taking social media regulation into their own hands, and the changes could have major implications for platforms, users, and advertisers.

From teen screen time limits and age verification to algorithmic feeds and restrictions on addictive design, new state laws and legal agreements are reshaping how social media platforms operate.

In this episode of The Daily Carnage Show, Shannon breaks down the growing wave of social media regulation, including Meta and TikTok’s agreements with states, New York’s Safe for Kids Act, and Florida’s push for stricter restrictions.

🎙️ Don’t miss “States vs. Social Media” now streaming on:

• YouTube
• Spotify
• Amazon Music
• Apple Music

The Daily Carnage reaches decision-makers at brands, agencies, SaaS companies, and startups who are actively researching solutions, evaluating vendors, and making purchasing decisions every day.

Now, we’re opening up a limited number of Friends of The Daily Carnage partnerships for brands that want to build a consistent presence with our audience, not just run a one-off ad.

Friends get discounted sponsorship inventory, priority booking, first access to unsold placements, bonus opportunities, and performance reviews throughout the year.

Partnership levels include dedicated newsletter features, premium placements, podcast pre-rolls, classified ads, social promotion, and more.

Past sponsors include Canva, HubSpot, Salesforce, Mailchimp, Marketing Brew, and dozens of other leading brands.

Interested in reaching marketers who actually click? Reach out to get started!

Let’s take this party outside of the inbox, Carnies!

Connect and network with over 20,000 marketers to get (and give) advice, feedback, support, and LOLs.

• 💬 Join r/TheDailyCarnage on Reddit
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😎 See ya there.

Struggling to find the perfect holiday gift? Apparently, there’s a school for that now.

Target has recruited D’Arcy Carden (The Good Place) as Chief Giftologist for its fictional Academy of Giftology. In the “Orientation Tour” spot, she guides a group of eager students through a school dedicated entirely to the art of gift-giving.

The curriculum includes Giftonomics, a Kidology Lab, and even a Department of People Who Want Nothing. Because we all know at least one person who makes holiday shopping unnecessarily difficult.

Rit, 1971