📉 Karen’s Optimization Score Dropped — Here’s What Happened When She Accepted a Google Ads Recommendation

Karen runs a Google Search Ads campaign. Lately, she noticed a dip in performance — fewer clicks, lower impressions, and an overall drop in conversions. Curious, she checks the Optimization Score.

To her surprise, it’s much lower than it was a month ago.

So, what does she do?

She accepts one of Google’s optimization recommendations.

Let’s explore what happens next — and what this means for you as an advertiser.

🔍 What Is Google Ads Optimization Score?

Google Ads’ Optimization Score is a real-time percentage (0–100%) that reflects how well your campaigns are set up to perform based on Google’s best practices.

You’ll find it in the Recommendations tab, and it’s constantly updated based on:

• Account structure
• Keywords and targeting
• Bidding strategies
• Ad copy and extensions
• Conversion tracking

A higher score often means better setup and potential performance.

📉 Why Karen’s Score Dropped

There are several reasons a score might decrease:

• Budget changes
• New competitors entering the auction
• Decline in ad relevance or CTR
• Outdated bidding strategies
• Missed updates to features or automation tools

In Karen’s case, the campaign wasn’t adapting to these changes — so Google flagged it with a lower score.

✅ What Happens When You Accept a Recommendation?

When Karen accepts a valid optimization recommendation, such as:

• Switching to automated bidding,
• Adding responsive search ads,
• Implementing new ad extensions, or
• Removing redundant keywords,

👉 Her Optimization Score improves.

That’s because each accepted recommendation directly contributes to the total score calculation. It signals to Google that her campaign is becoming more aligned with current best practices.

The result? Her optimization score increases — and performance may begin to improve.

📊 What This Means for You

If your optimization score has dropped and performance is lagging:

1. Review the Recommendations tab — don’t ignore it.
2. Apply only the suggestions that align with your campaign goals.
3. Dismiss irrelevant ones (this also helps refine your score).
4. Track the performance changes in CTR, conversions, and CPC after applying changes.

💡 Final Thoughts

Karen’s quick action — accepting a relevant Google Ads recommendation — led to an immediate boost in her campaign’s Optimization Score and potentially helped reverse her downward trend.

Moral of the story?
Keep an eye on your Optimization Score and treat it like a campaign health meter.

Need help figuring out which recommendations to accept and which to ignore?

📞 Let’s chat or explore my Google Ads Case Study to see how smart optimization drives real results.