PPCChat | Letting Go in PPC | 20th January 2026

In this week’s PPCChat discussion, host Julie F. Bacchini invited industry experts to reflect on the PPC practices they’ve already had to move away from in recent years. The conversation also looked ahead—exploring what PPC professionals may need to unlearn as they head into 2026 and beyond.

Q1: What is something that you have had to let go of in how you do PPC in the last few years?
Did you resist the change? Was it difficult to make the change, and if so, why?

With RSAs I had to let go of my perfectly-crafted ad copy and learn to provide good ingredients and let Google make the recipe. @robert_brady

As someone who has been doing PPC for over 20 years, of course my answer is yes. The past few years have been what feels like a constant exercise in reevaluating how I do things/set things up relative to how I have done it and how things work now. Some weeks, it is exhausting. @NeptuneMoon

Letting go of fixed rules of engagement. @navahhopkins

CONTROL -> This is everything the past couple years. Everything is changing, and our world is nothing compared to what it was back in the hay day of digital marketing (printing money with ads). Not to say it is all bad, because we have way more options than was had years ago as well. So many platforms we can market on today vs. 5-10 years ago. Marketing now has become more about seeking out the platforms with your audiences than working Google/Microsoft to basically make a ton of money for your brands. @Ichasse

I would say generally working through letting go of controls that traditionally have been there is the biggest change. For example, keywords and their continuing expansion into what matches with what. @NeptuneMoon

Riffing off of @navahhopkins , I’m letting go of the idea the idea that what works in one account will work in all others. Each account is bespoke in many ways now, and understanding how to make the advertisers unique set of characteristics succeed is where I can provide the most value. @robert_brady

Definitely yes! I’ve found myself letting go of ways of thinking about paid search. As I take new hires and new clients through how search works and search 101, I find myself letting go of a lot! match types, ad copy principles, expectations about how engines work, a whole lot. @JuliaVyse

Yeah, ads, copy, keywords, audiences, etc… We have very little control these days then what we used to have. I still miss regular ETAs, honestly. Those worked better than RSAs and way better than these PMax campaigns. @Ichasse

To add to @Ichasse‘s control theme – letting go of trying to FIGHT or BEAT Google. I think that mentality is just toxic and, frankly, useless. If there’s a change or “upgrade” – okay. Let’s figure this out. Let’s make this work. Instead of “gah I can’t believe it, this sucks, let’s find a hack”, etc. @JyllSaskinGales

@Ichasse, you should have SEEN my ETAS! They were things of beauty. @JuliaVyse

Phrase match everything. Investing too heavily in search discovery. @Chriskostecki

So many will never know the joy of getting an ETA exactly awesome…@NeptuneMoon

I’ve made my peace with the (relative) loss of keywords. What I continue to struggle with is loss of messaging control. The ability to craft a coherent message, in my mind, trumps “AI knowing the best combination of assets at a given moment in time.” I loathe some of the combinations of headlines and descriptions that are assembled. It’s almost like the only way to control things is to create videos that Google (sort of) can’t mess with. At least then, a desired message is delivered. @teabeeshell

I also think just the mindset around testing, too. Google will pick a “winner” SO FAST in your RSA assets. We like to think we still have more input in what goes in ads than we actually do because the system chooses what it wants and ignores things that it deems “not as good” – that is a big change. @NeptuneMoon

The perfect ETA would make your day. Seeing those sweet conversion rates could put a smile on the most grumpy of faces, lol. @Ichasse

@Ichasse is your Alexa playing Memories? @JuliaVyse

I have let go of the notion that running paid ads/ppc means instant revenue like early days…Unfortunately, some still hang on to it. @alimehdimukadam

While we are reminiscing, I miss the value of a good custom intent audience on a network that gives a damn about the publisher quality, but I let that go a while ago. @Chriskostecki

Account structure is SO different now too! @NeptuneMoon

Yes @JyllSaskinGales ! If you don’t want to learn new ways of doing things or being agile, this is not the job for anyone stuck in the past. Those days will never come back, because it is (1) platform profit and then (2) brand profit. Just the way it is. The great news is we have 100 different platforms we can advertise on today, vs. 2-3 platforms years ago to advertise on, so you have options as a marketer to spread the spend around and find what works the best for your clients. @Ichasse

We should really pour one out for SKAGs and other account structure relics… @NeptuneMoon

Seeing things from the very start to now, you cannot help but notice how things have gotten worse (control) and some things have gotten better (choices). When good marketers had control, it was like printing money for our brands. We can still do great, but it takes more effort on our part, and it may take us building that portfolio of different sites to advertise on (Google, Microsoft, Twitch, Amazon, FB/Insta, etc…) @Ichasse

Q2: Are there things that you feel like you should let go in your PPC management, but just can’t or won’t? What keeps you from making that change?

Charging for audits, my time is valuable, and I am more interested in what the client is doing wrong than selling them the fix. @Chriskostecki

I still find it hard to accept all the extraneous matching that happens. I’m not sure if I should just Elsa this more, but I can’t in good conscience let terms that don’t convert keep grabbing traffic. The clients I work with don’t have budget to just let the platform play around indefinitely. @NeptuneMoon

I still try and create project SOPs when building out new accounts, but you really don’t need them these days (unless you run a big agency with junior folks). Everything is changing so fast, that SOPs change every 6 months, and one setup will work awesome for a client and be absolute trash for another. @Ichasse

In a few ways, I still try to “force” ad serving in specific channels, and I worry this is a fragile practice. I’ve had Google Reps tell me it’s okay, but it still feels at risk.
Some examples:

• “Sandwiching” PMax between a high-performing Demand Gen on top and high-performing Search + Shopping campaigns below. PMax gets a disadvantageous bid so that it’s “forced” to find the most efficient remaining inventory
• Opting out of every placement but Discover in Demand Gen campaigns to better compete with Meta, etc. @teabeeshell

Conversion/Event Tracking – Analytics Setup & LP debugging. Everything else is a second order effect from these. @alimehdimukadam

Not getting network kickbacks – we make them a lot of money and often have to squeeze the clients to cover the costs, it’s not like other software relationships. @Chriskostecki

This is a vulnerable question! I think letting go of the idea of expertise that I raised myself on. Clients and partners have so many tools of such high quality, we can no longer be experts in the way we used to be. It’s no longer ‘my nephew read a blog that says you’re wrong’, it’s ‘my curious and optimistic manager ran some ideas through Claude and came up with interesting strategies to build on together’ @Chriskostecki speak for yourself. Here in holdco world, it’s ALL about relationships. @JuliaVyse

@Chriskostecki, I never understood not charging for audits to be honest. I get it with agencies who are trying to win business, but I never try and take a client from another marketer, so I want my audits to be viewed as an alternative point of view or opportunities for the other agency to try if they have not tested it yet. Brands will even have me talk to their current agency and work with them on new ideas. But I am too nice to be a cutthroat salesperson anyway, so that is just not me, lol. @Ichasse

People calling Microsoft ads “Bing ads” and Google ads “AdWords” <_< @navahhopkins

I also think platforms are forcing the issue of “if you want this top-tier placement, you have to also let us put you in a certain amount of garbage placements” and as much as I hate that, it is largely impossible to fight. @NeptuneMoon

The display network on Google is mostly trash, and I worry that YouTube is going that same direction. @robert_brady

I just saw a tweet today from David Herrmann that said some crazy % of Instagram ads were actually on Reels. It was like 90%? @NeptuneMoon

@navahhopkins, if my clients still call it Bing, please forgive me meeting them where they are and doing it too. @JuliaVyse

Imagine if Instagram still showed you your connections’ content, then it would have a more valuable feed. @Chriskostecki

@JuliaVyse All mine still call it Bing. I think they just like the shorter name in emails and talking in general. Bing was just short and sweet. @Ichasse

@robert_brady I’ve hated GDN for a decade and always coach brands to avoid it like the plague. I don’t (yet?) agree about YouTube, largely because video is so vastly different than squeezing display ads anywhere and everywhere. Yes, the quality of content on YouTube can be called into question, but the ads themselves don’t exactly appear on articles like “10 Celebrity Glow Ups That You Won’t Believe!”That and viewability has never been an issue on YouTube. @teabeeshell

@Chriskostecki now it’s text threads. Meta bought WhatsApp for a reason! @JuliaVyse

I am syllables guy, and always look for the least amount to say anything, so it’s always Bing Ads, ironically enough it doesn’t carry over to Google, where I still hold on to AdWords. Apologies to all impacted! @Chriskostecki

AI Overviews and AI Mode are going to downgrade GDN in the coming years. I should say further downgrade… @NeptuneMoon

@NeptuneMoon I was going to say…from landfill to toxic sludge? @teabeeshell

@teabeeshell My biggest beef with YouTube is the sheer volume of views/clicks coming on obvious baby/toddler/kids channels for grown-up offers.  The AI algos should know that a click from that Baby Shark video for an offer around masters degrees is NOT relevant. @robert_brady

I love GDN & YT, but it’s like looking for diamonds in a coal mine. For YT – majority gets spent on coco melon & nursery rhymes if exclusions not in place. And for display, I run a script which autoblocks CTR above 1% And have a script to exclude all non .com domains. @alimehdimukadam

YouTube is only going to grow in importance. I will usually recommend running YouTube through Demand Gen rather than a Video campaign, though, so that the objective can be getting the user OFF of YouTube and onto your site. This helps a lot with the poor quality placements issue. I won’t even let my kid watch cocomelon, I don’t want my clients spending money there!! lol @JyllSaskinGales

Q3: Is there something that seems to have a lot of pressure to let go of in PPC that you will fight to the bitter end to not let go of? Why do you feel that way?

I will keep using negative keywords until I no longer can. The logic of what matches to what still wastes a lot of spend, which is particularly tough on low-volume or lower-budget accounts. @NeptuneMoon

Conversion tracking. @navahhopkins

@NeptuneMoon I’ll be right there on that hill with you. @robert_brady

+1 for negative keywords – They remain the single best steering mechanism within demand capture campaign types.PMax forced my hand in terms of consciously opting out of display inventory, but I’ll continue to avoid as long as possible. @teabeeshell

Oddly, it is nothing for me. I will work with whatever I have available. I may complain and moan a bit, but at the end of the day it is their platform, and they have to manage their revenue over brand revenue.As Microsoft and Google make the platforms more for the huge brands, it just means small->medium businesses can look at other platforms for growth, and that is what we can/will do. As long as L’Oréal and other big brands increase spend by 10%+ each year with the big platforms, the loss of smaller brand spends don’t really matter to them. @Ichasse

Negated audiences – you can pry them from my cold dead hands! @Aaronlevy

Negative, Exclusions, Event/Conv definition, Asset Control Switching off auto enhancements & auto optimizations, Dismissing 50% recommendations Data & Transparency – as granular as possible. @alimehdimukadam

@Aaronlevy Microsoft has you covered. @navahhopkins

I’d say a lot of the AI enhancements. I know they’re newer, but I’m pharma/public sector till the bitter end and these machines – even the smart ones – make bad decisions about assets. @JuliaVyse

I also think the idea that you have to have video is one for me. Do you miss out on some placements without video? Absolutely. Does this mean that you can’t run successful campaigns? Absolutely not.I am also very leery about using AI to create video assets, particularly having a platform’s AI doing that. @NeptuneMoon

You always have to ask the question, “How does this benefit the platform?”. If you do that you can understand the why of a requirement from that platform. The benefit is not necessarily for the brand. How does this increase inventory sales for the platform. Video allows them to sell you more placements on Google’s YouTube platform, which is the real reason they want video assets, and if you don’t create them, they will. @Ichasse

Unfortunately, humans are evolving to have shorter attention spans and have less patience/critical thinking to read website text. Video (for good or ill) will need to be a core part of strategy @navahhopkins

Yes, but a YouTube campaign plus a search campaign works really well in the demand gen/demand capture framework. this all in one stuff can suck it! (in the nicest way possible) @JuliaVyse

Well, if things keep going like they are, it will just be AI reading (which is a dystopian nightmare) @NeptuneMoon

I’m such a boomer! @JuliaVyse

My man @Ichasse is on fire today with wisdom drops. @alimehdimukadam

I ask every brand to create their own video, even if it is just s a simple brand video. You want control of your creative, so create! @Ichasse

@alimehdimukadam as usal @JuliaVyse

@Ichasse always brings it! @NeptuneMoon

Also, I know a video guy if anyone needs…@JuliaVyse

Targeting and messaging. @Chriskostecki

Q4: Is there something that you wish would move into the category of “we should let this go” in PPC that is not currently in that category? Why do you think this?

Google first marketing strategies (and before anyone calls bias, I’ve been saying this for over a decade). Not every brand is well-suited to Google’s auction prices or ad types, and that’s ok @navahhopkins

The agonizing over every sitelink and callout and structured snippet and and and. Look at the message overall. Is the copy factual and engaging? does the extension/asset bring flavour or value? good. Don’t let it go’ on quality messaging, but please test and evaluate rather than hyperfixate. @JuliaVyse

“One size fits most” PPC strategy. Also, AI being the answer to our PPC prayers. Tread carefully & deliberately, friends. @NeptuneMoon

1: best practices “best practices” in the AI-driven world lead (have already led?) to an untenable degree of sameness
2: I’m gonna say it – calls to action in copy. “buy now” and “contact us today” are wastes of space. @Aaronlevy

Let go of sales people masquerading as account strategists sending emails. @alimehdimukadam

And love @NeptuneMoon‘s point about AI being the start point for everything. it’s extremely valuable, but it’s a tool not a solution. @Aaronlevy

There is no best practice in our industry even for brands in the same category. I have worked with several women’s apparel brands, and I swear all the mixes of options are different on what works. I wish it was all the same, but that is just not the case. You have to test and lean into what works for every brand and know that no account is going to look the same with the mix of campaign types or even creative types. @Ichasse

A 5-7 day “learning phase” – This should be directly tied to spend/impressions, not the lunar calendar. @teabeeshell

There are no best practices. It’s all context dependent on account, business age & maturity, data capability, budget, technical prowess, industry, etc. In fact I bet you would see a lot more gains if you let go of best practices from one industry and apply something from another – lot of upside, and that’s what makes agencies valuable coz we can do that. @alimehdimukadam

Q5: What else do you think we will have to learn to let go of in PPC in 2026 and beyond? And how do you feel about it?

Websites as the main way of doing business. @navahhopkins

I think keywords as direct targeting options are goners in the not too distant future. And I do not like that, because there is no single indicator of intent that is stronger than what a person asks a search engine for. @NeptuneMoon

Siloes & Resistance to change. It’s high time we break down the siloes and look at ads/ppc being a part of the entire digital marketing machinery. @alimehdimukadam

It’s performance review season, so I’m feeling dark: my career. I think we’re going to be fractional specialists all over the place, in-house, in small shops, in big cos. Our work is going to look very different very soon. Your first client will need to pay for your AI subscription. Your next client is cash flow. @JuliaVyse

I also think that data will get less available to advertisers. OpenAI is talking about only showing the most basic of stats to advertisers. If they can get away with that, other platforms will probably take a look at what they share. The less we can see, the more we have to just “trust” the platform to do what is best for us/advertisers. And that’s pretty terrifying. @NeptuneMoon

Attribution – It’s a concept problem I don’t believe can be solved. @teabeeshell

This is a tough one to verbalise, but it is AI. Not how you use AI, but understanding the platforms are using it so things like your website SEO are SUPER important, because that is what the AI tools are using to identify if your site is worthy of the traffic. But it is really everything, so making sure your customer reviews are solid on the review sites, SEO, site structure, conversion rates on the site, etc, have to all be on point. This stuff is outside our creative and audience selection, which is also super important. Our jobs have gotten more complicated instead of less, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. @Ichasse

I am going to add my little reminder here to make sure you have your ducks in a row when it comes to the use of AI in your PPC work. Chat about it with your business insurance agent and your attorney to make sure you’re not putting yourself at risk in ways you don’t realise! I am working on some content in this area to help you know what to talk about too! @NeptuneMoon

Some of you mentioned this, but it builds on my other note. We have to be marketers, not just digital advertisers for all the reasons I said. We need to at least have a basic understanding of all the other aspects of the site that can impact our dollars spent. This even means understanding if Shopify or Magento are going to be optimal sites for a company to build their site store on for AI tools to know what we are selling. We have to broaden our skillset beyond just ads. @Ichasse

If you’re a Claude convert, and you really like it for your specialty, please put a declaration IN YOUR CONTRACT to expressly share that info. Don’t give any room for clients to expect AI as a separate item. @JuliaVyse

Control over tactics and optimization by human teams. I see us PPC Managers as orchestrating and managing agentic teams coming in the next year or two (an agent for copy, agent for testing, agent for bid/budget mgmt, etc). For now, we’ll be interpreting analysis and recommendations for clients, but give it a few more years, and our UVP will primarily be proprietary agentic management workflows & the ability to pitch, build, and implement strategy. @timmhalloran

Conversions as the only goal. Yes, performance marketing is here to stay. But there’s value in awareness. There’s value in consideration. Not every dollar has to be measured by CPA/ROAS. Maybe just 95% of dollars. @JyllSaskinGales

@JyllSaskinGales Maybe bump that up to 98%, lol. But yeah, I agree! @Ichasse

PPCChat Participants

• Robert Brady @robert_brady
• Julie F Bacchini @NeptuneMoon
• Navah Hopkins @navahhopkins
• Lawrence Chasse @Ichasse
• Julia Vyse @JuliaVyse
• Jyll Saskin Gales @JyllSaskinGales
• Chris Kostecki @Chriskostecki
• Travis @teabeeshell
• Ali Mehdi Mukadam @alimehdimukadam
• Aaron Levy @Aaronlevy
• Tim Halloran @timmhalloran

Related Links

• Digital Ads Benchmark Report by Tinuiti | Q4 2025 | Key Highlights
• Why Bidding on Your Own Branded Keywords is Essential?
• Google Ads AI Prompts: Templates for Ad Copy, Keywords, and Optimization