{"id":27247,"date":"2026-01-22T00:25:59","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T18:55:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.karooya.com\/blog\/?p=27247"},"modified":"2026-01-22T00:26:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T18:56:00","slug":"ppcchat-letting-go-in-ppc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.karooya.com\/blog\/ppcchat-letting-go-in-ppc\/","title":{"rendered":"PPCChat | Letting Go in PPC | 20th January 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In this week\u2019s PPCChat discussion, host Julie F. Bacchini<\/a> invited industry experts to reflect on the PPC practices they\u2019ve already had to move away from in recent years. The conversation also looked ahead\u2014exploring what PPC professionals may need to unlearn as they head into 2026 and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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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?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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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<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Letting go of fixed rules of engagement. @navahhopkins<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Riffing off of @navahhopkins<\/a> , 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<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeah, ads, copy, keywords, audiences, etc\u2026 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<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To add to @Ichasse<\/a>‘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<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

@Ichasse<\/a>, you should have SEEN my ETAS! They were things of beauty. @JuliaVyse<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phrase match everything. Investing too heavily in search discovery. @Chriskostecki<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So many will never know the joy of getting an ETA exactly awesome\u2026@NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also think just the mindset around testing, too. Google will pick a \u201cwinner\u201d 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 \u201cnot as good\u201d – that is a big change. @NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

@Ichasse<\/a> is your Alexa playing Memories? @JuliaVyse<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have let go of the notion that running paid ads\/ppc means instant revenue like early days\u2026Unfortunately, some still hang on to it. @alimehdimukadam<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Account structure is SO different now too! @NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes @JyllSaskinGales<\/a> ! 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<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We should really pour one out for SKAGs and other account structure relics\u2026 @NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2026) @Ichasse<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Q2: Are there things that you feel like you should let go in your PPC management, but just can\u2019t or won\u2019t? What keeps you from making that change?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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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<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I still find it hard to accept all the extraneous matching that happens. I\u2019m not sure if I should just Elsa this more, but I can\u2019t in good conscience let terms that don\u2019t convert keep grabbing traffic. The clients I work with don\u2019t have budget to just let the platform play around indefinitely. @NeptuneMoon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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:<\/p>\n\n\n\n