Vent: I am in over my head…

[PortlandWilliam]

First of all, reach out via PM or look into the many communities both on here and discord for support. That sounds stressful and I’m sorry you’re experiencing it.

Second, was there a rule in place for campaigns to unpause automatically on a certain date? It’s either a rule within Google Ads or a script within your system, or if you’re really unlucky, an API that activates your campaigns.

Tools and Settings icon. Under Bulk Actions go first to Rules, then Scripts. What’s in there?

Reach out any time.

[EathanM]

Google will automatically pause campaigns if an account is past due. Making a payment will then automatically un-pause those campaigns. Is that a possible answer?

It may also be possible the two campaigns were created with a delayed start date. Maybe there was a planned promotion, or maybe the outgoing person left behind some stinkers.

I am not saying this is likely, but I can imagine someone who was let go, if there was any resentment and/or animosity, leaving behind a few sleeper campaigns to stick it to their former employer.

Just do a thorough audit, and make sure everything is clean and tidy.

[FlyGuy_2Hundy]

Hey, I am actually really sorry for what you’re going through. Just from your explanation it sounds really overwhelming.

I’m still learning Google Ads myself so I don’t know how much I can help here. But, I just want to say the fact that you’re a quick learner and aware of the issues probably makes it more likely that you will succeed where your predecessor failed.

As far as why the ad spend happened, you could have turned it on accidentally. Or, it could have been a glitch… maybe. Either way, the good thing is the spend was so small, it won’t be noticable in the overall budget.

It does sound like you could benefit from a mentor. And, you’re aware if it, which is also a reall good thing. A lot of ppl fail bc their not aware of their own needs, weaknesses, etc. If I were you and I was this stressed out about my job standing, I would absolutely seek out a mentor – even outside the org which is what it sounds like you need to do. I’d go on LinkedIn and ask somone in the same role as you with lots of experience at a similar type of company that is bigger but a non competitor (so there is no risk of purposely steering you in the wrong direction or snooping into your company’s practices).

I would also try to set up meetings with everyone your accountable to in your org and ask for clear expectstions for your position (if they weren’t given already). I would also ask why the last person in your position failed and what you could do different.

[Logos_of_Korvus]

Heya. I think, like the title states, that you probably did need to vent a bit. I understand how that can be.

It sounds like you really want/need this job. You took it, presumedly with the confidence and know-how to do so. Trust that.

First thing first, I cannot help you with the error you mentioned. Shit happens. Especially on messy accounts. It sounds like its a miniscule loss of budget, so maybe don’t sweat it. If you feel the need to be honest, try to be strategic with it.

Going forward, finish up your audit, make a list to keep track of your tasks and objectives. It sounds like you will need to restructure the campaigns a bit. Maybe developing a campaign and ad group naming convention, making notes, etc, will help you to handle the job. For this, it might be helpful to be honest. The account is a mess and without notes you will need to make sense of it yourself. That will take time.

I don’t know if this helpful, but I hope it is at least a little bit. DM me if you need to vent a bit more.

[ivan_veen]

Everything is going to be ok. Don’t panic and dont go running to your boss saying that you spent 190$.

Just to put it into perspective, we’re running ads for a global brand. I wont mention it but you know it for sure. One of the country accounts is spending a few million $ a month. The customer wanted to test some single word keywords in broad.

We had a trainee book those keywords on a friday afternoon. He was a cocky type so he did not tell anyone. They spent over 300k extra over the weekend. Not great.

Unless your company is a really bad place you will not loose your job over $190. You will get better and you someday you will laugh about it.

[therightansweristaco]

Here’s an idea. Before you deal with a campaign write down the budget and then change it to $0.01 when you’re working. When you’re done you can change the budget back and ensure it is paused right away. Just an idea!

Edit: I should mention that this can throw a Smart Bidding strategy into a learning phase but since the ones you’re auditing are paused already that shouldn’t matter.

[No_Percentage7306]

The issues you have at home are very real, and I hope things improve for you.

At work: it sounds like your perception doesn’t align with the reality of the situation.

We should expect to make mistakes. It wasn’t your first, it won’t be your last. Don’t let something guaranteed to happen bother you. You’ve learnt from it and you’re a little bit wiser. That’s the experience that gets you paid more down the line.

And that’s all assuming you even made the mistake. If you did, it’s $190. A drop in the ocean against the expense of hiring you in the first place + the budget for the year. Nobody’s getting fired for that.

Now, I appreciate it’s all easier said. Anxiety defies logic most of the time but you can prevent getting more anxious over being anxious. You can learn to recognise it for was it is (our silly monkey brains) and look at it from a distance.

[PreSonusAmp]

Check change history?

Also, there might be a ton of low hanging fruit if campaigns are in a poor state! Something to consider. I also recommend choosing a few things you want to learn and going on YouTube. Easy to get overwhelmed if you just start reading blogs with no direction ????

[JaGunners47]

Does anyone else have access to the account?

[designer_by_day]

Sorry you’re going through all of this OP. Sounds like you’ve checked everything and I’ve no idea how you’d have enabled those campaigns! Do you have your own work login or would it be a login shared with the previous person that worked there? If it’s the latter, you could quite easily blag it that it was an automated rule or campaign deadline occurring (have you checked change history for when the campaigns were built and whether any deadlines appear there?). It’s such a small amount of budget spent and assuming the campaigns will be enabled soon anyway, I doubt anybody would notice!

[dankhodor2000]

The 190 spent doesn’t matter in the long run. What matters is that your company hired you and left you no support system or a mentor to learn from. That’s such a huge red flag. I’d be on YouTube for hours a day learning about Google ads and also keep my eyes open for another job.

[Legitimate_Ad785]

Relax we are running ads not saving life. If u ever need help with anything u can PM me here.

[YourFriendlyPostman]

Can’t help too much with your PPC question but I can say, I (and I’m sure everyone else reading) can feel the level of anxiety you’re putting yourself through. I went through something similar in my first sales position and I placed all these unnecessary expectations on myself that I lost a tonne of weight because my mental health deteriorated.

The best tip is if you panic and over-apologize or just make it obvious that you’re an anxious person then the VP/the company will start to doubt you. It’s OKAY you don’t know how it happened. You’re allowed to make mistakes. $190 is nothing compared to the overall budget. IF they ask, you can say that you needed to run a quick test to find t he right targeting, CTR, impression, etc!

**HOWEVER**, if you’re confident even though you made a mistake and have the right attitude to improve in the role, people are more likely to like you and look past your mistakes.

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TLDR, take care of your mental health first!

[wrbIII]

I have always preferred to launch new campaigns when I take on a new account. It is easy to miss small details in someone else’s work that might sabotage your efforts. Make your own plan, launch it with confidence, and move forward with a little optimism.