TL;DR key takeaways
- Before changing campaigns, fix your tracking. Poor tracking undermines everything else.
- Modern PPC is about feeding high-quality data back into Google Ads, not micromanaging bids.
- Enhanced conversions for leads allow you to optimise for revenue and qualified leads, not just form fills.
- If budgets are cut, strip campaigns back to high-intent keywords and proven revenue drivers.
- Wasted spend often hides in locations, devices and non-converting keyword themes. Audit the last 90 days closely.
- AI tools like Performance Max and AI Max can work well, but only if your landing pages and data are strong.
- Creative and messaging are now major optimisation levers across all paid platforms.
- Move away from last-click thinking. Paid media usually plays a multi-touch role in conversions.
Table of Contents
- TL;DR key takeaways
- Introduction
- Core Themes and Insights
- Practical Takeaways
- Common Challenges or Nuances Discussed
- Q&A Highlights
- Final Reflection
Introduction
Budgets are under pressure.
Marketing spend is being scrutinised more than ever, and paid media often sits first in the firing line.
In this session, Joe Glover is joined by Rebecca Pilkington, Head of PPC at Exposure Ninja, to explore how to make Google Ads and paid media budgets work harder in 2026.
The conversation moves beyond surface-level tactics and focuses on something more fundamental: data quality, tracking infrastructure and strategic clarity.
Because in modern PPC, efficiency starts long before you press ‘launch’.
Core Themes and Insights
1. PPC in 2026 is about signal quality, not control
Rebecca describes how much the paid search landscape has changed over the past decade.
Campaign types have evolved. Interfaces have changed. Automation and AI now play a central role.
But the underlying principle remains:
You can still make strong, data-led decisions, if the data is good.
Modern PPC requires marketers to feed high-quality signals back into platforms like Google Ads. That includes:
- Offline sales data
- CRM updates
- Revenue values
- Qualified lead stages
Instead of manually adjusting bids all day, the job has shifted towards ensuring the machine learns from the right inputs.
As Rebecca puts it, you need to feed the machine.
2. Tracking is the foundation
If there is one theme that runs through the entire session, it is this: fix your tracking first.
Recent changes have made this more complex:
- Consent mode updates
- Server-side tracking
- Google Tag configuration
- GA4 replacing Universal Analytics
A common issue Rebecca sees when auditing accounts is a single, basic tracking setup acting as the primary bidding signal.
That is rarely enough.
More advanced setups include:
- GA4 integration
- Enhanced conversions
- Enhanced conversions for leads
- CRM data fed back into Google Ads
Enhanced conversions for leads allow advertisers to optimise towards qualified leads or closed revenue, not just raw form submissions.
That distinction matters.
Ten unqualified leads are not better than two high-value clients.
3. Budget cuts require sharper focus
Joe introduces a scenario where a company’s marketing budget drops significantly year-on-year.
Rebecca’s approach is clear:
Strip it back.
When budgets are tight:
- Focus on bottom-of-funnel, high-intent keywords
- Remove wasted spend on non-converting locations and devices
- Audit the last 90 days for underperforming segments
- Tighten keyword themes and ad copy alignment
She describes looking at accounts and finding thousands spent with no meaningful return.
In these cases, old-school precision can outperform broad automation.
When revenue is protected and proven, you can then rebuild upwards into a fuller funnel strategy.
4. Performance Max and AI Max are powerful, but not magic
Campaign types such as Performance Max and AI Max rely heavily on:
- Quality landing pages
- Strong creative
- Clean tracking
- Clear negative keyword guardrails
AI Max, for example, can dynamically generate ad copy and select landing pages based on signals.
But if your website is poorly structured or unoptimised, the automation will amplify those weaknesses.
Automation does not fix weak fundamentals.
It scales them.
5. Creative is now a core optimisation lever
Across Google Ads, Meta and LinkedIn, targeting is becoming broader.
Platforms increasingly push advertisers towards:
- Automated bidding
- Broad targeting
- Advantage-style campaigns
That leaves creative and messaging as key control levers.
Rebecca highlights:
- Strong hooks
- Clear pain points
- Distinct USPs
- Video creative where possible
If everyone uses AI-generated copy, ads become indistinguishable.
The brands that win invest in clarity and personality.
6. Move beyond last-click attribution
Perhaps the most strategic insight from the session is about attribution.
Paid media rarely operates in isolation.
Conversions often involve multiple touchpoints:
- Paid search
- Organic
- Direct
- Referrals
Evaluating PPC purely on one-day, last-click performance ignores its role in the broader journey.
Modern paid strategy requires a data-driven attribution mindset.
Not just counting leads, but understanding influence.
Practical Takeaways
If you want to improve your Google Ads strategy in 2026:
- Audit your tracking setup before changing campaigns.
- Implement enhanced conversions for leads if possible.
- Feed revenue and CRM data back into Google Ads.
- Run a 90-day wasted spend audit.
- Tighten campaigns if budgets are cut.
- Test AI-driven campaigns in controlled environments.
- Invest in better creative and messaging.
- Evaluate performance through a multi-touch lens.
Start with infrastructure. Then optimise.
Common Challenges or Nuances Discussed
“I do not trust AI in PPC.”
That tension is common.
Rebecca recommends:
- Running small test environments
- Protecting core revenue campaigns
- Using strong negative keyword lists
- Improving creative rather than micromanaging bids
AI is not all or nothing. It is a tool that requires boundaries.
“We are getting spam leads.”
Common causes include:
- Poor tracking signals
- Weak negative keyword match types
- Optimising for quantity over quality
Google needs to be told what a qualified lead looks like.
Without that feedback loop, automation will optimise for the wrong outcomes.
“We have just implemented server-side tracking. What now?”
Let it run.
Allow campaigns to stabilise and re-learn before making aggressive changes.
Short-term fluctuations are normal after structural tracking updates.
Q&A Highlights
- PPC strategy should begin with understanding customer behaviour and platform fit, not jumping straight into keywords.
- Even small budgets can work if tightly focused on specific geographies or services.
- Agencies should not promise fixed lead numbers without understanding your business. Strategy must be tailored.
- Creative can act as targeting, especially in paid social campaigns.
Final Reflection
Paid media in 2026 is less about pushing buttons and more about building systems.
The mechanics have changed. The fundamentals have not.
If you understand your audience, feed platforms high-quality data, and evaluate performance beyond last-click, paid ads can still deliver strong returns.
But it starts with discipline.
And good tracking.