How to make Google Ads work with less spend in 2026

Описание: If your paid budget is shrinking, every click suddenly feels personal. And when Google Ads keeps changing, it’s easy to lose confidence in what’s actually driving results.

In this session, Joe is joined by Rebecca Pilkington, Head of PPC at Exposure Ninja, to break down what modern PPC looks like in 2026 - from fixing tracking and improving signal quality, to using guardrails, feeding lead quality back into Google, and deciding when to go manual vs letting automation learn.

Key topics include:
How to audit the last 90 days to spot wasted spend in locations, devices, audiences, and non-converting queries
The tracking essentials in 2026 including GA4, consent mode v2, server-side tracking, and why it all impacts performance
How to feed offline lead quality and revenue back into Google Ads using offline conversions and enhanced conversions for leads
What AI Max actually is (and isn’t) plus when to avoid it if your landing pages aren’t strong
How to approach a slashed budget by stripping campaigns back to high-intent keywords, tighter themes, and better landing pages
What to look for when spam leads appear and how to troubleshoot match types, intent, and optimisation signals

Timestamps:
00:00 Finding wasted spend fast
03:30 Efficiency and signal quality in 2026
07:20 Tracking changes you can’t ignore
10:50 Feeding CRM data back into Google
15:55 What AI Max does in search
20:45 Using PPC for full-funnel brand impact
24:40 How to rebuild when budgets get cut
32:00 Starting PPC without big datasets
41:50 When to trust automation
53:10 Handling spam leads and learning periods
57:05 Choosing the right PPC partner

Watch / listen:
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5QvmFdx...

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