Google Ads Under Scrutiny Again as Advertisers Raise Questions Over Transparency and ROI

Fresh concerns over platform oversight and performance metrics spark renewed calls for third-party audits, with some businesses claiming millions in lost ad spend.

A new wave of concern is sweeping across the enterprise advertising sector as growing numbers of organisations question the performance accountability of Google Ads, the tech giant’s flagship advertising platform.

The scrutiny comes as industry watchdogs, analysts, and digital experts cite inconsistencies in reported metrics and allege a lack of transparency in how advertising budgets are being allocated—particularly when automated bidding and AI-driven ad placement are involved.

This renewed attention follows the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the European Commission continuing their long-standing investigations into Google’s dominance in online advertising. But for many brands, the issue is closer to home: billions are spent annually on paid campaigns, yet many decision-makers still struggle to identify wasted ad spend or determine exactly where their budgets are going.

Hidden in Plain Sight?

Despite the scale of the issue, inefficiencies in ad spend often go unnoticed—especially in large-scale accounts where teams manage thousands of keywords, audiences and bid strategies.

“Advertisers are often flying blind,” said Dan Trotter, Director at UK-based digital marketing agency PPC Geeks. “The dashboard tells you what you want to hear—clicks, impressions, cost per lead. But the real question is whether those leads convert, and whether you're paying five times more than you should be. In many cases, the answer is yes.”

According to a 2024 report from Forrester, enterprise-level advertisers waste an estimated 25–35% of their Google Ads budget on underperforming or irrelevant traffic. For a company spending £500,000 annually, that can mean more than £150,000 lost to inefficiency.

“These aren't just numbers,” added Trotter. “They're entire campaign lines targeting the wrong users, landing pages that don’t convert, or bid strategies that favour Google’s bottom line over yours.”

Regulatory Ripples

These concerns come at a time when the tech industry faces increasing oversight. In late 2024, the CMA launched a formal review into Google’s ad exchange operations, citing concerns that “market forces alone may not be sufficient to ensure competitive outcomes.”

The European Commission followed with a statement indicating it may require Google to divest parts of its advertising business—raising the stakes in what could become a defining regulatory moment for digital marketing in the West.

Although much of the media attention has focused on anti-competitive behaviour, insiders say the more immediate concern for advertisers is the lack of third-party verification and the limited access to raw performance data.

“Google effectively marks its own homework,” said one advertising compliance consultant, speaking on condition of anonymity due to NDAs. “Without external audits, you're trusting a black box.”

AI, Automation… and Ambiguity

The rise of Performance Max campaigns—Google's all-in-one AI-powered ad product—has only deepened uncertainty.

Launched in 2021, Performance Max enables advertisers to run a single campaign across Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail and Maps. It’s designed to simplify campaign management, but many argue it creates more opacity than clarity.

“The automation is impressive, but the reporting is vague,” said Trotter. “We’ve reviewed dozens of Performance Max accounts where businesses had no idea which audience segments were actually converting. That’s dangerous when you're spending at scale.”

He continued: “We’re not anti-Google. But we are pro-transparency. You wouldn’t invest millions into a hedge fund without regular independent audits. The same logic should apply here.”

High Stakes for Big Brands

For larger organisations, even small inefficiencies can have a compounding effect. A global retailer with a £10 million paid media budget may appear to be performing well—until an audit reveals that £2–3 million of that spend is driving negligible or zero return.

This is where businesses often realise the importance of neutral, third-party audits, says Trotter.

“We recently worked with a client in the financial services sector who was running multiple international campaigns across Search and Display. On the surface, things looked fine. But when we dug into the data, we found entire ad groups targeting audiences completely outside their demographic profile. That discovery alone freed up over £100,000 in quarterly budget.”

Complexity Isn’t the Problem — Complacency Is

Many enterprise advertisers assume that having an in-house team or a large agency partner means their campaigns are airtight. But as campaign structures grow in complexity—spanning languages, regions, and platforms—the potential for wasted budget grows exponentially.

"Complacency is a silent cost," said Trotter. "We've audited accounts managed by global agencies, and even they miss things. Not because they’re careless, but because no one’s looking at the whole picture objectively."

A Turning Point?

The conversation is shifting. In boardrooms and budget meetings, marketing leaders are beginning to ask tougher questions: Are we getting full value from Google Ads? Is automation helping or hurting us? What are we missing?

Industry experts suggest that 2025 could mark a turning point, particularly if regulatory bodies enforce stricter rules around ad platform transparency.

In the meantime, many believe the solution lies not in abandoning the platform—but in independent verification and smarter scrutiny.

“Google Ads isn’t broken,” said Trotter. “But it’s being used inefficiently. With a proper audit, many businesses can recover six or even seven figures annually. It’s just a question of whether they’re ready to ask the hard questions.”

The Bottom Line

As the advertising landscape evolves—driven by AI, automation, and increasing regulation—enterprise advertisers face a dual responsibility: to trust innovation, and to verify it.

The tools are powerful. The budgets are large. But the room for error has never been greater.

And in a world where every click counts, the companies that win will be those who don’t just spend smarter—but who scrutinise smarter, too.