Which Google Ads recommendations should a B2B advertiser apply, and does optimization score matter?

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Apply the fixes, such as broken conversion tracking, disapproved ads and conflicting negative keywords, and be wary of anything that raises spend. Hold off on "Raise your budgets," "Adjust your CPA targets," broad match, AI Max, search partners and Display Expansion until you bid on qualified leads with steady volume, because they buy more of whatever you count as a conversion. The score itself doesn't drive results: Google says it isn't used by Quality Score, and you reach 100% by applying or dismissing every recommendation. It matters mainly for Google Partners, whose manager accounts need 70%.

As of October 2026.

How does optimization score work?

It's Google's estimate of "how well your Google Ads account is set to perform," from 0 to 100%, calculated in real time from your account's statistics, settings and status, the recommendations available and your recent recommendation history. It's shown for active Search, Display, Video Action, App, Performance Max, Demand Gen and Shopping campaigns.

Each recommendation carries a score uplift between under 0.1% and 100%. Apply it and your score rises by that much. Dismiss it and the score rises too: Google says "your account can reach an optimization score of 100% by applying or dismissing all recommendations." So a higher score can mean you dismissed suggestions, not that results improved.

The score works toward a goal it reads from your bid strategy, shown as its "focus" (conversions, clicks, impression share and so on), and it counts the conversion actions you include in "Conversions." If every form fill is a primary conversion, the score and its recommendations chase more form fills, not more qualified demos. Fix that first: make a qualified lead or booked demo your primary action and set raw form fills to secondary, which Google calls "for observation only."

Google's product page says advertisers who used its recommendations to raise their account-level score by 10 points "saw a median 14% increase in conversions." The page gives no date or method, adds that "actual results will vary by advertiser," and counts conversions, which in many B2B accounts include unqualified leads.

Does a low optimization score hurt my campaigns?

Google doesn't say it does. Its help page says "optimization score is not used by your Quality Score," and Google's pages on the score don't say it affects your auctions. A low score just means you have open recommendations.

The score does matter in two cases:

  • Google Partners. Agencies in the program need their registered manager account to have "a minimum optimization score of 70%." Google adds that you can "apply or dismiss recommendations based on your assessment and your clients' goals," so dismissing counts.
  • Clients and Google reps. Changes suggested by your Google account representative show up on the Recommendations page as "Proposed changes," with an Apply all button. Review them like any other recommendation. A short note of why you dismissed each type (search term quality, conversion volume, cost per qualified lead) keeps the conversation on results, not the number.

Why do the recommendations keep telling me to raise my budget?

Because bidding and budget recommendations aim at more conversions or traffic, and some accept a higher cost per conversion to get there. Google's own wording on its Types of recommendations page:

RecommendationWhy Google shows it
Raise your budgets"You missed out on 5% or more of your potential traffic last week"
Adjust your budgets (Maximize conversions campaigns)More conversions "with a smaller relative increase in overall cost per action (CPA)"
Adjust your CPA targetsMore conversions "with a smaller relative increase in targets"
Set a target CPA to capture upcoming traffic increasesTraffic "is expected to increase by 5% or more"

In the two "Adjust" cases, Google's wording means your CPA (or your CPA target) goes up, just by less than your conversions do. Google also says the Recommendations page "doesn't predict whether your ads will do well." If the extra conversions are junk form fills, extra budget buys more junk.

Target changes carry more weight now. Since August 17, 2026, Target CPA and Target ROAS campaigns that are "Limited by budget" deliver toward the target you set. Google's example: a $10 target that was getting $5 "now delivers more closely to a $10 USD actual CPA." Raise the target and your actual cost per lead can follow. More in the August 2026 Target CPA change and whether to raise a budget-limited campaign.

Which recommendations should a B2B advertiser apply?

The ones that fix something or tidy something. These are worth applying once you've read the details:

RecommendationTypeWhy it helps
Fix your conversion trackingRepairsYour bid strategy relies on conversions, but no website conversion action is used for bidding
Fix your conversion action with a conversion rate dropRepairsGoogle saw "a large conversion rate drop" on an action; check the tag and the form
Fix your ad destinations, Fix your ad text, Fix disapproved sitelinksRepairsGets disapproved ads and assets running again
Remove conflicting negative keywordsKeywords and targetingA negative is blocking keywords you want to show for
Turn on auto-tagging, Set up enhanced conversionsBidding and budgets (auto-tagging); Measurement (enhanced conversions)Ties clicks to conversions and fills measurement gaps; auto-tagging is also needed to import CRM results
Remove redundant keywords, Remove non-serving keywordsKeywords and targetingHousekeeping; non-serving means no traffic for a year or more
Add sitelinks, callouts or structured snippets; Improve your responsive search adsAds and assetsCan lift click-through. Read the text first: suggested headlines come from your site and existing ads

Which recommendations tend to hurt B2B lead gen, and why?

The ones that widen reach or raise spend, when your account gets a handful of qualified leads a month. Smart Bidding learns from what you count as a conversion, and Google's lead gen guide asks for at least 15 conversions in the last 30 days on the action you bid on. Below that, wider reach mostly buys clicks you can't judge yet.

RecommendationWhat it doesThe B2B riskConsider it when
Add broad match keywords; Turn on AI MaxReaches searches beyond your keywords; AI Max adds "broad match and keywordless technology"Can match searches from job seekers, students and people wanting free tools, with little data to sort themYou bid on a qualified-lead goal with 15+ conversions in 30 days, and you test it first (match types for B2B, AI Max)
Expand your reach with Google search partners"Reach additional customers at a lower CPC on YouTube and partner sites"Google says clicks from some partner sites "may not always reflect highly targeted traffic," and Search campaigns don't show which partner site an ad ran onYou can track partner leads through to your CRM
Use Display ExpansionSpends unspent Search budget on the Display NetworkDisplay reaches people browsing sites and apps, not searching, so those leads need judging separatelyYou've capped it (how to stop Display from using your Search budget)
Bid more efficiently with Maximize conversions or Target CPASwitches your bid strategyWith few conversions, there's little for bidding to learn fromYour lead goal has steady volume (bid strategies for low conversion volume)
Create a Performance Max campaignRuns ads across all Google channels from one campaignSpend spreads across Search, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail and Maps from one budgetSee whether Performance Max works for B2B
Use targeting expansion, Use optimized targeting, Reach new audiencesShows ads to people outside the audiences you pickedReach beyond your account list or ideal customer profileYou're judging on pipeline, not form fills

Should I turn on auto-apply?

Only for a few low-risk types, if at all. Auto-apply works at the account level. You turn it on from Auto-apply settings on the Recommendations page (in the Campaigns menu), with two bundles, "Maintain your ads" and "Grow your business," or by picking types one by one. The list includes adjusting CPA and ROAS targets, switching bid strategies, adding broad match keywords, search partners, Display Expansion and targeting expansion. Google says "budget raising isn't included," and since January 26, 2026, "Add responsive search ads" no longer applies new ads automatically.

If you inherited an account, check what's on before anything else:

  1. On the Recommendations page, select Auto-apply settings, then the History tab. It shows each type that's on, how many times it applied in the past week, when it last applied and when it was turned on. Change history shows which user opted in.
  2. To turn a type off, uncheck it in the Manage tab and select Save, or select it in the History tab and select Disable.
  3. To get a weekly email of what was applied, turn on campaign maintenance notifications in your preferences.

For a B2B lead gen account, housekeeping types such as "Remove redundant keywords" and "Remove non-serving keywords" are the lowest risk. Leave target changes, broad match, search partners, Display Expansion and targeting expansion off and review them by hand. For Google's chat agent, which can also change your account, see whether to let Ask Advisor make changes.

How do I test a recommendation before I commit?

Use the tools Google gives you:

  • Experiments. For bid and budget recommendations, select Save as experiment to test the change against your original setup before you apply it everywhere.
  • Undo. Every applied recommendation shows in Change history, where you can undo it within 30 days. Partly applied recommendations can't be undone.
  • Dismissals. A dismissed recommendation can come back after 30 or 60 days, depending on why you dismissed it. Dismiss at the campaign level and that type goes away for that campaign; dismiss at the account level and it stays away from every campaign for a set time.
  • Patience. Google suggests waiting before you judge, since other changes and seasonality also move results. Judge on qualified leads and pipeline from your CRM, not on the conversions column.
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