Why Google Ads Is So Hard for Small Businesses: An Open Letter to Google

Dear Google Ads,

I’m writing this post, not as a digital marketing expert, but as a small business owner who’s genuinely trying to use your platform and to be honest, I'm struggling. I’ve worked in IT, built and maintained websites, written blog posts, learned SEO basics, and made countless improvements to my online presence over the years. But when it comes to Google Ads? It feels like I’m trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube blindfolded.

I’m not a luddite, I’m not afraid of tech. But your platform seems designed for ad agencies and highly advanced individuals, not small business owners like myself trying to promote handcrafted products, services, or local offerings. There’s so much potential here but the interface, terminology, and campaign setup make it feel like I need a degree in advanced computing just to run a simple ad. 

Red Mist Loading! Explained below.

This isn’t a rant. It’s an open letter. A plea. A set of suggestions. Because I truly believe that if you made Google Ads more accessible, you’d empower thousands of small businesses like mine to succeed and you’d benefit from that too. I would certainly spend more on advertising if I had full confidence in what I was doing on your platform. To be honest, at the moment I'm mostly guessing.

I’m Not a Luddite, I Swear

I’m not new to the tech world. I spent five years working as an Airport IT engineer. I know my way around advanced systems. I built my own business website on Wix (which, drag-and-drop or not, has its own distinct learning curve) and I have redesigned it many times since 2017 as I picked up new skills and learned best practices.

I can figure out most platforms eventually. But with Google Ads? I see red, not data red, rage red or as someone I know likes to say; the red mist was rising before my eyes.

The entire platform feels like it was written by coders for coders. It doesn’t tell you what you’ve done wrong or maybe it does and I just don't understand. It just seems to nudge you to “increase your reach” by raising your budget. Helpful, right? Even the other prompts it gives never tell you if they are really right for your business model.

Even seasoned small business owners must be left scratching their heads.

What Makes Google Ads So Difficult?

Why is Google Ads so hard? Why is Google Ads so confusing?

Why is Google Ads so hard to use? Why is navigating the platform so confusing? 

These are the questions I keep asking myself. And honestly, the more I use it, the more I feel like the platform was written by IT coders, for IT coders and not for small business owners trying to run a few ads without a degree in marketing or computer sciences.

Would it really be so hard to create a “Google Ads Lite” version? Just when I thought I had a handle on setting up a recent campaign, I realised I’d probably made fundamental mistakes and Google never told me. No error message. No warning. For days, my campaign showed zero impressions, zero clicks, yet somehow my budget was still being spent. I searched Google for answers but got none. I cancelled that Campaign in the end out of sheer frustration.

I kept thinking: Why can't it be as simple as 1, 2, 3....? And then some 'Checks and Balance' on the back end so you have confidence in what you've done? 

Let me break down where it all goes wrong.

Too Many Options, Not Enough Guidance

Even the “basic” setup feels overwhelming. You're presented with multiple vague Campaign choices:

• Smart Campaign? Performance Max? Search? Display?
• Which one is right if two of the selections match what you want?
• Too many menu options for a 'lite' user on the main interface

There’s little clarity on what these do or more importantly, which one is right for your situation.

 Even editing a campaign feels like walking in circles. Nobody tells you if you are doing a good job or you've done something bad. How about, Here's something you could do better....

Constant Redirection and Confusing Terminology

You’re bounced from one screen to the next and hit with terms that sound like they belong in an ad agency boardroom, not a small business dashboard. Some of the most confusing:

• Conversions – okay… but what kind of conversions? Add to cart? Purchase? Page view?
• Observations – is this tracking, testing, or just watching? Still unclear.
• Learning phase – why is my ad learning? What exactly is it learning? Should I stop it?
• Responsive ads – am I supposed to configure something, or is it automatic?
• Optimisation score – is 96% good enough? What happens if I ignore suggestions?
• Bidding strategy – automated? Enhanced CPC? Maximise clicks? Which one is “safe”?
• Impressions vs. interactions – sounds obvious, until you try to track results.
• Search partners – who are these partners? Why am I paying for them?

It feels like jargon for the sake of jargon. Even trying to edit a simple campaign feels like walking in circles, second-guessing every change because there's no clear feedback when you get something wrong or even when you've done it right. Honestly, it's the one place in my life right now where I wouldn't mind a slap on the wrist for a mistake or a pat on the back for getting it right.

Hidden Settings That Affect Budget & Reach

The difference between budget settings and bidding strategies is still unclear to me — and I’ve read two books on Google Ads. I found them hard to follow, and honestly, I started tuning out around the “what is your campaign going to be about?” stage.

So, what am I doing wrong?

And then there are the “default” settings Google keeps nudging you toward:

• Smart Goals
• Search Partners
• Auto Apply recommendations

They seem helpful at first… until your optimisation score drops the next day, even though you didn’t change anything or do anything. Why?

Reporting Is a Mess for Beginners

Tracking what’s actually working shouldn’t feel like guesswork but with Google Ads, it often does.

• Why can’t I easily change a conversion action from "Add to Cart" to a "Thank You" page without jumping through hoops?
• Why does it feel like the reports are built for analysts, not advertisers?
• Why is attribution still so murky? If I got 12 clicks, which ones mattered? What led to the sale?

It’s not that the data isn’t there, it’s that it’s buried under layers of vague menus and unexplained metrics. There’s no clear, human-friendly reporting for ordinary users, just the assumption that you already know how to interpret it all.

And let’s be honest: there’s an entire secondary industry built around explaining Google Ads to confused people like me and that says a lot.

All Google Tools Seem to be the Same?

It’s not just Google Ads. Take a look at Google Analytics, and you’ll see the same pattern:
Complicated dashboards. Vague labels. No clear entry point for beginners.

Why does it have to be so hard?

Why isn’t there a Lite Version for people like me, small business owners who just want to check in for 20 minutes a week, not spend weeks learning a whole new language just to track some page views or ad performance?

Keep the full versions of these products for the professionals, let them charge for their expertise if they want. But please, for the love of God, give us something leaner!

I’ll just leave that there for you to ponder.

What Small Businesses Actually Need

What small business owners like me really need is a simpler, leaner and more guided version of Google Ads. Something that starts with five clear questions about what you're trying to achieve — and then walks you through setup using real-world goals and understandable steps. Wouldn't that be brilliant?

Here's what would actually help:

• Straightforward campaign creation based on actual small business scenarios
• Clear, practical goals with a step-by-step path to launch
• Plain-English explanations of campaign types and settings
• A “Basic Mode” toggle, with the option to switch to “Advanced Mode” when needed
• Real-time budget previews to help understand what you’re likely to get for your spend
• Performance reports that speak plainly, not in marketing jargon
• Fewer hidden toggles and no constant nudges to “spend more” without context
• A campaign wizard, tailored to real use cases, like a local shop selling in Ireland, not just an e-commerce giant with 50 products and a full marketing team.

I don’t need endless filters to dig through after the fact. What I need is confidence that I’ve set things up correctly, and that my hard-earned budget is actually being used to reach the right people. 

I know you want to make money from customers using your Ads and that’s fair.

But please, try to see it from the end-user’s point of view. Businesses that feel supported and are successful with your tools are far more likely to reinvest in your services down the line.

Final Thoughts: This Could Be Brilliant, If It Was Accessible

Google Ads isn’t bad - and for the record, I have a healthy respect for Google as a company.
But the platform feels like it was built for ad agencies and power users, not small business owners like me. Maybe that is their plan, I don't know.

Millions of small businesses could benefit if it were easier to navigate and would probably spend more money on advertising if they knew their budget was performing at an optimum level. 

Google probably does that already but how would we really know? We’re all trying to play by the rules… but the rulebook is written in another language and personally, I only speak a few words of it.

If you’ve felt the same frustration with Google Ads, I’d love to hear your experience. Maybe if enough of us speak up, Google will take note.

Thanks for reading, David

💬 Got thoughts or feedback? Feel free to leave a comment and let me know how you got on!

You might be interested in reading this post too, SEO Doesn’t Have to Be Hard: Tips for Beginners Who Just Want Clarity

💬 Blogger-Specific Ending Note

This is a brand new post specifically for Blogger. I hope you feel you are not alone anymore if you are frustrated with Google Ads — thanks for reading!

 🔗 Want more? Check out my full blog archive over at David Condon Woodcraft where I share woodturning tips, craft ideas, and more personal reflections on Ireland and Craft in general.

If this post saved you time, pain, or pointless Googling — feel free to buy me a coffee! It helps keep the lights on in my little craft-filled corner of the world.