Liam Walsh
Liam is a Co-Director at Intelligency and heads up the agency's Digital Intelligence & Paid Social activity. Over the last decade, he has worked with brands from the world of sports such as Premier League clubs to entertainment such as Channel 4 and Disney.
What is Google Ads?
Google Ads is an online advertising platform that allows businesses to display ads on Google Search, YouTube, and other partner websites. Advertisers bid on keywords to have their ads appear when users search for relevant terms. The platform helps businesses drive website traffic, generate leads, and increase sales through targeted advertising. When Google Ads experiences issues, it can significantly impact businesses relying on digital advertising for growth.
Google Ads Stops Running for Some Advertisers
Starting Saturday, March 1, many advertisers noticed their Google Ads were not serving, resulting in zero impressions or clicks on their campaigns. Reports quickly surfaced in the Google Ads Forum, where advertisers shared their frustrations about ads not being delivered. Since Google did not immediately respond—likely due to the weekend—many advertisers were left wondering if the issue was a bug, a policy change, or a technical glitch.
Google Confirms and Resolves the Issue
On March 3, Google officially acknowledged the problem, stating that a small number of Google Ads customers were affected. Advertisers experienced error messages, high latency, and unexpected behavior in their accounts. By 4:18 AM ET, Google announced the issue was fully resolved, apologizing for the inconvenience but not explaining the cause. Some industry experts speculated that the outage might be linked to the enhanced CPC (eCPC) deprecation in March or a Google Business Profile (GBP) integration issue affecting local ads. However, Google has not confirmed any of these theories.
What Advertisers Should Do Next
If you manage Google Ads campaigns, check your account data from the weekend to see if your ads were affected. Look for any drops in impressions, clicks, or conversions that may indicate an interruption. If your campaigns were impacted, you may want to contact Google Ads support for further details. While the issue has been resolved, this incident highlights the importance of staying updated on Google Ads changes and monitoring your account regularly to avoid unexpected disruptions.
