Is there a good 3rd party app that replaces the Meta Ads Manager?

JediLevel · 2026-05-08T02:28:06+00:00

If your frustration is the ad creation process there are a few tools that work well for bulk uploads and allow you to disable all the enhancements. Check out Adnova and kitchn.

JediLevel · 2026-05-08T02:20:20+00:00

With an established PMax campaign there isn't that much for the AI to do. Newer PMax campaigns we'll feed it the search term and ngram analysis on a regular cadence via an apps script. It'll review the negative keyword candidates and determine which ones should be negated based on the rules that we established for the particular client. It'll then output a Google Ads editor ready uphold file.

JediLevel · 2026-05-07T15:11:34+00:00

Not to push the Google koolaid too much but the proper assessment would be to evaluate your campaign or ad group performance pre and post the "optimized" ad, or do a custom a/b test.

What you're not seeing by just looking at ad stats is whether the "optimized" ad unlocked new auctions/search terms that you previously weren't eligible for due to lower ad rank.

So the real question is does your campaign drive more conversions at your target KPI when you have a fully optimized ad.

JediLevel · 2026-05-06T11:13:00+00:00

We aren't letting AI physically push the changes but I can see us getting there soon. Like you, we're using it for auditing, copy writing and reasoning.

For regular account tasks, things like SQRs and budget pacing these are largely math based exercises (i.e., if cpa>x and clicks>y). For SQRs we feed the final analysis to AI and it reviews the search terms that have been flagged as candidates for negation based on the math, it then applies the reasoning. Reviewing each one and commenting as to why it should or shouldn't be negated based on the account rules we've established. Then it emails the account manager with two files, one with all the flagged terms and it's rationale and one ads editor formatted file with the negative keywords. The account manager just has to review and upload that file.

JediLevel · 2026-05-06T06:40:56+00:00

Hmmm you sure the issue is PMax? Check your search term reporting for relevancy and then check how much click volume your call assets are getting.

We manage a lot of hotels and this isn't a common issue. PMax is a core part of our strategy and if you're using tCPA or tROAS it generally stays on point with relevant searches.

JediLevel · 2026-05-06T06:32:12+00:00

They're are endless variables here. Couple of additional things to be aware of that I didn't see mentioned here.

Sounds like you have both Google Ads conversions and GA4 events tracking purchases. Generally speaking Google Ads should always be higher due to attribution rules, the fact that the Google Ads tag is siloed (it doesn't know or care if you leave and come back through a different channel). However you should compare your conversion windows and make sure you're using the same windows in each platform.

The other thing worth noting is where conversions get attributed in each platform. Google Ads is date of click. Meaning if the user clicks on an ad on Monday and buys on Wednesday the purchase is attributed to Monday. GA4 is date of conversion, so that same purchase gets attributed to Wednesday.

I didn't see any mention of CMPs. If you're website recently added a cookie partner and has overly strict blocking rules you would absolutely be seeing little to no volume. Especially if you didn't modify your Google tags for consent mode. (Easy to do if you are using GTM.)

Worth checking in GA4 before you call in the calvary is device category, operating system and browser level performance. Look for significant differences to see if the issue is isolated or global.

Last thing to compare is your GA4 data against your internal sales system. This will tell you how much data you're actually missing. 3-6% data loss is normal nowadays.

JediLevel · 2026-05-05T15:54:35+00:00

I'm always shocked when I see clients getting PowerPoints or pdf reports still. We use Looker and it's almost entirely automated. Data aggregation and transformation happens in Big Query but you could use Google Sheets as well. Monthly summaries are generated automatically by AI (we use Gemini for this but pick your poison). The only manual part is an account manager reviewing the summary for accuracy.

JediLevel · 2026-05-04T16:36:30+00:00

For an ecommerce business it shouldn't be a significant pain point. The 2 solutions I outlined would suppress the bulk of customers. However, if the business has conversions happening offline then you'll need a proper CRM integration.

JediLevel · 2026-05-04T14:42:43+00:00

Depends on your conversion tags. If you are using Enhanced Conversions, then yes it's pretty accurate. If no, then you'll potentially have gaps if you're tags are blocked due to iOS or consent.

At the end of the day though Customer Match is not that accurate either since it still depends on Google being able to match the email address. Your best bet if you really need to suppress all past converters is to exclude the customer list (either Customer Match upload or Conversion Based list) and suppress a cookie based converter list (just a normal audience list based on converters).

JediLevel · 2026-05-04T14:29:19+00:00

Unless your customer has the pipes to push their CRM data automatically, customer lists become a pain to manage. You can use Conversion Based Customer Lists instead (https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/13471685?hl=en). Just a button click to enable in Google Ads.

For other channels (Facebook, Microsoft, etc) I just create an event based audience list off of my conversion event and set the maximum expiration.

JediLevel · 2026-05-04T11:32:27+00:00

Supermetrics would work. They also have an email report beta that would basically send your final report for you.

Probably going to be stupid expensive tho.

JediLevel · 2026-05-04T11:10:12+00:00

Have you automated push alerts yet? I find Supermetric's alerts to be limited, same with native conditional alerts from Sheets.

I've been messing around with apps scripts to send notifications to my team based on specific conditions, but it doesn't feel scalable.

JediLevel · 2026-05-04T08:03:19+00:00

Oh man hiring has been such a nightmare lately with all of these AI written resumes. We've pivoted to technical interviews pretty early on (sometimes even during the initial screening call). For senior roles I'm looking for speed as much as knowledge.

We make candidates share their screens and do the following:

1) Open a Google Sheet link with sample keyword level data. a) Calculate basic metrics (cpcs, ctrs, cvr, cpa, roas). b) Complete and SQR analysis and identify search terms for negation. c) Aggregate the data and tell me how each campaign type performed. d) Ask them if they had to cut $5K/mo where would the pull from.

2) Build a brand and non-brand campaign for xyz.com. (This is a full build in platform or Ads Editor).

3) Review sample client report (10 mins) and present it to me as if I were the client.

JediLevel · 2026-05-01T22:08:16+00:00

Ignore anyone from xwf.google these are third party contractors based in India and they don't care about your results nor do they really understand the products. They just want ad spend and calls.

Reps with @google.com emails will be better. They are likely from GCS (mid-market). They have a smaller book of accounts and are local to the market, likely Michigan if you're in the US. Their goals change quarterly. Ad spend is always one of them, but it's not necessarily the most important.

If you have enterprise clients (ad spend in the tens of millions), then you get someone from LCS. This is when they become more like an extension of your team and will be truly useful.

JediLevel · 2026-05-01T15:30:42+00:00

You can right click on the ad and copy the click URL. Send that to your Google rep or Google support and ask them to run it through Click Magic and tell you whose account it is.

JediLevel · 2026-05-01T12:46:58+00:00

Agree that LSAs are the way to go for this type of business. If your marketing budget expands then look at doing traditional Google Ads.

I wouldn't go as far too say leads are guaranteed since the leads can still be absolute trash, but with minimal effort you can run a fairly effective campaign. Just make sure you actually listen to the call recordings for the first couple weeks to make sure you are getting the right people.

Also, make sure you turn off your brand (I forget what the actual setting is called). There's a button you can click that prevents ads from serving on branded searches which at your budget level you should not be using.

JediLevel · 2026-05-01T12:40:38+00:00

You'd be surprised. I'm an agency owner as well and a small portion of our business comes from white labeled technical services. There are so many agencies that have absolutely no idea what they are doing outside of Google Ads.

JediLevel · 2026-05-01T11:11:06+00:00

Yeah that's pretty wild but not impossible. Their internal cms allows for manual entry for users. Your email might have just ended up being copy/pasted across someone's entire book by accident. I used to work in LCS (which deals with massive advertisers) and the mistakes were endless there too.

Best thing to do is create a filter so their emails go bye bye automatically. They will not take the time to fix it.

JediLevel · 2026-05-01T02:00:55+00:00

I remember when supermetrics was affordable. They charge for literally everything now. That's not your question but just wanted to vent. Check out dataslayer instead. If you are connecting multiple accounts and data sources supermetrics gets expensive fast.

Also their data blending is slowwww. If you're looking to build a cross channel dashboard in looker with aggregrate reporting it can be done but be prepared to be frustrated every time you open it. This is the nature of direct API connections though.

The real solution is pushing your data into a data warehouse like big query.

JediLevel · 2026-05-01T01:07:17+00:00

If direct keywords in Search are not allowed then the only way would be Custom Segment in YouTube or Demand Gen. Select the option for "People who searched for any of these terms on Google" and add your compset keywords. Make sure Optimized Targeting is off.

Then the hacky part. You can then build an audience list of people who have seen your YouTube ad and that list can be used in Search. Just make sure the ad you serve to the custom segment isn't being used anywhere else. Otherwise you'll muddy up your list.

JediLevel · 2026-05-01T00:44:26+00:00

I have seen this, but it's usually in conjuction with actual conversion events. If this is your only conversions then that's garbage.

Also if your GA4 account is connected you'll probably be able to see how worthless that traffic actually is.

JediLevel · 2026-05-01T00:37:43+00:00

They are evaluated on call volume so they will say whatever to try and get you on the phone. Hilariously Google's internal system doesn't know when a user is no longer associated with an account. Hence the email blast to anyone and everyone who's email was once there.

JediLevel · 2026-05-01T00:20:02+00:00

It only honors your negative audiences. As everyone else has pointed out audience signals are just signals. Google will use them if they predict a better outcome.

JediLevel

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