On April 5th, Google’s Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin confirmed that there is a latency issue with Google Ads reporting.
The problem was first reported on April 1st, and it caused a large number of users to experience error messages, high latency, and other unusual platform behavior.
The issue appears to be resolved for the majority of users as of April 7th, but it is still listed as an ongoing disruption.
Who Is Affected by This?
This problem has impacted a large number of users who rely on the Google Ads platform.
The approval process for new or updated Responsive Search Ads (RSAs) was taking longer than usual, according to Google’s status dashboard.
It was reported that some RSAs took more than 48 hours to be approved.
How Frequently Does It Occur?
When looking at the Google Ads status dashboard, it appears that problems with Google Ads Manager and Google Ads occur frequently.
There are usually one to two issues per month with Google Ads Manager. There were four issues reported in March. For Google Ads Manager, the longest outage was 11 days and 9 hours.
There are usually one to two issues per month in Google Ads. The most recent major outage occurred on December 16, 2021, lasting 14 days and 19 hours.
Read 9 Google Ads Tips to Make Your B2B Campaigns Shine.
Why Should We Care?
While you may still be able to use the Google Ads online interface, your account may be experiencing latency issues.
This can be extremely aggravating for any marketer, especially those with tight deadlines or a long to-do list.
Unexpected behavior from a platform where you spend hours each day can cause problems with your work schedule, client deliverables, and more.
What are your options?
Fortunately, most latency or error issues in Google Ads are quickly resolved. In the meantime, you can prepare yourself with the necessary tools in case you encounter similar problems in the future.
This quick guide explains what conversion lag reporting is and the different types of campaigns that can be used with it.
Google also has a good explanation of how latency affects Google Ads clicks and Analytics sessions. It explains why your data may differ from one platform to the next.
Use this guide to educate yourself and gain confidence when discussing these topics with your clients.
Because Google’s terminology can be technical, make sure to frame it in a way that both you and your clients can understand. Even if there’s nothing you can do about the problem, it demonstrates that you’re looking into it and taking action.
Finally, bookmark the Google Ads Status Dashboard to keep track of any future incidents and receive real-time updates from the source. The dashboard can be found here.
Learn more from SEO and read GA4 and Search Ads 360 now have a new integration.
