I Decided Against Using Google Ads for My Startup

5 pointsby vtashkov2 lata temu5 comments

I have recently released my first web service [1]. Naturally I am now thinking of marketing it and the logical first step is to turn to "the elephant" in the room - Google. I wanted to get familiar with the user interface and see how exactly this whole thing works today and to my absolute frustration I couldn't make it work. Google wouldn't let me create another (business) account because my personal phone number was "used too many times" (I do have a personal account). I tried using my business's virtual phone number instead. No dice. Google doesn't accept virtual numbers (allegedly, the error message is simply "it cannot be used"). I tried searching some help in their "Help Center". They said "use some friend's number". That's absurd, but okay - I tried using my spouse's, in my desperation. No chance, she also has personal Google account and "too many times" apparently means > 1.

There's no way to contact support about this. You'd think a company that makes $200+ billions in advertising revenue would have some way to help potential customers give them money.

This experience (and my emotional state to feel helpless as a simple user of a simple service after having more than two decades as a software engineer under my belt) made me step back and question my entire approach. Why would I give my money to a corporate dinosaur who quite openly disrespects not only their users, but also their very clients? I mean, perhaps I am making a mistake from purely financial perspective, but sometimes it's a matter of principle, isn't it?

What are your thoughts? Are Google Ads still relevant at all? Do you think I am overreacting? Did you have similar experience and how did you fix it?

[1] mytestament.io ; i hope it's not too shameless to put the link

6 comments

kidwhois2 lata temu

I would recommend evaluating the merits of Google ads without the bias of account creation problems. Pretend you are stranded on a desert island and fighting for survival. If the best tool has a bug on it, then figure out how to get the bug off and use it. If it's not the best tool then find another tool but do not reach the conclusion if it is a good tool or not because it's annoying to get the bug off. There are always work arounds

vtashkov2 lata temu

I agree 100% with you and that's partially the reason I posted here. It is not only a rant, but also a genuine question what people think about Google Ads in the end of 2024. In other words: it is an attempt to validate (or reject) my gut reaction through externalizing the question.

kidwhois2 lata temu

I wonder if this still works, but I bought a chrome book for account creation. If you factory reset it each time you can make a generous amount of google accounts before it becomes locked up. Not sure if this still works.

vtashkov2 lata temu

Don’t you need a phone number?

beardyw2 lata temu

Whatever company you choose you are at their mercy. This site has many sad stories of people's business being cold shouldered by their supposed best buddy. Moral is, if possible, always have a backup plan.

[deleted]2 lata temu