# Google Ads 25 Hacker News commenters recommended Google Ads and 144 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 11 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 16 years (10 owners). **Verdict:** Recommended for reaching people who are already searching for what you offer, with several reporting returns on small budgets. Common caveat: bot clicks and wasted spend. ## Why people recommend it - Reaches people already searching (2 comments): "Their search monopoly just means it's the best place for ads on a limited budget." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48919508)) "Someone searches for what you offer and they see your ad." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46425482)) - Good returns for small advertisers (4 comments): "that's how I've been using Google Ads succesfully without wasting money" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49666041)) "they work relatively well for our property leasing office" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49666174)) "money in vs money out is working very nicely for us" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49670625)) - Strong return on investment (3 comments): "surprisingly effective, and much more cost-effective than FB for what they do" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47564952)) "who have seen not even a blip and make money hand over fist" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46427576)) "The best ROI is generally google/meta" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46668666)) - Still works for many advertisers (3 comments): "there may still be people who can win with google ads" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47937341)) "I thought Google ads still worked fine" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46427017)) "Google worked well for those." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46429005)) ## What people warn about - Bot traffic and fake clicks (4 comments): "An AdWords campaign worth its salt is going to cost a lot more money than some local advertising, and with plenty of bot fraud to boot." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50320857)) "bots, or users who just (mis)clicked the ad and never did any action on my website, were counted as paid clicks in Google Ads" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49381518)) "Except then they just don't run your ads unless you're willing to pay silly amounts like $3 per click for bot traffic." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49666755)) - Complicated and hard to win (3 comments): "Google Ads' admin console is basically a dark pattern app built to consume your advertising budget with no effect." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46087685)) "The AdWords platform is extremely complicated nowadays, and try as I might I can't get any impressions from it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46429261)) "Competition for Google AdWords is so strong that unsophisticated advertisers can no longer get a good return" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46426431)) - Poor support and no refunds (3 comments): "It is absolutely ridiculous that you have been either victim shamed, blamed or simply neglected by Google into doing it yourself." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49667061)) "Even if you spend a crazy amount of money with them for advertising they will try to gaslight you if they make a mistake." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47961320)) "Google offers no refunds nor any recourse for overspend or spend on keywords you explicitly did not target" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49021317)) - Scam and malicious ads get through (2 comments): "Google has let 2000 of these ads through without catching them and that they have not removed them after reports from weeks ago" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46094880)) "getting burned by a scam Google advertised to me just pushed me to cutting Google out of my life completely" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49627364)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Meta Ads](https://hackerapproved.com/p/meta-ads.md): 14 recommend - [Instagram ads](https://hackerapproved.com/p/instagram-ads.md): 12 recommend - [Google AdSense](https://hackerapproved.com/p/google-adsense.md): 11 recommend - [Facebook Ads](https://hackerapproved.com/p/facebook-ads.md): 7 recommend - [LinkedIn Ads](https://hackerapproved.com/p/linkedin-ads.md): 7 recommend ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://business.google.com/us/google-ads/) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Google Ads", https://hackerapproved.com/p/google-ads/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).