Google Ads Optimisation Score is one of those features that’s easy to misread. It looks like a report card — a percentage showing how well your account is performing — and the temptation is to treat a score below 100% as something that needs fixing. In our experience, that’s the wrong way to use it. Here’s what the score actually measures, how recommendations work, and how to use it intelligently in travel PPC campaigns.
How is your Google Ads Optimisation Score calculated?
Optimisation Score is an estimate of how well your Google Ads account is predicted to perform — calculated in real time based on your account data and Google’s recommendations. Scores run from 0% to 100%, available at campaign, account, and manager account level. Each pending recommendation has a weighted impact on your score, so applying recommendations raises it, and dismissing them (with a reason) removes their drag on the score without penalising you.
What are recommendations?
Google generates recommendations automatically based on your account’s performance patterns. For travel PPC accounts, you’ll typically see suggestions around bid strategy, budget allocation, keyword expansion, ad copy, and audience targeting. The recommendations are divided into categories, with the most common being repairs (fixing genuine account issues) and bid and budget optimisations (adjusting strategy for better performance).
Repairs recommendations
Repair recommendations flag genuine technical issues: disapproved ads, billing problems, keyword conflicts, or tracking errors. These should always be reviewed and acted on — they represent real problems that are actively limiting your campaign performance. What we’ve found is that travel accounts with active disapproved ads (often triggered by ad policy around travel terminology) can lose significant impression share without the account manager noticing unless they’re regularly reviewing the repairs section.
Bid and budget recommendations
Budget recommendations are where judgement is required. Google’s algorithm will suggest increasing budgets for campaigns it believes are limited — but Google’s definition of “limited” and your business’s budget priorities aren’t always aligned. For tour operators managing seasonal budgets — higher spend in January during peak planning season, pulled back in March after the booking surge — following Google’s budget recommendations without strategic context can lead to inefficient spend allocation. We tend to review these recommendations and apply them selectively, not automatically.
Should you aim for 100%?
No — and this is the most important point about Optimisation Score. A score of 100% means you’ve applied every recommendation Google has made. But not every recommendation is right for your travel campaign. Google may suggest switching to broad match keywords across your account, or enabling Performance Max features that aren’t appropriate for your budget and campaign structure at this stage. Dismissing a recommendation that isn’t right for your strategy is the correct action — it doesn’t hurt your account’s actual performance, it just reduces the displayed score. Clients often ask us why we leave some recommendations dismissed, and the honest answer is that an uncritical 100% compliance with Google’s suggestions isn’t account management — it’s just doing what Google says.
How will this change things?
Google updates Optimisation Score and its recommendations continuously. Recommendations that were relevant last month may no longer appear, and new ones emerge as your account’s performance data changes. In our experience, the right cadence for reviewing recommendations in a travel PPC account is weekly — checking for new repairs, reviewing any bid or keyword suggestions against current campaign priorities, and dismissing or applying each one with a documented reason. The score should inform your review process, not drive it.
What is your score?
Find your Optimisation Score in Google Ads under Recommendations. Use it as a starting point for your weekly account review — check the repairs tab first, then work through bid and budget suggestions with your current campaign strategy in mind. A well-managed travel PPC account with a deliberate, documented approach to recommendations will consistently outperform one that blindly chases 100%. The score is a tool, not a target.