Google Ads offering businesses free consultations through Gmail pop-ups

Google Ads is targeting businesses within their Gmail accounts, offering them free consultations.

Notably, the promotion is delivered through pop-up notifications rather than emails, making the message look less like an ad, possibly increasing the chances of conversions.

Why we care. Prompting businesses to engage directly with Google Ads, especially when they already have an advertising agency, may lead to confusion for the business and undermine the agency’s ability to perform effectively.

Pop-up notifications. The pop-up message reads:

• “Get a free 1-on-1 consultation with a Google Ads expert: You don’t have to start on your own. Let our experts help you set your strategy, budget and keywords.”

Businesses can choose to respond by clicking either ‘No thanks’ or ‘Schedule’ to arrange a free consultation meeting.

First spotted. The Google Ads pop-up notifications within Gmail were first flagged by Anthony Higman, CEO of online advertising agency Adsquire, on X. He wrote:

• “Wow, just wow. A client just sent me This screenshot of a pop up in his Gmail account about setting up a consultation for Google Ads. IN HIS GMAIL ACCOUNT!!!! So that just happened.”

HIgman then shared a screen of the notification:

Reaction. Melissa Mackey, paid search director at Compound Growth Marketing, also reported seeing the pop-up notification being served to her clients. She wrote on X:

• “We were on a zoom with a client last week and he was googling something and there were his Google Ads account stats at the top of the SERP… this client is knowledgeable about search so in this case it’s ok, but I don’t like this popping up for any random client – just brings more questions/confusion.”

Deep dive. Read our report on why advertisers think Google Ads support is at an all-time low for more information.