How to make Google Ads work with less spend in 2026

If your paid budget is shrinking, every click suddenly feels personal. And when Google Ads keeps changing, it’s easy to lose confidence in what’s actually driving results.In this session, Joe is joined by Rebecca Pilkington, Head of PPC at Exposure Ninja, to break down what modern PPC looks like in 2026 - from fixing tracking and improving signal quality, to using guardrails, feeding lead quality back into Google, and deciding when to go manual vs letting automation learn.Key topics include:- How to audit the last 90 days to spot wasted spend in locations, devices, audiences, and non-converting queries- The tracking essentials in 2026 including GA4, consent mode v2, server-side tracking, and why it all impacts performance- How to feed offline lead quality and revenue back into Google Ads using offline conversions and enhanced conversions for leads- What AI Max actually is (and isn’t) plus when to avoid it if your landing pages aren’t strong- How to approach a slashed budget by stripping campaigns back to high-intent keywords, tighter themes, and better landing pages- What to look for when spam leads appear and how to troubleshoot match types, intent, and optimisation signalsTimestamps:00:00 Finding wasted spend fast03:30 Efficiency and signal quality in 202607:20 Tracking changes you can’t ignore10:50 Feeding CRM data back into Google15:55 What AI Max does in search20:45 Using PPC for full-funnel brand impact24:40 How to rebuild when budgets get cut32:00 Starting PPC without big datasets41:50 When to trust automation53:10 Handling spam leads and learning periods57:05 Choosing the right PPC partnerWatch / listen:Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marketing-meetup-podcast/id1365546447Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5QvmFdxg5pMwsfPkKjhXl9Please take the time to check out our partners, all of whom we work with because we think they’re useful companies for lovely marketers.Frontify – All your brand assets in one place: Frontify combines DAM, brand guidelines, and templates into a collaborative source of brand truth.Mailchimp - The all-in-one marketing platform that helps teams turn emails, automation, and now SMS into smarter, more connected customer journeys (and they’ve been longtime friends of TMM!).Cambridge Marketing College – The best place to get your marketing qualifications and apprenticeships.Planable – the content collaboration platform that helps marketing teams create, plan, review, and approve all their awesome marketing content.Wistia – a complete video marketing platform that helps teams create, host, market, and measure their videos and webinars, all in one place.