I Accidentally Enabled Google Adwords and Started a Campaign! - Arrgghhh!!

Barefoot_Wanderer

Hi Everyone,

Der-Brain here has managed to start an ad campaign without even realising it.

I have owned a website since 2008 and my webhost is SiteSell, based in Canada.

Within SiteSell’s tools there’s a keyword analyser which indicates best profitable keywords to use for various webpages I have written or about to write, this is called the Master Keyword List (MKL).

In their Action Guide Video it recommends importing Google data into the MKL so that I can analyse what companies are paying for given keywords, providing keyword “worth” and competition for that keyword. The way this is done is to export all my keywords into Google’s keyword planner from my MKL, get Google’s data for those keywords (CPC etc.) and then import that data into my MKL. With me so far?

OK then.

I managed to do this successfully about 2 years ago for my own website but the problems started when I tried doing the same for my wife’s website at the end of August 2015.

We followed the same instructions in SiteSell’s Action Guide but this time the screenshots in the video did not match the Google screens current. For example, instead of seeing a link which said “skip this step” as per SiteSell’s instructions, Google was asking us to “Start Your First Campaign” and a further window asking for bank details.

I didn’t want to start a campaign, I just wanted use of their keyword planner for now. So of course, the problem now was that SiteSell’s Action Guide Video had not been updated so we looked for a solution on SiteSell’s forum’s.

(There were more than a few users having the same problems spanning back over 6 months. You’d think SiteSell would update their Video Action Guide, but there we go…)

I found one suggestion on SiteSell’s forum which suggested starting the campaign, give bank details but be careful not to enable anything. So that’s what we did – I submitted a fake ad as follows:

ad title: "wwwww"
sub title: "wwwwww"
ad text: "wwwww"
website: mywebsite

At this time my wife’s website url did not exist so I had to submit my existing website which has been live for 8 years. This was done so we could progress to the next screen where we submit bank details, I didn’t mind so much because in all likelihood we would be using Adwords services at some point and would end up giving bank details anyway.

So I went through the various screens. At no point during this process was it made clear to us we were actually enabling anything – it wasn’t until my wife started receiving emails from Google Billing did we realise that in fact the ad went live (as above).

I contacted Google but of course they were unsympathetic (arrogant, in fact) and refused any refund on the money taken and insisted their charges were valid, which I suspect is technically true. Instead they offered me a $150 credit for future advertising with Google. I had been on the phone, wrote dozens of emails but after a long-winded exchange the reply to a refund was a polite “No”

I have found out since on Google Adwords Forum that I should have “paused” my campaign once I had submitted my details. Great. It’s worth pointing out there are users there who have experienced problems accessing the “free keyword planner” complaining that they shouldn’t have to submit bank details.


I was charged $50 (£33) from my bank and informed that the remaining balance had bounced from my bank and now they are chasing me for that.

In the Adwords account the following charges appear: 97 clicks resulting in $287.15

Is there anything at all I can do?

Or will I just have to put this down to experience…

I’m going to write to SiteSell support again and elevate a complaint about their Action Guide being out of date, I might even tell them I will be looking for an alternative host if I’m not compensated.

I know the number one person to blame is me but I do feel as though Google has led me (and others) up the proverbial garden path with this. I completely understand Google is not their for SiteSell’s benefit but for them to change proceedures in such a way as to obtain bank details and subsequent charges seems immoral to me (if not deliberate?)

I feel very silly and I know a lot of this is my own doing, I trusted a familiar face – Google and got stung.

Have I got any case aganst SiteSell for inaccurate information?

Can I press Google any further?

Your thoughts would be appreciated, as always,

Andy