I'm curious to know if Google runs Adwords campaigns more often for "traditional" agencies that don't specialize in SEO / PPC and have no resources in-house to manage them. Clients might be asking to reallocate resources if print/radio/TV is not working.

Interesting numbers, but not surprising at all.

I've stopped accepting Google's "help" when it comes to optimizing some of our campaigns as they have not improved a single one, and the last one is actually doing a bit worse in terms of CPA.

First, no one can get a clear answer out of Google so if they were to mess something up we would never get an answer.

Second, what would be their motivation to do the very best for me or my clients? They wouldn't have that same motivation, it would just be something that needed to get done.

In my opinion, Google employs sales reps, not marketing analysts. They always try to push for additional budget and using the content network, but 99% of the time when I implement these recommendations, overall ROI decreases.

A Google Reps Thought Process = CTR...Spend More...CTR...Increase Your Budget...CTR...Raise Your Positioning...Did I mention CTR?

Job Security Is Bliss :)

A marketing manager told me a long time ago that "Google does not make your decisions."

I wouldn't either. I'm really not surprised by these responses.

I would be curious as to the reasons given for the 13% who would let Google run their AdWords.

NO way Google to manage my campaigns. I have followed 2 times their recommendations and in the end i had to change account.The quality , ctr , cpa, absolute conv. all went down. No way. They are only capable to troubleshot.

Oh heck no. Has anyone ever had and dealt with the Google Account managers? They're a joke. They don't know half of what I know to run a campaign. Very generic, very basic. You couldn't persuade me even if you promised to cut my spending in half.

Perhaps because Google strive for 'maximisation' and businesses strive for 'optimisation', and of course they are two very different things.

Some of the optimizations are coming from India as well, which can lead to some culturally wonky ideas. I also received a recommendation once to replace GA tracking code from them (India) and found that they had completely ignored that it was an e-commerce site and gave me the wrong code.

I've worked with Google account reps extensively on several accounts. I'd say that their interests are aligned with yours because if your campaign is not successful, chances are you'll shut it off. In order for them to succeed, you need to succeed.