Went to a digital marketing meetup in Austin last week and saw something sketchy

A guy was pitching his agency as a full service Google partner with a 4.9 star rating. I checked his site and he had like 3 case studies all from 2021 using the same client photo. Then he started talking about using VPNs to run ads from different IPs to avoid ad account suspensions. Has anyone else run into these fake agency setups at local events?

2 comments

2 Comments

uma_baker8827d ago

Saw that same guy at a different meetup. Feels like half the people at these events are running some kind of hustle. The VPN trick is a major red flag and Google will catch on eventually. Real partners don't need to hide their ad accounts. Those case studies with the same person are a dead giveaway too.

noah91427d ago

That specific guy with the 4.9 star rating might actually know what he's doing. I've been in digital marketing since 2015 and the real Google Partners I've met are often way too buttoned up to talk about the stuff that actually works. The VPN thing isn't a scam if you're running ads for clients in restricted industries like CBD or supplements where Google bans accounts for no reason. I've seen legit agencies use multiple IPs just to test ad copy without triggering the automated review bots that shut down accounts over nothing. Those 2021 case studies could just be his best work and he hasn't had time to update his site because he's busy getting results for clients. Sometimes the sketchy looking guys are the ones who actually understand how to navigate Google's broken ad system instead of just following the official playbook.