December 29, 2025
Click Crisis, Comment Carnage
Google is dead. Where do we go now?
Small biz says Google Ads died; commenters yell "it's alive" and "go to TikTok"
TLDR: A small business says Google Ads stopped working despite massive spend and free credit, slashing revenue by half. Commenters argue Google isn’t “dead” (stock up), urge shifting to TikTok/social, and toss in alt search like Kagi—while some beg brands not to invade their feeds.
A frazzled entertainer says Google Ads—once their money machine—just… stopped. Even after free credit 5x their monthly spend and cranking budgets to 10x, they got zero results and a 50% revenue drop. Cue the comment section turning into a gladiator pit. One side shrugs, “This is just a blog post mourning adwords,” while another flexes stock charts: “GOOG is up big—how is it dead?” Translation: Wall Street says Google’s fine; small businesses say their leads aren’t. Meanwhile, social-first planners jump in with travel stories—“we find everything on social apps now”—and the vibe turns to “Search is old, TikTok is king.” A weary user pleads, “Please advertise anywhere I’m not,” begging brands to shove ads into TikTok and Instagram so their own feeds can breathe. There’s also the alt-search chorus: “Kagi,” like a one-word cure-all mantra (Kagi). The OP is pivoting to newsletters, market stalls, and new products while moonlighting for website gigs—AI-assisted, very fast, of course. The community mood? Equal parts “RIP Google ads,” “Google isn’t dead, you are,” and “please don’t ruin my feed.” The meme of the day: free money couldn’t buy clicks. Ouch. More drama than an influencer breakup, less ROI than a broken vending machine.
Key Points
- •The business’s revenue fell by 50% over the past three months.
- •Google Ads, previously effective for about a decade, delivered zero return recently despite increased budgets and campaign tweaks.
- •Google provided a promotional credit equal to five times the monthly ad spend for December, but performance did not improve.
- •The owner is testing ads on short video platforms like TikTok and Instagram and has resumed regular email newsletters to re-engage returning customers.
- •Plans include physical marketing at a market, developing products related to Magic Poi, and offering website and IoT services; the owner reports financial strain.