Some marketers using Google Ads for lead generation or ecommerce to promote their business are finding themselves in a bind. It appears that the lower the cost per click (cpc) falls on keyword terms in Google Ads, the stricter Google becomes with payment terms.

Google, for some, did add an extra 30 days to its grace period of between 20 and 25 days, according to one source — but some “unessential” ailing businesses required to temporarily shutdown as a result of the pandemic are still finding it difficult to meet the terms.

Most of these businesses being affected are medium-sized businesses, so I’m wondering whether it’s because small businesses increase CPC to the larger companies that bid for the higher positions.

Conversions for companies that depend on lead generation or ecommerce campaigns focused on education, elective surgeries, home education and financial services could take months to see performance from the ads, without generating any revenue. The businesses could rely on organic search traffic, but the concern is conversions could take much longer to generate revenue. Businesses working with Microsoft and Facebook are not feeling the same pain.

Google has begun sending out warning notices, but Daniel Owen, Direct Agents EVP, said he would never allow his clients to get to that point.

Relying too much on advertising for its revenue, one agency told Search Insider that a reduction in the number of ads running across Google’s network and the falling cost of CPCs contribute to the enforcement of payment terms.

As businesses reopen, they are under a long list of restrictions, depending on the category. Most will need to severely limit the number of patron in the store, which means someone will need to stand at the door to count the number entering and exiting.