## **🔍 Overview**

OTTO PPC automates campaign management tasks such as keyword bid adjustments, match type settings, and campaign status changes. Occasionally, customers may encounter issues including API errors, bids not applying correctly, match type inheritance problems, or unexpected empty results for conversion actions. This article explains what causes these issues, what has been fixed, and what to do if you are still affected.

## **⚠️ Known Issues and Current Status**

The following issues have been identified and resolved in recent platform updates. If you submitted a bug report related to any of these, the underlying causes have been addressed:

- **API restriction error (misleading message):** OTTO PPC was displaying a "Google API restriction" error that did not accurately describe the problem. This was a platform-side limitation, not a restriction from Google. The error message has been corrected to give an honest, actionable description of the limitation.
- **Campaign pause/activate failures:** Campaigns were failing to pause or activate due to a missing required parameter in the API request. This caused an error requiring **business\_id**, **campaign\_ids**, or **ads\_account\_id**. This bug has been fixed and campaign status changes should now apply reliably.
- **Keyword bid adjustments not applying:** In some cases, bid changes made through OTTO PPC were not being saved or applied to campaigns. This was related to bulk action API handling and has been resolved.
- **Empty conversion action list:** When account-level filters excluded certain conversion actions, the results panel displayed an empty list with no explanation. This made it appear as though the account had no conversion actions at all. A fix has been deployed so that filtered results now include a clear message explaining why the list appears empty.
- **Campaign settings crash (type mismatch):** A mismatch between expected data types (integer vs. string) in campaign status fields caused the **ppc\_get\_campaign\_settings** and **ppc\_list\_ad\_groups** functions to crash. This has been resolved and both functions now handle status values correctly.

## **📋 Common Symptoms and What They Mean**

Use the table below to match what you are seeing to its likely cause:

- **"API restriction" error appears when running OTTO PPC tasks:** This was a misleading platform error. If you still see this after a recent session refresh, clear your browser cache and reload the platform.
- **Bid adjustments saved but not reflected in campaigns:** Previously caused by a bulk action API bug. If bids are still not applying, wait 10–15 minutes and check your Google Ads account directly, as propagation can take time.
- **Match type inheritance errors:** If ad groups are inheriting incorrect match types from parent campaigns, check that the campaign-level match type setting is explicitly defined and not left as default.
- **Low search volume keywords flagged unexpectedly:** Google Ads itself restricts serving for keywords with very low search volume. OTTO PPC reflects this status from Google. These keywords will become active automatically if search volume increases.
- **Conversion action list is blank:** Previously this occurred when filters excluded all rows. After the fix, you should see an explanatory message. If the list is still blank with no explanation, your account may genuinely have no active conversion actions configured in Google Ads.

## **✅ Steps to Resolve Remaining Issues**

1. **Refresh your session:** Log out of Search Atlas and log back in to ensure you are running the latest version of OTTO PPC with all recent fixes applied.
2. **Clear your browser cache:** Outdated cached data can cause old error messages or stale campaign states to appear. Clear cache and reload the platform.
3. **Re-run the affected OTTO PPC task:** After refreshing, retry the action that failed — bid adjustment, campaign pause/activate, or ad group listing. Most issues will resolve after the session is refreshed.
4. **Check your Google Ads account directly:** For bid changes and campaign status updates, confirm in Google Ads that the change has propagated. Allow up to 15 minutes for changes to appear.
5. **Verify your account connection:** Go to your account settings and confirm that your Google Ads account is still properly connected and authorised. A disconnected account will cause all PPC automation tasks to fail silently.
6. **Review conversion action settings:** If your conversion action list appears empty, log into Google Ads and confirm that at least one conversion action is active and not filtered out by date range or status.

## **🚫 Understanding Platform vs. Google API Limitations**

Some actions in OTTO PPC are limited not by bugs, but by restrictions that exist at the Google Ads API level. These include:

- Keywords with **low search volume** are paused by Google automatically and cannot be forced active through any third-party tool.
- Certain campaign types (such as Performance Max) have limited configurability through the API and may not support all OTTO PPC automation features.
- Google enforces **rate limits** on API requests. If you are managing a large number of campaigns simultaneously, some actions may be queued and delayed.

When OTTO PPC encounters a true Google API limitation, it will now display an honest message explaining the restriction rather than a generic error. This helps you understand whether the issue requires action on your side or is outside the platform's control.

## **💬 Still Experiencing Issues?**

If you have followed the steps above and are still seeing errors, bid changes not applying, or unexpected behaviour in OTTO PPC, our team wants to know. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type **human teammate** to be connected with a member of our team.

When reaching out, please include: the specific campaign or ad group name, a description of the action you attempted, the error message shown (if any), and the approximate time the issue occurred. This helps our team investigate quickly.