"We're from google and we are here to help optimize your ad spend." $GOOG

A correspondent writes in about this change to the Google AdWords program,

"Today Google has announced that in late September, AdWords advertisers will no longer have the ability to de-select close variants. All campaigns will now include these variants, something that advertisers could previously opt out of. The way close variants will work is completely the same as it has been since 2012."

He observes,

"They are doing more and more to make it harder to target people. This means your cost per acquisition goes up and they get more of the juice. They want the other half of advertising that's wasted, and they're starting to realize they are giving away the store by letting customers target too precisely. You also cannot exclude tablets now on there - even though someone is much more likely to buy from a desktop or laptop than a tablet, yet Google forces you to target all of them together. The switch to mobile devices scared them, because it was mostly useless inventory from a direct marketing perspective, but it made the remaining desktop inventory more targetable and valuable - if someone is at their actual computer, they are "doing business" and in more of a buying mindset. Google does what it takes to protect 95+% of their revenue."