It is actually entirely possible to run a profitable campaign on a low budget with a low optimization score. Optimization Score is independent of Quality Score or Ad Rank and does not affect ad serving. It is more indicative of how prepared you are for automation activities. Optimization score is a top priority for Google perhaps because it brings in significant revenue. So Google is pressuring agencies to improve the optimization scores of all client accounts. As an agency optimization score is now factored into our performance goals.
You should be aware of this. It's no secret your agency should know the agency perspective ahead of time. From our perspective as an agency we are always trying to balance the benefits of a high optimization score with your benefits of high profitability. This year we had to review recommendations across all accounts and selectively apply recommendations to maintain photo retouching or improve your campaign profitability. An uncritical establishment would blindly apply the advice as the easiest and fastest thing to do. A discerning agency understands your business goals and applies recommendations only when relevant. We do have the right to say no to Google when suggesting strategies that are not suitable for our clients.
But looking at how well your campaign is optimized Scores and recommendations have become part of the monthly management process. If you manage your own advertising we encourage you to review the suggestions on a monthly basis even if you choose not to apply them. Automatically apply ad suggestions. If you let your account run unrestricted will start writing ads for you. These are called Ad Suggestions and are automatically applied after 10 days unless you tell them not to. It's extremely rare for an automatically applied ad extension to outperform an ad you created yourself. You know your audience, your market, and the questions your customers typically ask. Google knows nothing about it. Google may be better at bid management than you are but you are better at ad creation than Google.