Advertisers often spend considerable time researching which keywords to bid on, while giving far less thought to which searches should be explicitly excluded.
Where Waste Hides
- Searches containing "free", "jobs", or "DIY" when the offer is a paid service
- Competitor brand names triggering irrelevant clicks
- Overly broad terms pulling in unrelated search intent
A Simple Habit
Reviewing the search terms report weekly and adding clearly irrelevant queries to a negative keyword list can meaningfully cut wasted spend within the first month.
The Payoff
Accounts that regularly maintain negative keyword lists often see cost-per-acquisition drop without touching bids or budgets at all.