I just saved a client €820/month in wasted Google Ads spend.
The culprit? Search queries that had NOTHING to do with their products.
Here's what I found in their Search Terms Report:
"free smoothie recipes" (they sell premium freeze-dried products)
"DIY nutrition bars" (they're not selling ingredients)
"cheap meal replacement" (premium positioning destroyed)
"nutrition jobs near me" (career seekers, not customers)
Every click = €1.20 wasted.
After 30 days of this bleeding, I implemented my Negative Keyword Framework.
THE 5 CATEGORIES KILLING YOUR BUDGET
1. Price Shoppers (30% of wasted spend)
cheap, free, discount, promo code, coupon
affordable, budget, economical
clearance, sale, deals
2. DIY/Tutorial Seekers (25% of wasted spend)
how to make, DIY, homemade, recipe
tutorial, guide, instructions
build your own
3. Job Hunters (15% of wasted spend)
jobs, careers, hiring, employment
salary, recruiter, CV, resume
4. Competitor Research (10% of wasted spend)
vs [competitor], alternative to
compare, comparison, review
best [product category]
5. Informational Queries (20% of wasted spend)
what is, definition, meaning
benefits of, advantages, disadvantages
statistics, research, study
MY IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS
Data Mining
Export last 90 days of Search Terms Report
Flag queries with 0% conversion rate
Categorize by intent (informational, transactional, navigational)
List Building
Create 5 master negative keyword lists by category
Use broad match for single words ("free", "jobs")
Use phrase match for specific patterns ("how to make")
Use exact match sparingly (only for very specific terms)
Implementation & Testing
Apply lists at campaign level
Monitor impression share (don't over-block)
Check for accidental blocks of converting terms
THE MISTAKE MOST PEOPLE MAKE
They add negatives randomly without strategy.
❌ "This query didn't convert, let's block it" ✅ "This query represents a pattern of intent we don't serve"
Example: Don't just block "cheap smoothies" Block the entire budget-conscious segment: cheap, affordable, budget, discount, promo
PRO TIPS FOR 2025
Performance Max now accepts 10,000 negatives per campaign (up from 100)
Finally, real control over automated campaigns
Use N-gram analysis
One strategic broad match negative > 100 exact match negatives
Review monthly, not weekly
Let campaigns gather data before blocking
Don't over-block
Monitor impression share drops
"Free shipping" is different from "free product"
THE ROI MATH
Before negative keywords:
€50/day budget
60 clicks/day @ €0.83/click
15 junk clicks/day = €12.50 wasted
€375/month wasted
After implementation:
Same €50/day budget
70 clicks/day @ €0.71/click (better Quality Score)
3 junk clicks/day = €2.13 wasted
€373/month saved
Your Google Ads bleeding budget on junk traffic?
DM me "AUDIT" with your website—I'll show you exactly where you're wasting money. It's free :)
#GoogleAds #PPC #NegativeKeywords #Ecommerce #DigitalMarketing #GoogleAdsTips