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