Negative keywords are not merely a spending cut. Overbroad exclusions can prevent suitable customers seeing ads; evaluate search intent alongside the actual service.
Practical steps
- Compare search terms with the actual service scope.
- Exclude irrelevant intent without blocking suitable customers.
- Monitor both enquiry quality and volume after changes.
Define the scope
Advertising decisions should reflect business goals and real customer flows. Clicks, enquiries and sales are different; keep report definitions clear.
How to check the result
Define the comparison period and measure before making changes. Review stored forms alongside platform data and resolve missing measurement first.
A common mistake
Do not treat a single day’s fluctuation as a final result. Changing too many variables makes it harder to identify what worked.
Example application
For example, a service business values stored qualified enquiries more than form clicks. The test plan should reflect that distinction.
