Search terms are getting irrelevant on Google Ads.

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BidHorizon

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Recently I noticed Google is matching my ads with many unrelated search terms. I keep adding negative keywords but new irrelevant searches continue appearing.
Is there a better way to control this or is this normal now with automated matching?
 
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yeah it's normal now, broad match plus smart bidding basically does whatever it wants. negatives alone won't keep up.

what helped me: switch the worst ad groups to phrase/exact, build a shared negative list and check search terms like every 2-3 days at first. also if you're on PMax, add account level negatives, that cut a ton of junk for me
 
it is normal now, broad match can get pretty loose with intent. keep reviewing the search terms regularly instead of only adding negatives whenever something goes wrong. Check your conversion data too, it can help identify where the bad traffic is coming from.
 
Yeah, broad/auto is doing that now, tighten to phrase/exact and mine search terms daily.
 
Google's automated "Close Variants" are burning your cash, so lock it down with strict Exact Match and turn off Search Partners.
 
WealthpilotZ said:
Google's automated "Close Variants" are burning your cash, so lock it down with strict Exact Match and turn off Search Partners.
Click to expand...
exact match + search partners off will take care of a lot of crap, but do not forget to keep an eye on conversion volume. tbh, check out search terms first.
 
princesinhada1D said:
yeah it's normal now, broad match plus smart bidding basically does whatever it wants. negatives alone won't keep up.

what helped me: switch the worst ad groups to phrase/exact, build a shared negative list and check search terms like every 2-3 days at first. also if you're on PMax, add account level negatives, that cut a ton of junk for me
Click to expand...
Yes, checking search terms every few days during your expansion is definitely advisable.However, pmax negative keywords combined with more restricted match types can get you out of trouble.
 
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