I used to throw all my keywords into a single ad group. Took a client losing $3,000 in a week to realize I was doing it wrong.

Back in 2021 I had this local HVAC client. I just dumped every term like "furnace repair" and "AC maintenance" into one ad group. Google was showing their ad for "emergency heat pump fix" next to a generic "schedule tune-up" search. Budget blew up in 5 days. Switched to themed ad groups after that. One for emergencies, one for maintenance, one for installations. Cost per lead dropped from $45 to $18. Anyone else have a similar wake up call with their account structure?

3 comments

3 Comments

troy_price4d ago

Pat Stone knows the pain. I had a concrete client where I was mixing "stamped patio" with "driveway repair" in the same group. Got a ton of clicks from people wanting decorative work but sent them to a repair form. The owner called me screaming after he spent $800 on leads that all walked. @pat_stone was right when he said on here before about how Google loves to serve your ad to the wrong person if you let it. Grouping by intent saved that account from getting fired.

the_sam4d ago

Grouping by search intent fixed my cost per lead from $45 to $18 almost overnight.

pat_stone4d ago

Budget blew up in 5 days. Been there. Themed groups saved my ass too.