What to bid on.
WHAT TO START WITH
Terms describing exactly what you sell.
Not broad category terms.
THE SPECIFICITY PRINCIPLE
"Generator repair Surulere" is better than "generators".
Fewer searches, far better intent, lower cost.
WHAT INDICATES BUYING INTENT
A specific service plus a place A specific problem Words like "buy", "price", "near me", "repair"
WHAT INDICATES RESEARCH
"How to", "what is", "types of"
Those cost money and rarely convert immediately.
MATCH TYPES
Platforms let you control how closely a search must match your term.
Broad matching shows your ad for loosely related searches, which wastes money.
Start narrow.
NEGATIVE TERMS
Searches you do not want.
Add "free", "jobs", "DIY", "salary" and anything else irrelevant.
THIS IS THE MOST NEGLECTED SETTING
Without negatives, a substantial proportion of spend goes to searches that could never convert.
WHAT TO REVIEW WEEKLY
The actual searches that triggered your ads.
Add negatives for anything irrelevant.