A practical starting point
Work through these checks in order. Use the results to decide what needs to change in your own workflow.
- Collect irrelevant search terms and group their causes.
- Choose exclusions at the appropriate scope.
- Recheck valuable queries that may be affected by the same wording.
A development agency may want to exclude employment searches without excluding buyers researching development teams.
A mistake to avoid
Do not copy a large generic exclusion list without reviewing its effect.
How to check progress
Track irrelevant spend and any loss of qualified enquiry volume.
Your action checklist
Use this checklist while reviewing your own setup. Checkmarks are temporary and stay in this open page.
Need the wider workflow?
This quick note covers one decision. For a worked example, decision table and a fuller implementation workflow, read Aligning search ads with landing-page intent.
Further reading
Official background resources for this topic. The workflow above is general guidance, not a guarantee of a particular result.
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