Gravity Well Marketing
Search Terms Audit & Budget Action Plan
13.7-Month Search Terms Audit · Jan 2025 – Feb 2026
46,894 search terms analyzed. 46,717 of them produced zero conversions and wasted $2,568 every month. This report shows exactly which terms to cut, which to protect, and which to optimize — with a path to doubling lead volume at the same budget.
49%
Budget Wasted
100%
Conversions Retained
2x
Projected Lead Growth
13.7 months of search terms data — Jan 2025 – Feb 2026
Total Spend
$71,667
13.7 months
Total Conversions
353.5
25.8/month avg
Blended CPL
$203
All search terms
Search Terms
46,894
46,894 unique queries
Search Terms by Category
| Category | Terms | Spend | Conv | CPL | Converting | Zero-Conv |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | 524 | $24,230 | 176.5 | $137 | 35 | 489 |
| Closet | 15,323 | $22,018 | 73.5 | $300 | 64 | 15,259 |
| Competitor | 4,415 | $12,065 | 36.5 | $331 | 20 | 4,395 |
| Generic | 25,575 | $12,495 | 63.0 | $198 | 54 | 25,521 |
| Murphy/Wall Bed | 1,057 | $858 | 4.0 | $214 | 4 | 1,053 |
The Ratio
177 terms are doing all the work. 46,717 terms produced nothing. That's a 0.38% hit rate — 99.6% of the search terms that triggered your ads never generated a single lead.
The Story in Three Numbers
$5,231
Going Out the Door
Monthly search spend
25.8
Leads Coming Back
Monthly conversions
$203
Blended CPL
Nearly double what it should be
The Good News
You can cut the waste today and lose nothing. If you redirect that money into what's already working, you could be pulling 51 leads a month instead of 26 — same budget, double the results.
46,717 terms. $2,568/month. Zero conversions. Cut them all.
Terms to Cut
46,717
Add as negatives
Monthly Savings
$2,568
Immediate
Annual Savings
$30,810
$30,810/year
Conversions Lost
ZERO
100% retained
Cut Breakdown by Category
| Category | Terms | Monthly Waste | Period Waste | Clicks Wasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Generic zero-conv | 25,521 | $721 | $9,874 | 2,038 |
| Closet zero-conv | 15,259 | $1,142 | $15,649 | 1,764 |
| Competitor zero-conv | 4,395 | $422 | $5,776 | 637 |
| Brand zero-conv | 489 | $230 | $3,152 | 470 |
| Murphy zero-conv | 1,053 | $53 | $724 | 150 |
| TOTAL | 46,717 | $2,568 | $35,175 | 5,059 |
Top Wasted Generic Terms
Top Wasted Closet Terms
Top Wasted Competitor Terms
Top Wasted Brand Terms
AI Max Is Pulling in Junk Traffic
"How to get rid of printers" and "free television disposal near me" — these are people looking to throw away electronics, not build closets. AI Max is matching your ads to queries that have no business seeing them. Every one of these clicks costs money and produces nothing.
Competitor Brands to Cut Entirely
Zero conversions across all terms — every dollar here is waste
Closet Connection
23 terms · $43 wasted
Amazon
40 terms · $0 wasted
Closet Solutions
86 terms · $82 wasted
Lowe's
148 terms · $10 wasted
Home Depot
296 terms · $89 wasted
Closet World
12 terms · $20 wasted
Elfa
154 terms · $42 wasted
Inspired Closets
84 terms · $197 wasted
Up Closets
16 terms · $13 wasted
Wayfair
48 terms · $13 wasted
Tailored Closet
46 terms · $6 wasted
IKEA
364 terms · $59 wasted
Rubbermaid
26 terms · $0 wasted
Walmart
22 terms · $0 wasted
Closet Works
24 terms · $35 wasted
More Space Place
11 terms · $25 wasted
177 terms. $2,472/month. 21.2 leads/month. These are your money-makers.
Proven Terms
177
Converting terms
Monthly Spend
$2,472
Protected budget
Monthly Leads
21.2
Proven converters
Effective CPL
$117
vs $203 blended
Brand
12.9
leads/mo at $119 CPL
$1,539/mo spend
Closet
5.4
leads/mo at $87 CPL
$465/mo spend
Competitor
2.7
leads/mo at $172 CPL
$459/mo spend
Murphy/Wall Bed
0.3
leads/mo at $33 CPL
$10/mo spend
Top Brand Terms (KEEP)
Top Closet Terms (KEEP)
Murphy/Wall Bed Terms (KEEP) — Cheapest CPL in the Account
54 converting generic terms. $191/month. $42 CPL — your most efficient converters.
Tier 1: Strong Winners (2+ conversions) — KEEP
5 terms with proven repeat conversion. These are your most efficient leads.
"Home office" converts at $4 CPL — the cheapest lead in the entire account.
Tier 2: Moderate (1 conversion each) — WATCH 60 Days
47 terms with 1 conversion each. Keep running for 60 more days — cut any that don't convert again.
"Kitchen cabinets" at $186 CPL is the first one to watch — if it doesn't convert again quickly, cut it.
Tier 3: Marginal (<1 conversion) — TIGHTEN
2 terms: "donating clothes" and "donate old electronics near me." Combined $13 spend, 1.0 conversion. Low risk either way.
Which competitor brands are worth conquesting and which are pure waste
| Competitor | Conv | Conv Spend | CPL | Waste | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Closets by Design | 22.5 | $4,438 | $197 | $664 | KEEP & FUND |
| California Closets | 7.0 | $1,693 | $242 | $2,105 | KEEP & FUND |
| Container Store | 2.0 | $41 | $20 | $1,131 | KEEP & WATCH |
| Costco | 2.0 | $11 | $5 | $336 | KEEP & WATCH |
| ClosetMaid | 1.0 | $25 | $25 | $104 | KEEP & WATCH |
| EasyClosets | 1.0 | $6 | $6 | $21 | KEEP & WATCH |
| Boston Closet Co | 1.0 | $76 | $76 | $294 | KEEP & WATCH |
Top Converting Competitor Terms
Closets by Design Is Your #1 Conquest Target
22.5 conversions from people searching for Closets by Design who clicked on your ad instead. California Closets is #2 with 7 conversions. Container Store at $20 CPL is remarkably efficient — people comparing Elfa products are converting to Closet Factory at rock-bottom cost.
Nearly half of all Boston conversions come from people already searching for Closet Factory
Brand Conversions
176.5
50% of all conversions
Brand CPL
$119
vs $203 blended
Brand Spend
$21,078
13.7 months
Wilmington Effect
Strong
Local brand recognition
All Converting Brand Terms
| Term | Conv | Spend | CPL |
|---|---|---|---|
| closet factory | 47.7 | $5,372 | $113 |
| closet factory | 31.0 | $5,178 | $167 |
| closet factory boston | 21.4 | $1,973 | $92 |
| closet factory | 11.0 | $1,900 | $173 |
| closet factory wilmington ma | 9.0 | $1,013 | $113 |
| closet factory boston | 8.0 | $1,694 | $212 |
| closet factory wilmington | 7.0 | $777 | $111 |
| closet factory near me | 4.0 | $198 | $50 |
| the closet factory | 3.0 | $195 | $65 |
| closet factory costco | 2.0 | $156 | $78 |
| closet factory reviews | 2.0 | $209 | $105 |
| closet factory boston | 2.0 | $114 | $57 |
Brand Waste Note
"Closet factory boston" appears as both converting ($1,973 with 21.4 conv) and non-converting ($484 with 0 conv) because the same term triggered across different campaigns/ad groups with different results. The non-converting instances should be paused in the underperforming ad groups.
$87 CPL — the cheapest non-brand leads in the account
Closet Conversions
73.5
13.7 months
Closet CPL
$87
Cheapest non-brand
Converting Terms
64
of 15,323 total
Wasted
$15,649
15,259 zero-conv terms
Top Converting Closet Terms
The Closet Paradox
"Custom closets" spent $714 with 56 clicks and zero conversions. But "boston closets" spent $407 and produced 4 conversions. The difference? Local intent. People searching "custom closets" are browsing. People searching "boston closets" are buying. The geo-modified terms convert; the generic ones don't.
Cut your spend in half, keep every single lead, then reinvest to double volume
| Metric | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Spend | $5,231 | $2,664 | -$2,568 (-49%) |
| Monthly Conversions | 25.8 | 25.8 | 0 (100% retained) |
| Blended CPL | $203 | $103 | -$100 (-49%) |
| Annual Savings | — | $30,810 | Zero conversion loss |
If you reinvest the $2,568/month savings back into proven converters:
Reinvest in Brand ($119 CPL)
+21.5
additional leads/month
Reinvest in Closet ($87 CPL)
+29.6
additional leads/month
Blended (50/50)
+25.6
additional leads/month
Current
25.8
leads/month
Projected
51.4
leads/month
+99%
Same Budget. Double the Leads.
That's not a theory — that's what the data says happens when you stop feeding terms that have never worked and start feeding terms that already are.