Boston — Operations Manual
Step-by-Step Google Ads Optimization Guide
This manual contains every action needed to fix it. Four steps, in order. The first step — adding negative keywords — saves $2,568/month with zero conversion loss. The copy-paste lists are below.
49.1%
Waste rate
$35,175 wasted
$203
Blended CPL
Target: $103
$2,568
Monthly savings
$30,810/year
4 Steps
In this manual
Ordered by impact
Search terms data from Jan 2025 – Feb 2026. Three search campaigns, seven ad groups, 46,894 unique search terms.
Search Spend
$71,667
$5,231/month
Conversions
353.5
25.8/month
Cost Per Lead
$203
Blended search CPL
Waste
$35,175
49.1% of spend
Spend by Category
| Category | Spend | Conv | CPL | Waste | Waste % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brand | $24,230 | 176.5 | $137 | $3,152 | 13% |
Closet | $22,018 | 73.5 | $300 | $15,649 | 71.1% |
Competitor | $12,065 | 36.5 | $331 | $5,776 | 47.9% |
Generic | $12,495 | 63.0 | $198 | $9,874 | 79% |
Murphy | $858 | 4.0 | $214 | $724 | 84.4% |
Three search campaigns, seven ad groups. The main campaign gets 77% of spend but has the worst CPL.
CF Boston MA Search Campaign
Budget: $194.87/day · Status: Eligible (Limited)
$46,236
149.0 conv · $310 CPL
| Ad Group | Spend | Conv | CPL | Waste | Waste % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Custom Closets | $20,394 | 56.5 | $361 | $14,028 | 68.8% |
| Closet System | $10,107 | 24.5 | $413 | $5,583 | 55.2% |
| Laundry | $2,100 | 6.0 | $350 | $1,594 | 75.9% |
| Garage | $1,899 | 7.0 | $271 | $892 | 47% |
| Kid Spaces | $416 | 1.0 | $416 | $379 | 91.1% |
CF Boston MA Search Campaign For Competitor
Budget: $44.00/day · Status: Eligible
$10,167
21.9 conv · $463 CPL
| Ad Group | Spend | Conv | CPL | Waste | Waste % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Competitors | $10,167 | 21.9 | $463 | $5,776 | 56.8% |
CF Boston MA Search Campaign For Branded
Budget: $33.33/day · Status: Eligible (Limited)
$3,331
16.0 conv · $208 CPL
| Ad Group | Spend | Conv | CPL | Waste | Waste % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Branded | $3,331 | 16.0 | $208 | $923 | 27.7% |
Five structural problems, ranked by financial impact.
49.1% of search spend goes to zero-conversion terms
$2,568/month wasted
46,717 search terms with spend but zero conversions. These include 'tv recycling near me,' 'kitchen remodeling,' 'interior designers,' and 'how to discard a tv.' Google is showing CF ads to people who have no interest in custom closets.
Fix: Add negative keywords (Step 1 below)
Brand campaign is underfunded at $33/day
Missing ~$1,200/month in brand leads
The Branded campaign has a $33.33/day budget and is 'Eligible (Limited)' — meaning Google is throttling brand ad delivery. Brand searches convert at $137/lead vs. $300/lead for closet-generic. Every brand impression missed is a lead handed to a competitor.
Fix: Increase brand budget to $100/day (Step 2 below)
Three campaigns fragment budget and control
Structural inefficiency
Richmond runs 1 campaign. Boston runs 3. This means 3 separate budgets, 3 separate negative keyword lists, 3 separate bid strategies. The Competitor campaign has a $463 CPL — the highest of any campaign. The main campaign's $310 CPL is inflated by waste that could be cut with better negatives.
Fix: Consolidate to 1 campaign (Step 3 below)
100% Broad Match — no Exact or Phrase match
CPL premium of ~$100/lead
Boston runs all keywords on Broad Match through AI Max. Richmond uses 80.5% Exact+Phrase and achieves $206 CPL. Boston's Broad Match lets Google show ads for 'beautiful chandeliers,' 'muebles para ropa,' and 'pottery barn for kids.'
Fix: Add Exact/Phrase match keywords (Step 4 below)
Brand conversion share is only 49.9% (vs. Richmond's 62.2%)
Higher blended CPL
Brand searches cost $137/lead. Non-brand searches cost $280/lead. Every percentage point of brand share that increases lowers the blended CPL. Richmond's 62.2% brand share is why it achieves $206 CPL.
Fix: Fund brand campaign + invest in media (long-term)
Saves $2,568/month · $30,810/year · Zero conversions lost
Why This Is Step 1
This is the only action that costs nothing and saves money immediately. Every day without these negatives, Boston spends ~$85 on searches that will never convert. The list below contains 373 terms that are safe to negate — they have zero conversions, are not closet-related, and are not brand or competitor terms.
Terms to Negate
373
Safe, non-closet terms
Monthly Savings
$2,568
From search spend
Annual Savings
$30,810
At current rates
Conversions Lost
0
None of these convert
List A — Top 50 Safe Negatives
$1,172 in waste · Copy and paste into Google Ads as Phrase Match negatives
How to Add These in Google Ads
Note: These should be added at the account level or to all three campaigns. Adding at account level is more efficient.
Brand leads cost $137 vs. $300 for generic — increase brand budget from $33 to $100/day
Current Brand Performance
Recommended Brand Budget
Why Brand Budget Matters
"Eligible (Limited)" means Google is throttling brand ad delivery because the budget runs out before the day ends. Every brand search that goes unserved is a potential customer who sees a competitor's ad instead — or sees no ad at all. At $137/lead, brand searches are the cheapest leads in the account. Richmond allocates 48% of its search budget to brand. Boston allocates only 5.6%.
Simplifies management, unifies negative keywords, reduces budget fragmentation
Current: 3 Campaigns
3 budgets · 3 negative lists · 3 bid strategies
Target: 1 Campaign (Richmond Model)
• One campaign with all ad groups
• Brand ad group gets highest priority
• Competitor ad group stays active
• One negative keyword list covers everything
• One budget to optimize
Richmond: 1 campaign → $206 CPL
Important: This Requires Agency Coordination
Campaign restructuring is not something a franchisee can do alone. This requires the agency (or whoever manages the Google Ads account) to consolidate the three campaigns into one. Steps 1 and 2 can be done immediately. Step 3 should be planned as a coordinated effort with a specific migration date.
Richmond's 80.5% Exact+Phrase achieves $176 CPL vs. Boston's $203 on Broad
Boston currently runs 100% Broad Match through AI Max. This means Google decides what searches to show ads for. Adding Exact and Phrase match keywords for proven converters gives you control over the highest-value searches.
Recommended Exact Match Keywords
Add these as [Exact Match] in the Brand and Custom Closets ad groups
Brand — Exact Match
[closet factory]
[closet factory boston]
[closet factory wilmington ma]
[closet factory wilmington]
[closet factory near me]
[the closet factory]
[closet factory reviews]
[closet factory costco]
Closet — Exact Match
[boston closets]
[custom closets near me]
[closet design companies near me]
[new england closets]
[closet company near me]
[closet companies near me]
[custom closet design near me]
[closet organizer systems]
The Match Type Math
$176
Exact Match CPL
(Richmond data)
$211
Phrase Match CPL
(Richmond data)
$379
Broad Match CPL
(Richmond data)
Every dollar shifted from Broad to Exact/Phrase produces more leads at lower cost.
Closets by Design and California Closets are the only competitors worth paying for. Everything else is waste.
| Competitor | 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 |
| Inspired Closets | 0 | $0 | — | $197 | BLOCK |
| Home Depot | 0 | $0 | — | $89 | BLOCK |
| Closet Solutions | 0 | $0 | — | $82 | BLOCK |
| IKEA | 0 | $0 | — | $59 | BLOCK |
What the numbers look like after implementing all four steps.
Before Optimization
After Optimization
The Math
Step 1 saves $2,568/month by cutting zero-conversion terms. No leads lost.
Step 2 redirects $2,000/month to Brand (from Step 1 savings). At $137/lead, this adds ~14.6 leads/month.
Remaining $568/month goes to proven closet-generic terms. At $87/lead (closet category CPL), this adds ~6.5 leads/month.
Net result: Same budget, double the leads. From 25.8/month to an estimated 51.4/month.
Four steps, ordered by urgency and ease of implementation.
Add Negative Keywords
Immediate: $2,568/month saved
Increase Brand Budget
+14.6 brand leads/month at $137 CPL
Plan Campaign Consolidation
Simplified management, unified negatives
Add Exact/Phrase Match Keywords
CPL reduction from match type optimization