Virginia Beach → Richmond Playbook
Richmond spends $179/day and converts at $248 CPL. Virginia Beach spends $339/day and converts at $289 CPL. Same company, same AI Max setup, same month. Here is exactly what VB must change to match Richmond's results.
$339/day
VB daily spend
1.9x Richmond
$179/day
Richmond daily spend
The target
$289
VB cost per lead
2 campaigns, PMax + AI Max
$248
Richmond cost per lead
1 campaign, AI Max only
Full period: Jan 2025 – Feb 2026 (14 months)
Virginia Beach and Richmond run the same Closet Factory Google Ads under the same corporate setup. But VB spends nearly double and gets worse results. Three structural differences explain the gap.
VB runs PMax. Richmond does not.
VB's PMax campaign ("A - VB P Max- 03-29-24") eats 30.4% of total budget ($43,189) in a black box. You cannot see what it bids on, you cannot add negatives, you cannot control match types. It shows $157 CPL but 65.6% of its spend goes to zero-conversion terms. Richmond doesn't have this problem because Richmond doesn't run PMax.
VB's match type mix is backwards.
Richmond puts 49.5% of spend into phrase match ($196–$229 CPL). VB puts only 13.6% into phrase match. Instead, VB dumps 31.4% into broad match at $609 CPL — 3x worse than Richmond's broad match ($379 CPL). Phrase match is the engine that makes Richmond work.
VB's Brand ad group is starved.
Richmond spends 24.5% of budget on Brand ($18,439) and gets 103.60 conversions. VB spends only 4.2% on Brand ($5,977) and gets 43.86 conversions. VB's Brand CPL ($136) is actually cheaper than Richmond's ($178) — it's just not getting enough budget because PMax is eating the money.
Frees $3,085/month — redirected to AI Max Closet Campaign
Go to Google Ads → Campaigns
Why kill PMax when it shows $157 CPL?
Because you have zero visibility and zero control. PMax doesn't show you match types, doesn't let you add negatives, and doesn't tell you which queries are converting. The $157 CPL includes $28,306 in zero-conversion waste hidden inside the black box. You're paying for conversions you can't verify, on terms you can't see, with targeting you can't adjust.
Richmond proves you don't need PMax. Richmond runs one AI Max campaign — no PMax — and gets 303 conversions at $248 CPL with full visibility into every search term, every match type, and every dollar.
What happens to the $3,085/month:
• Option A (Conservative): Save it. VB's total budget drops from $10,160/month to $7,075/month. Still more than Richmond's $5,383.
• Option B (Aggressive): Redirect it into the AI Max Closet Campaign's Brand ad group. Brand is converting at $136 CPL — the cheapest in the account. More brand budget = more cheap leads.
• Option C (Match Richmond): Drop total budget to $5,383/month ($179/day) to exactly mirror Richmond. Concentrate every dollar in one campaign.
This is the single biggest lever — phrase match is Richmond's engine
This step requires access to the keyword settings inside each ad group. If VB's account uses AI Max "Search Themes" instead of traditional keywords, this change must be made by the agency or corporate — you cannot change match types on Search Themes.
Match Type Distribution — VB vs Richmond
| Match Type | VB % | VB CPL | RVA % | RVA CPL | VB Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broad match | 31.4% | $609 | 28.7% | $379 | ≤ 29% |
| Phrase match (combined) | 13.6% | $173–$564 | 49.5% | $196–$229 | ≥ 49% |
| Exact match (combined) | 20.5% | $364–$728 | 17.9% | $212–$375 | ~18% |
| Performance Max | 30.4% | $157 | 0% | — | 0% |
| AI Max | 4.0% | $593 | 3.8% | $221 | ~4% |
How to change match types in the AI Max Closet Campaign:
Pause the worst performers, fund Brand
VB Ad Groups — Ranked by CPL (14-month data)
| Ad Group | Spend | Conv | CPL | Waste % | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PMax (black box) | $43,189 | 274.5 | $157 | 66% | PAUSE (Step 1) |
| Closet Companies | $29,224 | 57.8 | $506 | 83% | REDUCE BUDGET |
| Closet Cabinetry | $18,671 | 28.7 | $651 | 95% | REDUCE BUDGET |
| Competitors | $17,400 | 31.9 | $545 | 15% | REDUCE BUDGET |
| Closet Types | $17,010 | 39.3 | $433 | 57% | MONITOR |
| Closet Builders | $6,194 | 12.6 | $490 | 80% | MONITOR |
| Brand | $5,977 | 43.9 | $136 | 28% | INCREASE BUDGET |
| Closet Design | $3,674 | 3.3 | $1,130 | 68% | PAUSE |
| Closet Designers | $898 | 1.0 | $916 | 92% | PAUSE |
PAUSE these ad groups:
• Closet Design — $3,674 spent, 3.25 conversions, $1,130 CPL. Richmond's same ad group: $440 CPL. VB's is 2.6x worse.
• Closet Designers — $898 spent, 0.98 conversions, $916 CPL. Richmond's same ad group: $252 CPL. VB's is 3.6x worse.
REDUCE budget on these ad groups:
• Closet Cabinetry — $651 CPL, 95% waste. Richmond's: $401 CPL. Cut budget by 50%.
• Competitors — $545 CPL, 15% waste. Richmond's: $212 CPL. Cut budget by 30%.
• Closet Companies — $506 CPL, 83% waste. Richmond's: $447 CPL. Cut budget by 40%.
• Closet Builders — $490 CPL, 80% waste. Richmond's: $273 CPL. Cut budget by 30%.
INCREASE budget on these ad groups:
• Brand — $136 CPL, cheapest in the account. Richmond puts 24.5% of budget here. VB puts 4.2%. Increase to at least 20% of total campaign budget.
• Closet Types — $433 CPL in VB but $326 in Richmond. Keep and monitor after match type changes — the CPL should improve with more phrase match.
Three options depending on how aggressive you want to be
Option A: Conservative
$236/day
Keep current AI Max budget, just kill PMax
Monthly: $7,075
Savings: $3,085/month from PMax
Risk: Low
Option B: Mirror Richmond
RECOMMENDED$179/day
Match Richmond dollar-for-dollar
Monthly: $5,383
Savings: $4,777/month total
Risk: Medium — proven by Richmond
Option C: Aggressive
$339/day
Keep total budget, concentrate in one campaign
Monthly: $10,160
Savings: $0 — reinvested
Risk: Higher — more spend than Richmond's proven model
How to set the daily budget:
Safe-to-negate terms from March data — 15 terms, $722 wasted
DO NOT add any term containing "Closet Factory" as a negative.
Brand terms are your cheapest conversions ($136 CPL). Even zero-conversion brand variants like "closet factory near me" ($292) are people looking for you by name. Blocking them sends that demand to competitors.
Safe Negative Keywords — March 2025
These terms are completely outside CF's business — kitchen, retail brands, DIY hardware, furniture. Zero risk of blocking a real customer.
| # | Term | Waste | Clicks | Ad Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | kitchen design | $35 | 2 | Closet Cabinetry |
| 2 | modern kitchen cabinets | $26 | 1 | Closet Cabinetry |
| 3 | kitchen cabinets | $24 | 3 | Closet Cabinetry |
| 4 | extra tall armoire | $31 | 1 | Closet Companies |
| 5 | turn a room into a closet on a budget | $26 | 2 | Closet Companies |
| 6 | bi fold closet doors | $63 | 2 | Closet Companies |
| 7 | closet mirror doors | $35 | 1 | Closet Companies |
| 8 | turn closet door into bookcase | $255 | 1 | Closet Builders |
| 9 | home made walk in closet | $24 | 1 | Closet Builders |
| 10 | crestwood cabinets | $35 | 1 | Closet Cabinetry |
| 11 | lowes closets by liberty | $36 | 1 | Closet Cabinetry |
| 12 | cabinet fronts | $37 | 1 | Closet Cabinetry |
| 13 | wayfair closets | $24 | 2 | Closet Cabinetry |
| 14 | wardrobes | $24 | 2 | Closet Cabinetry |
| 15 | cabinet & closet express | $48 | 1 | Closet Cabinetry |
The honest truth about VB negatives
VB already has 553 negative keywords — nearly 3x Richmond's 198. The safe-to-negate list above saves only ~$722/month. The real waste ($103,923 over 14 months) is on closet-related terms that are relevant to CF's business but aren't converting because of broad match and PMax. Negatives alone won't fix VB. Steps 1–4 are where the real savings come from.
Compare VB to Richmond every week
Every Monday, pull these 5 numbers for VB:
Decision points:
• Week 2: If CPL is still above $350, check if match types actually shifted. If broad match is still above 30%, the change didn't take effect.
• Week 3: If Brand is still below 15% of spend, manually increase Brand ad group bid or budget.
• Week 4: Compare 30-day VB numbers to Richmond's 30-day numbers. If CPL is within 20% of Richmond ($248 ± $50), the restructure is working. If not, escalate to agency.
If VB mirrors Richmond's structure
| Metric | VB Now | VB After (Option B) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Spend | $10,160 | $5,383 | -$4,777 |
| Daily Spend | $339 | $179 | -$160 |
| Campaigns | 2 | 1 | -1 |
| PMax | Yes (30%) | No | Killed |
| Phrase Match % | 13.6% | ~49.5% | +36 pts |
| Brand % of Spend | 4.2% | ~24.5% | +20 pts |
| Projected Conv/Month | 35.1 | ~21.7 | -13.4 |
| Projected CPL | $289 | ~$248 | -$41 |
| Monthly Savings | — | $4,777 | $57,324/yr |
The trade-off
Option B (mirror Richmond) will likely reduce total conversions from ~35/month to ~22/month because you're cutting total spend by 47%. But you're saving $4,777/month ($57,324/year) and the leads you do get will be higher quality at a lower CPL. The 13 "lost" conversions were mostly coming from PMax's black box and broad match waste — many of those may not have been real leads anyway.
If you want to maintain volume: Choose Option C ($339/day, one campaign). You keep the same budget but concentrate it in one campaign with Richmond's match type distribution. Projected: ~35 conversions at ~$289 CPL improving to ~$248 CPL as match types take effect over 30-60 days.
The 6-Step Checklist
Pause PMax campaign
"A - VB P Max- 03-29-24" → Paused
Shift match types
Broad 31% → 29%, Phrase 14% → 49%
Fix ad groups
Pause Closet Design + Closet Designers. Fund Brand to 20%+
Set daily budget
Option B: $179/day. Option C: $339/day (one campaign)
Add 15 safe negatives
Kitchen, retail brands, DIY hardware — copy/paste from list above
Track weekly × 4 weeks
Compare CPL, Brand %, Phrase % to Richmond benchmarks