Academy • PPC
PPC Keyword Clean-Up Checklist (10-minute routine)
Why you need a clean-up routine
Most ad accounts slowly fill up with dead or weak keywords that still burn money. A simple weekly clean-up protects budget and pushes more spend into terms where demand is actually rising.
This checklist is a 10-minute routine to run once per week using your performance data + marketplace trend signals.
Step 1 — Pull your “watch list” of keywords
Before opening any tool, decide which keywords are worth reviewing:
- keywords with spend but weak results,
- keywords you suspect are seasonal or fading,
- keywords where you’re unsure whether to keep pushing or cut.
You don’t need the full account. A focused list of 20–50 keywords is enough for a weekly pass.
Step 2 — Check trend direction for each keyword
For each keyword on your watch list, use your trend data to check whether the underlying search term is:
- Rising (rank improving across weeks),
- Flat (no real change),
- Falling (rank getting worse).
The chart shape + total improvement tell you if the market itself is helping or fighting your ads.
Step 3 — Apply the simple decision grid
Rising demand + decent performance
- Keep the keyword.
- Consider gradual bid increases.
- Test it in more focused ad groups if it’s currently buried.
Falling demand + weak performance
- Lower bids aggressively or pause.
- Cut it from “broad” campaigns first.
- Don’t let yesterday’s winners drain today’s budget.
Rising demand + weak performance
- Keep the keyword, but treat it as a fix candidate.
- Check listing relevance (titles, bullets, images).
- Check match type and search term quality feeding into it.
Flat demand + decent performance
- Maintain or slowly trim bids.
- Only scale if the margin is very healthy.
- Prefer to push truly rising terms instead.
Step 4 — Clean obvious waste first
Go after the “easy wins” in every session:
- keywords with clear falling trend and bad results,
- keywords tied to past seasonal waves that are now over,
- keywords with near-zero conversions over a reasonable spend threshold.
Aggressively tightening these frees budget for your rising signals.
Step 5 — Consolidate winning themes
Your rising keywords will often share themes: same recipient, style, or use case. Treat these as PPC “clusters”:
- Group related keywords into tighter ad groups.
- Align ad copy and creative to that specific angle.
- Use trend strength as a guide for where to concentrate spend.
Step 6 — Lock the routine into your week
The clean-up works because it’s repeated, not because it’s complex. Each week:
- Pick your watch list (5–10 minutes from your ad platform).
- Check trend direction and apply the decision grid (10 minutes).
- Write down 2–3 changes you made and why.
After a few weeks, you’ll see more budget flowing into keywords that the market actually cares about.