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The Diagnosis: The "Broad Match" Trap

The #1 reason your ads go rogue

The most common reason ads show for weird, unrelated searches is your Match Types.

If you add a keyword without any punctuation (e.g., office chair), you are using Broad Match. This gives Google permission to show your ad for anything it thinks is remotely related.

Example of the Trap:

Your Keyword: office chair (Broad Match).

What Google Shows:

"Office Space movie quotes" (Related by word "Office")

"Wheelchair repair" (Related by word "Chair")

"Ergonomic kneeling stool" (Related by concept)

The Fix: Check your keyword list. If there are no "quotes" (Phrase Match) or [brackets] (Exact Match) around your words, you are casting too wide a net. Pause the Broad Match keywords and replace them with Phrase or Exact Match.

Hidden Culprit: Auto-Apply Recommendations

Did Google add keywords without asking you?

Google has a feature called "Auto-Apply Recommendations." If this is enabled, Google's AI can automatically add new keywords to your account if it thinks they will bring you traffic.

Often, these AI suggestions focus on volume, not relevance.

How to Check:

Go to Recommendations in the left menu.

Look for a "History" tab or "Auto-Apply" icon (top right).

Check if "Add new keywords" is checked.

Turn it off if you want full control. You know your business better than the algorithm does.

The "Close Variant" Problem

Even Exact Match isn't perfect anymore.

Years ago, [red shoes] meant only "red shoes." Today, Google uses Close Variants. This means even Exact Match keywords can match with:

• Misspellings
• Plurals
• "Same meaning" terms (synonyms)

Sometimes Google's definition of "Same Meaning" is wrong. (e.g., matching "Landscape Design" with "Lawn Mowing service"—two very different jobs).

The Solution: You cannot turn off Close Variants. Your only defense is a strict Negative Keyword List. You must actively tell Google what not to target.

Dynamic Search Ads (DSA)

Are you running ads without keywords?

If you are running a Dynamic Search Ad (DSA) campaign, you don't use keywords at all. Google scrapes your website content and automatically generates ads based on what it finds.

The Risk: If your website has a blog post about "The History of Coffee," Google might show your ads to people searching for "Coffee History," even if you sell Coffee Machines.

The Fix:

Check if you have any "Dynamic" ad groups running.

If yes, check your "Dynamic Ad Targets" tab.

Ensure you are targeting specific "URL contains" rules (e.g., only pages with /product/), not your entire website.

Final Check: Irrelevant searches waste budget, but Bot Traffic wastes it faster. Even if your targeting is perfect, bots can still click your ads. Use ClickSambo to block invalid traffic sources that no keyword setting can fix.