Most accounts don’t have a “creative” problem in week three — they have a query hygiene problem. Irrelevant searches still spend while you wait for “enough data.”
The 20-minute Monday ritual
- Open Search Terms for the last 7 days.
- Sort by cost, then by conversions = 0.
- Add negatives in three buckets: wrong intent, wrong geo/language, competitor tire-kickers.
- Log what you blocked — so next week you don’t reverse a good decision.
Adding 20–30 negatives in the first 30 days is normal. We tell clients this up front so the account doesn’t look “broken” while it’s actually getting cleaner.
What “good” looks like
You should see fewer junk clicks within 1–2 weeks, and a clearer path to CPA you can defend. If ROAS stalls after hygiene, then — and only then — we rethink offers, landing match, and bid strategy.
Want this done for you?
See how we turned channel chaos into 5.2x ROAS when creative and message finally matched — or book a free ads review.