When running a Google Ads campaign for a real estate investing business targeting motivated sellers, every dollar counts. Efficiency is crucial—wasted ad spend on irrelevant search terms can quickly drain your budget and reduce profitability. One of the biggest culprits of wasted spend? Broad match keywords.
In this analysis, we break down how broad match keywords can negatively impact your campaign, leading to excessive costs, irrelevant clicks, and inefficient conversions. By the end, you’ll understand why a more controlled keyword strategy is the key to success in Google Ads.
What Are Broad Match Keywords?
Broad match is the default keyword match type in Google Ads. It allows ads to appear for searches that are related—but not necessarily relevant—to your chosen keyword. For example, a broad match keyword like “sell my house fast” could trigger searches like:
- “best real estate agents near me”
- “how to sell a house without a realtor”
- “free home valuation”
While some of these searches might be relevant, many will not align with the intent of a motivated seller looking to sell their house quickly.
Broad Match Keyword Presence in a Real Estate Investor Campaign
From a dataset analyzing a real estate investor’s Google Ads campaign, we found that 88.71% of all campaign keywords were broad match. This means nearly 9 out of 10 keywords had the potential to trigger unrelated or low-quality searches.
While broad match can increase reach, it also increases exposure to unqualified traffic, which can lead to wasted budget and lower ROI.
How Much Is Broad Match Costing You?
Analyzing ad spend and keyword efficiency, we found that:
- Total Spend on Broad Match Keywords: $64,709.72
- Total Broad Match Conversions: 1,367
- Broad Match Wasted Spend (from Exclusions): $12,005.52
- Percentage of Broad Match Spend Wasted: 18.55%
This means that nearly 1 in every 5 dollars spent on broad match keywords was wasted due to irrelevant searches.
Broad Match vs. Other Match Types: Performance Indicators
- Click-Through Rate (CTR) for Broad Match Keywords: 621 tracked instances
- Broad Match Average Cost Per Click (CPC): $1.28
When compared to phrase and exact match keywords, broad match does not necessarily deliver lower-cost traffic. Instead, it often results in higher CPCs and a lower conversion rate, meaning you’re paying more for clicks that are less likely to turn into deals.
Keyword Performance Comparison
To further illustrate the impact of match types, let’s compare performance metrics for broad match, phrase match, and exact match keywords:
From this data, it’s evident that phrase and exact match keywords drive more efficient conversions at lower CPCs while broad match leads to inefficient spending with lower conversion rates.
Broad Match Search Terms Exclusion Analysis
To better understand how much of the budget was wasted, we examined search terms that were actively excluded:
- Total Campaign Spend: $85,828.81
- Total Wasted Spend (Excluded Terms): $17,896.55
- Percentage of Spend that was Wasted: 20.85%
- Total Search Terms Analyzed: 66,641
- Total Excluded Search Terms: 5,687
- Exclusion Rate (Percentage of Search Terms Excluded): 8.53%
Broad Match’s Role in Wasted Spend
- Excluded Broad Match Search Terms: 5,020
- Percentage of Excluded Terms that were Broad Match: 88.27%
- Total Wasted Spend from Broad Match Exclusions: $12,005.52
- Percentage of Total Wasted Spend from Broad Match: 67.08%
These numbers highlight a significant issue: Broad match terms were responsible for over two-thirds of all wasted ad spend.
Cost Savings Projection by Adjusting Keyword Strategy
By reallocating the budget from broad match to more efficient match types, you can expect the following cost savings:
- Projected Annual Savings: $12,000+ by eliminating broad match exclusions
- Improved Conversion Rate: Estimated increase from 2.11% to 4.48% by shifting spend to phrase match
- Lower CPC: Savings of $0.30–$0.42 per click by focusing on phrase and exact match
Estimated Budget Reallocation Strategy
| Match Type | Current Budget | Recommended Budget | Expected Increase in Conversions |
| Broad Match | $64,709.72 | $10,000 | Reduced inefficiencies |
| Phrase Match | $15,893.45 | $40,000 | +900 conversions |
| Exact Match | $5,225.64 | $20,000 | +750 conversions |
By shifting focus to phrase and exact match keywords, advertisers can generate up to 1,650 additional conversions without increasing total ad spend.
Conclusion: Stop Wasting Money on Broad Match Keywords
Broad match keywords might seem like an easy way to reach a wider audience, but for real estate investors targeting motivated sellers, they can be a costly mistake. With 67% of wasted spend tied to broad match exclusions and nearly $12,000 lost, it’s clear that a more refined keyword strategy is necessary.
By focusing on phrase and exact match keywords, implementing negative keywords, and regularly reviewing search term reports, you can significantly reduce waste and improve your campaign’s profitability.
Next Steps: Optimize Your Google Ads Campaign Today
Are you ready to take control of your Google Ads spend and generate more qualified leads? Shift to a more targeted keyword strategy today and stop wasting money on broad match inefficiencies!
Would you like additional insights on campaign structure optimization? Let us know how we can help refine your campaign further!