You do not need 400 keywords.
By Gabriel Caceros · July 2, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
You do not need 400 keywords.
You need 40 that have jobs.
Keyword expansion feels productive because the output is visible.
More rows.
More campaigns.
More search terms.
More things to report.
But complexity is not strategy.
We inherited an account with 1,842 active keywords across one product line.
The previous agency had been "expanding coverage" for nine months.
Here is what the data said:
→ 71% of keywords had zero sales in 60 days
→ 18% had one sale
→ 9% drove most revenue
→ 2% drove most contribution
The account looked sophisticated.
It was mostly noise.
We cut the structure down to 63 keywords with defined roles:
→ 18 exact-match profit drivers
→ 14 conquest terms
→ 11 discovery terms
→ 9 branded defense terms
→ 11 seasonal or promo terms
The client was nervous.
Fewer keywords felt like less opportunity.
Thirty days later:
→ Spend down 26%
→ Revenue down 4%
→ Contribution up 19%
→ Optimization time cut in half
The best accounts are not the biggest.
They are the clearest.
Every keyword should answer one question:
What job do you do?
If the answer is "maybe it will work someday," pause it.
Discovery is useful.
Clutter is expensive.
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