Inspired by Andrew Palacios (@drewdoesmarktng). Original post: most contractor negative keyword lists are too aggressive. This is a new Tygart article for restoration contractors. We kept the mechanism, added first-party field knowledge, and did not reprint the thread.
Blocking “jobs,” “salary,” and “DIY how to” is useful. Blocking an entire profitable service because the query looked ugly in a report is how shops stop paying for sewage and then wonder why only carpet-dry calls remain.
Before you add an exclusion, ask: is this a person we would roll for? “Emergency water extraction near me at night” is a job. “How to dry carpet with fans” is not. “Mold test kit Walmart” is not. “Sewage backup cleanup cost” often is.
Review the search-term list weekly with someone who has stood in a wet house. Do not let a junior media buyer delete Category 3 because the word “backup” looked messy.