## 1. Campaign Intent & Risk Analysis - **Core Search Intent:** "Enterprise ERP software" and "cloud ERP solutions" are mostly commercial-investigation searches by finance, IT or operations leaders who are replacing a legacy system or consolidating tools. These buyers use evaluation language like *vendors, comparison, implementation, pricing, RFP, demo, best ERP for manufacturing.* Your $30K+ ACV and 200+ employee threshold mean you want to block everything that signals a small business, a student, a job seeker or a bargain hunter. - **High-Risk Query Overlaps:** - **Acronym collisions:** "ERP" also means event-related potential (neuroscience), exposure and response prevention (therapy), effective radiated power (radio), and emergency response plan. - **"Cloud" collisions:** cloud storage, cloud gaming, and weather queries. - **Vertical traps:** school ERP, college ERP, hospital ERP and restaurant ERP bring in education and low-ticket buyers, especially in markets like India. - **Learning and career traffic:** SAP/ERP certification, courses, PDFs, PPTs, "what is ERP," and ERP consultant jobs. - **Switchers and tiny-business tools:** QuickBooks, Xero, Wave, Zoho Books, and open-source ERPs such as Odoo Community and ERPNext. - **Budget Leakage Summary:** The biggest leakage is on broad and phrase match for "cloud erp solutions" (education, jobs and generic definitions), then "enterprise erp software" (free, open-source and SMB intent). Informational queries ("what is," "types of," "examples") are likely the single biggest source of wasted clicks at your CPCs. These terms usually cost $20 to $60+ per click in B2B ERP, so even a small percentage of junk clicks gets expensive. ## 2. Categorized Negative Keyword Matrix | Negative Keyword | Recommended Match Type | Category | Rationale | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | free erp | Phrase | Free/Open-source | Direct non-fit, price-zero intent | | free erp software | Phrase | Free/Open-source | Same, longer variant | | free download | Phrase | Free/Open-source | Download seekers, not demo bookers | | open source | Phrase | Free/Open-source | Excluded audience | | opensource | Broad | Free/Open-source | Spelling variant | | github | Broad | Free/Open-source | Developer/DIY traffic | | odoo | Broad | Free/Open-source | Open-source/SMB ERP brand | | erpnext | Broad | Free/Open-source | Open-source ERP brand | | dolibarr | Broad | Free/Open-source | Open-source ERP brand | | cracked | Broad | Free/Open-source | Piracy intent | | small business | Phrase | SMB | Below the 200-employee threshold | | small businesses | Phrase | SMB | Plural, since negatives don't expand to variants | | small company | Phrase | SMB | Non-fit | | sme | Broad | SMB | Small/medium enterprise targeting | | startup | Broad | SMB | Early-stage, low ACV | | freelancer | Broad | SMB | Individual users | | for home | Phrase | SMB | Consumer intent | | quickbooks | Broad | Switcher | Excluded audience | | quickbooks alternative | Phrase | Switcher | Explicitly excluded | | intuit | Broad | Switcher | QuickBooks parent brand | | xero | Broad | SMB accounting | SMB accounting tool | | wave accounting | Phrase | SMB accounting | Free SMB tool | | freshbooks | Broad | SMB accounting | SMB invoicing | | zoho | Broad | SMB competitor | SMB-focused suite | | tally | Broad | SMB accounting | SMB accounting software, high volume in India | | jobs | Broad | Job seeker | Employment intent | | job | Broad | Job seeker | Singular variant | | careers | Broad | Job seeker | Employment intent | | salary | Broad | Job seeker | Employment intent | | internship | Broad | Job seeker | Student/job seeker | | resume | Broad | Job seeker | Employment intent | | hiring | Broad | Job seeker | Employment intent | | interview questions | Phrase | Job seeker | Career prep | | consultant jobs | Phrase | Job seeker | Careers | | course | Broad | Education | Training intent | | courses | Broad | Education | Plural | | certification | Broad | Education | Learning/career | | tutorial | Broad | Education | DIY learning | | training | Broad | Education | Learning intent (see guardrails) | | pdf | Broad | Education | Study material | | ppt | Broad | Education | Study material | | thesis | Broad | Education | Academic | | assignment | Broad | Education | Student | | syllabus | Broad | Education | Student | | university | Broad | Education | Academic | | what is erp | Phrase | Informational | Definitional, top-of-funnel | | erp meaning | Phrase | Informational | Definitional | | erp definition | Phrase | Informational | Definitional | | erp examples | Phrase | Informational | Research, not buying | | types of erp | Phrase | Informational | Research | | erp wikipedia | Phrase | Informational | Research | | erp diagram | Phrase | Informational | Student/research | | erp architecture | Phrase | Informational | Technical/student research | | erp source code | Phrase | DIY | Developer/DIY | | build your own | Phrase | DIY | DIY intent | | template | Broad | DIY | Spreadsheet/DIY seekers | | excel | Broad | DIY | Spreadsheet seekers | | cheap | Broad | Bargain | Low-price intent | | cheapest | Broad | Bargain | Low-price intent | | low cost | Phrase | Bargain | Low-price intent | | affordable | Broad | Bargain | Low-price intent | | budget erp | Phrase | Bargain | Low-price intent | | school erp | Phrase | Vertical mismatch | Education vertical | | college erp | Phrase | Vertical mismatch | Education vertical | | hospital erp | Phrase | Vertical mismatch | Healthcare, if not your vertical | | restaurant | Broad | Vertical mismatch | Low-ticket vertical | | pharmacy | Broad | Vertical mismatch | Low-ticket vertical | | event related potential | Phrase | Homonym | Neuroscience "ERP" | | erp therapy | Phrase | Homonym | Exposure and response prevention | | exposure response prevention | Phrase | Homonym | Therapy | | ocd | Broad | Homonym | Therapy | | effective radiated power | Phrase | Homonym | Radio "ERP" | | emergency response plan | Phrase | Homonym | Wrong "ERP" | | cloud storage | Phrase | Homonym | Wrong "cloud" intent | | cloud gaming | Phrase | Homonym | Wrong "cloud" intent | | weather | Broad | Homonym | Wrong "cloud" intent | | login | Broad | Existing users | Support seekers, not prospects | | support number | Phrase | Existing users | Support seekers | | customer service | Phrase | Existing users | Support seekers | ## 3. Bulk Upload Lists (Google Ads Formatted) **Universal Negatives (Account / Campaign Level)** ``` jobs job careers salary internship resume hiring "interview questions" "consultant jobs" course courses certification tutorial training pdf ppt thesis assignment syllabus university "what is erp" "erp meaning" "erp definition" "erp examples" "types of erp" "erp wikipedia" "erp diagram" "erp architecture" "erp source code" "build your own" template excel cheap cheapest "low cost" affordable "budget erp" "free erp" "free erp software" "free download" "open source" opensource github cracked "small business" "small businesses" "small company" sme startup freelancer "for home" login "support number" "customer service" ``` **Industry-Specific Conflict Terms** ``` quickbooks "quickbooks alternative" intuit xero "wave accounting" freshbooks zoho tally odoo erpnext dolibarr "school erp" "college erp" "hospital erp" restaurant pharmacy "event related potential" "erp therapy" "exposure response prevention" ocd "effective radiated power" "emergency response plan" "cloud storage" "cloud gaming" weather ``` ## 4. Ongoing Optimization & Review Protocol - **Search Terms Report Cadence:** - **Weeks 1-4:** review every 2-3 days, since new campaigns leak the most early on. Sort by cost descending and filter for zero conversions and spend above roughly 1.5x your target CPL. - **Month 2 onward:** review weekly, then move to biweekly once leakage stabilizes. - **Filters:** apply "Added: None" so you only see new unreviewed terms, and check the search terms report at both campaign and ad group level. - **Offline conversion data:** where possible, import CRM outcomes (SQL/opportunity, not just form fills). Junk terms often produce cheap form fills that never reach 200+ employee accounts. - **Shared lists:** keep these lists as shared negative keyword lists so one edit applies to every campaign. - **Match Type Guardrails:** - **Negatives don't expand:** negative keywords don't match close variants, plurals, misspellings or synonyms, so add each variant you want blocked (both "job" and "jobs"). Broad match negatives also ignore word order but need all terms present. - **Don't negate bare "free":** it would block "free demo" and "free consultation," which are conversion-adjacent. Use phrases like "free erp" instead. - **Check "training" and "implementation":** buyers evaluating vendors search "erp implementation" and "erp training and support." Remove "training" if you see qualified leads coming from it. Never negate "implementation," "pricing," "cost," "demo," "comparison" or "RFP." - **Don't blanket-block big-vendor brands:** I left SAP, Oracle, NetSuite and Microsoft Dynamics off the lists on purpose. Mid-market/enterprise buyers search them while comparing vendors. Decide deliberately whether to conquest those terms in a separate campaign with its own budget and ad copy. - **Small-business negatives vs. real buyers:** "small business" is safe here, but never negate "mid-size," "mid-market" or "growing" (as in "growing manufacturer"). - **Brand-name caveat:** "tally" and "wave" are common words and "weather" is broad, so test with exact or phrase match first if your vertical (e.g., retail/logistics) uses them legitimately. - **Add exclusions over time:** pair negatives with audience and location exclusions, and consider an employee-count or company-size signal via LinkedIn-matched lists or CRM audiences. Review the Auction Insights and Search Terms reports monthly for new homonyms.