Negatives are the real strategy

Accounts fill up with keywords because adding feels like progress. The money is usually in what you refuse to buy. Jobs you do not do, towns you do not cover, “free”, “diy”, “salary”, “login” — they arrive every week and they will keep arriving.

We review query reports like a desk reviews tickets. If it cannot become the result you named, it is a negative. Not a “maybe later” sitting in a shared document nobody opens.

Brand defence is the other half. If someone is bidding on your name to sell a substitute, that is a different brief from a random cheap click. Both belong on a list. Only one belongs in a panic.