Exact Match is a lie? 53% of my spend is going to “Other Search Terms” and I’m hitting a wall.

[whyvalue]

You can make a script that runs every day and if a search term does not exactly match one of your keywords, it sets it as a negative.

[BlueGridMedia]

Yeah Exact Match is basically “close enough match” now. Google redefined it years ago and that hidden bucket is just them saying trust us.

What actually helps:

* Build a massive negative keyword list based on the patterns you CAN see. The visible 47% tells you what the hidden 53% probably looks like.
* Block broad intent modifiers: free, DIY, how to, what is, near me (if irrelevant), etc.
* If you have PMax anywhere in the account, pause it. It makes this way worse.
* Check if you’re accidentally over-bidding, which pushes Google to expand match to “spend your budget somehow.”

Honestly the hidden bucket never fully goes away. You just starve it with negatives.