Wasted Spend

What AdGradr checks

AdGradr identifies keywords and search terms consuming budget without producing results. The same honest approach as the Google check, but with lower thresholds because Bing budgets are typically smaller. What counts as “significant” spend is calibrated differently: the spend floor is lower than Google’s, and the waste percentage threshold is slightly more generous because smaller accounts have more volatile data.

AdGradr flags underperforming keywords (meaningful spend, zero conversions, running 30+ days) as the primary finding, and irrelevant search terms (queries clearly unrelated to your business consuming budget) as a secondary finding.

Why this matters

Bing accounts are often treated as “secondary” to Google, which means they get less attention. Less attention means waste accumulates faster and goes unnoticed longer. A keyword spending $30/month with zero conversions on Google is noise. That same $30 on a $500/month Bing account is 6% of your budget. Proportional waste on Bing is often significantly higher than on Google simply because the denominator is smaller.

What good looks like

• No keyword spending more than $25 over 30 days with zero conversions (unless it is new and still collecting data).
• Search terms report reviewed at least monthly with irrelevant queries added as negatives.
• Paused or removed keywords that have demonstrated they will not convert after sufficient data.
• Total identified waste below 3% of monthly spend.

Common mistakes

1. Setting a Google-sized waste tolerance on a Bing-sized budget. Accepting $200 in monthly waste on a $10K Google account is a 2% tolerance. That same $200 on a $2K Bing account is 10% and not acceptable.
2. Never pausing underperformers. Keywords that have spent $50+ with zero conversions over 60 days are not “still ramping up.” They are waste.
3. Ignoring the search terms report. Bing’s broader matching means more irrelevant queries slip through, especially if negatives are sparse.
4. Treating all keywords equally. A $25 keyword with zero conversions in a campaign that drives leads at $40 CPA needs to be cut. A $25 keyword in an awareness campaign may be fine.

How to fix it

1. Pull a keyword performance report for the last 30 days, sorted by cost descending.
2. Flag any keyword that has spent $25+ with zero conversions.
3. Evaluate each: is there a landing page issue, a match type issue, or is the keyword genuinely irrelevant?
4. Pause keywords that are clearly waste. Adjust match types or landing pages for those with potential.
5. Pull the search terms report and add irrelevant queries as negatives.
6. Repeat this process every 2 weeks for Bing accounts (monthly is not frequent enough given smaller budgets).

When to ignore this check

New accounts (under 30 days) will not have enough data to identify waste patterns. Accounts running top-of-funnel awareness campaigns with intentionally broad targeting may accept higher waste rates. If a keyword has spent $25 with zero conversions but only received 5 clicks, the sample size is too small to make a call.

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Want someone to handle this? The Click Makers team manages Microsoft Ads accounts for companies spending $5K+/month. Get in touch to see if we are a fit.