How pruning 40 keywords doubled a search arb account
Google search arbitrage looks like a money printer until you read the keyword-level RPC report.
— The setup: search-to-search arbitrage, insurance vertical, ~120 keywords live, single ad group, $300/day.
— The move: I pulled the search-term report and matched cost-per-click against revenue-per-click at the keyword level instead of the campaign level.
— The numbers: 38 keywords were eating 41% of spend and returning 12% of revenue — classic dead weight. Eleven keywords were carrying the whole thing at 2.1x. I paused the 38, reallocated to the winners. Before: $300/day spend, $345 revenue, +15%. After two weeks: $300/day spend, $510 revenue, +70%.
— The lesson: in search arb your enemy is the long tail of plausible-looking keywords that quietly drain you. Campaign ROI hid 38 losers behind 11 heroes.
What I'd do differently: Build the keyword-level RPC pivot on day one and check it weekly, not monthly. I let those 38 keywords drink for three weeks first — call it $1,200 in avoidable spend. Figures illustrative, the long-tail drain is real every time.
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