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How Broad Match Killed Your Google Ads Budget in 2026
Description
Episode 7 of The Google Ads Podcast with Fexingo. Lucas and Luna dig into the 2026 shift: broad match has become the default in Google Ads, but it's quietly draining budgets with irrelevant traffic. They unpack a real-world example—a mid-sized e-commerce brand that saw a 32% increase in spend but no lift in conversions after switching to broad match. Lucas explains the math: low-intent clicks, higher CPCs from machine learning bidding, and the loss of control. Luna pushes back on when broad match actually works, and they land on a hybrid strategy: phrase match for core terms, broad match with smart negatives for discovery. If you manage PPC budgets, this episode gives you a concrete framework to protect your ROAS without abandoning Google's automation.