Search Fuel Space / Newsletter / The Footnote #1

I planned search campaigns for my own product. The plan cut 99%.

Sent on October 16, 2026

Hi,

This is the first Footnote. Every two weeks: one decision from planning a Google Ads search account, and the reason behind it. Short enough to read before your first call of the day.

The decision

On September 23 I ran Search Fuel Space on Search Fuel Space. The same process the platform runs for any plan: 11 English-speaking countries, 74 keywords, real search volume and cost per click from Google Ads data.

The research came back with 1,431,450 searches a month around the topic. The plan kept 1% of it: 9,640 searches a month, across all 11 countries together.

The biggest term in the whole plan, "ppc tools", has 720 searches a month. Google's own free Keyword Planner gets 288,120. And the weighted average click came out at US$31.20, which is more than the product itself costs.

The reason

When 99% of a market's volume does not fit, the honest reading is not "we need a better filter". It is that the buyer of this product does not use search to find it.

The pain is real. PPC managers feel it every time a new account lands on their desk. But they solve it by hand and complain about the work. They do not type "campaign planning tool" into Google.

A plan that shows you only the 1% that fits is doing its job. A plan that stretches the 99% to make the budget look useful is the one your client will question in month two.

For your next plan

Before you split a budget across search campaigns, check whether the buyer searches for the thing itself, or only for the problem next to it. If the answer is "barely", search is where you capture demand, not where you create it. Put that in the plan, with the numbers, before the client asks why the volume is small.

Hit reply and tell me: have you ever had to tell a client that search was the wrong channel for what they sell? I read every reply.

Ericka