They searched "track my order". You paid for the click.

You sell running shoes online. Someone types "nike track my order", sees your ad, and clicks. You just paid for that visit. Sounds like a shopper, right? Not quite. They already bought, somewhere else. They wanted a help page, not a new pair.

Here's why it happens. When your keywords are broad, Google can show your ad for searches that contain a brand or product name you sell, even when the person is trying to fix a problem with an order.

These searches often hide in your reports:

• "track my order" or "where is my order"
• "login" or "my account"
• "customer service" or "phone number"
• "return", "refund" or "cancel order"

The fix: open the list of searches that triggered your ads (Google calls it the search terms report). Look for words like the ones above. Add the clear ones to your negative keyword list, which is the list of words you tell Google never to show your ads for.

One warning: check before you block. If you sell refurbished or "returned" items, "return" might bring you real buyers.

The habit: every Monday, scan last week's searches for "I need help" words. Ten minutes, once a week.

If you'd like help spotting these, JunkTerms gives you a free analysis of your search terms file: junkterms.com/demo