Why Query Sculpting Worked (and Why It’s Gone)

Query sculpting was essentially about control. By using campaign priority levels and carefully placed negatives, you could decide which queries flowed into which campaign. That meant separating high-intent searches from vague ones, adjusting bids with precision, and protecting budget from low-value clicks.

For eCommerce brands juggling thousands of SKUs, this level of control was critical. Without it, ad spend could easily be eaten up by irrelevant searches or low-margin products.

But Google’s automation-first mindset doesn’t favour hacks. With restricted visibility into search terms and fewer negative keyword options in Shopping, query sculpting collapsed. Advertisers are now left with broader, less transparent campaigns—and a greater risk of wasted spend.

The Risks for eCommerce Advertisers Now

Without query sculpting, advertisers face several risks. The biggest is wasted spend on irrelevant queries. Shopping campaigns naturally lean broad, and when you can’t filter traffic as tightly, you risk paying for clicks that never convert.

Margins are another issue. In competitive verticals, broad queries can drive CPCs higher while delivering little return. Without the ability to separate campaigns by intent, brands often see blended ROAS decline.

Finally, there’s the risk of stagnation. When control is stripped away, some advertisers simply accept higher costs. But the smarter brands adapt—and pull ahead while others tread water.

Smarter Campaign Structures in a Post-Sculpting World

The first step is restructuring campaigns. Instead of sprawling catalogues dumped into one feed, eCommerce brands now need tighter product groupings. Segmenting by margin, performance, or seasonality allows for more controlled bidding and better alignment with business priorities.

Campaigns should also be layered with audience signals. Feeding Google’s automation the right intent data helps steer campaigns toward the searches most likely to convert, even without traditional sculpting.

Done right, structure becomes the new sculpting—it’s just less about negatives and more about smart segmentation.

Feed Optimisation Is the New Sculpting

If query sculpting used to be about controlling traffic with campaign setup, feed optimisation is now the lever of choice. Product titles, descriptions, and attributes drive how Google matches your products to queries.

That means rewriting titles with high-intent keywords identified in PPC data, streamlining feeds to cut products with consistently poor ROAS, and ensuring attributes are complete and accurate.

In many ways, feed optimisation is more powerful than query sculpting ever was—because it directly influences what searches you show up for. Brands that ignore it will find themselves paying for clicks that smarter competitors win for less.

Performance Max: Friend or Foe?

Performance Max campaigns are Google’s automation playground. They offer reach across multiple channels and promise efficiency at scale. For some eCommerce brands, they deliver impressive results. For others, they’re a budget black hole.

The key is setup. Performance Max works when asset groups are tightly defined, conversion tracking is watertight, and incrementality is measured. But if you set it and forget it, expect wasted spend.

In the absence of query sculpting, Performance Max can fill some gaps—but only when paired with careful feed optimisation and a clear measurement framework.

Using PPC Data to Fuel SEO

The smartest brands don’t stop at PPC. They use PPC data to fuel SEO. By identifying which queries convert best in paid campaigns, you can build landing pages or content that target those same terms organically.

Take the Odd Fox approach with Moterium: PPC revealed high-converting injury recovery searches, which were then turned into SEO landing pages. The result? Traffic without the ongoing ad cost. For eCommerce, the principle is the same—test with PPC, scale with SEO.

Conclusion

The end of query sculpting didn’t kill eCommerce control—it just shifted it. Today, the winning brands are those that embrace smarter structures, lean into feed optimisation, and use automation strategically rather than blindly.

At Odd Fox, we help eCommerce companies adapt to this new reality. From lean Shopping setups to Performance Max strategies and SEO integration, we cut wasted spend and stretch every pound further.

👉 Want to adapt your eCommerce PPC to the post-sculpting world?