What are negative keywords and how do you use them?

Negative keywords are terms you add to your Google Ads campaigns to stop your ads showing for those searches. They are one of the fastest ways to cut wasted spend. A single negative keyword can save thousands of pounds a month by blocking the wrong traffic from ever seeing your ad.

What are negative keywords?

When you run a Google Ads campaign, you choose keywords to trigger your ads. If someone searches for one of your keywords, your ad may appear. But not every search that contains your keyword is relevant. A plumber bidding on "emergency plumbing" probably does not want to appear for "emergency plumbing training courses". That is where negative keywords come in.

You add those unwanted terms to your campaign or ad group as negative keywords. Google then stops your ad from showing whenever the search query contains that term. Your ad stays live for the relevant searches and your budget goes further.

How negative keywords work

Negative keywords operate at two levels. Campaign-level negatives apply to every ad group in the campaign. Ad group-level negatives apply only to that specific group. Use campaign-level for terms you never want to appear for across the whole campaign, such as "free" or "training". Use ad group-level for terms that are relevant to one group but not another.

The common categories of negative keywords

Most advertisers start building their negative keyword list from three sources.

First, the obvious mismatches. If you sell a service, you probably want to exclude "free", "DIY", "how to", "jobs" and "courses". If you sell B2B, exclude consumer search terms like "for home" or "personal use".

Second, competitor names. Many businesses add competitor brand names as negative keywords to avoid paying for traffic that is looking for someone else. This is common practice and recommended by Google.

Third, irrelevant geographic terms. If you only serve Devon and Cornwall, add every UK region you do not cover as a negative keyword. You can also set location targeting, but adding geographic negatives gives you a second layer of protection.

Finding the right negative keywords

The best source is your own Search Terms Report in Google Ads. This report shows every actual search query that triggered your ad. Go through it regularly, perhaps weekly for a new campaign. Any query that generated a click but zero conversions or a high cost per conversion is a candidate for a negative keyword.

Match types for negative keywords

Google Ads supports three match types for negative keywords, and the rules are different from positive keywords.

Negative exact match. Your ad does not show when the search term is exactly that phrase. The search "plumbing training courses" would be blocked, but "plumbing courses" would still trigger.

Negative phrase match. Your ad does not show when the search term contains that exact phrase in that order, even with extra words before or after. "Plumbing training" blocks "plumbing training courses" and "plumbing training online".

Negative broad match works differently from positive broad match. It blocks searches that contain all the negative keyword terms in any order. "Plumbing training" would block "plumbing training courses" and also "training plumbing". Use with care, because it can block more than you intend.

Building your list

Start with the obvious terms, then add regularly from the Search Terms Report. Review your negative keyword list every month. Remove any that are no longer needed and add any new irrelevant terms you spot. Campaigns change, and the traffic you wanted last month may not be right this month.

A well managed negative keyword list is one of the highest-ROI tasks in PPCPPC stands for Pay Per Click — an online advertising model where advertisers pay a fee each time their ad is clicked.. It takes 15 minutes a week and can cut your cost per lead by a significant margin.

If you want help building, managing or optimising a Google Ads campaign, our PPCPPC stands for Pay Per Click — an online advertising model where advertisers pay a fee each time their ad is clicked. team plans and runs campaigns for businesses across the UK. See our digital marketing packages and pricing at https://victory.digital/pay-per-click.