A negative keyword tells Google which searches must never trigger your ads. They use the same match types as ordinary keywords, and they can be applied to one ad group, a whole campaign, or across the account as a shared list. They are the main tool for making sure an expensive click comes from somebody who might actually buy.
Briefly explained
- Words and phrases that stop your ad from appearing.
- Applied per ad group, per campaign or account-wide.
- Built from the search terms report, not from guesswork.
- Too broad an exclusion is as expensive as none at all.
Why does a list matter so much?
Because a large share of matched traffic has no intention of hiring anyone, and it clicks at exactly the same price as a customer with an urgent problem.
Job seekers, students, DIY researchers, parts buyers and people in a town you do not cover all arrive through the same keyword. Without exclusions, they spend the budget before the buyers get there.
What is usually worth excluding?
Most of the waste falls into five categories.
- Employment: jobs, hiring, salary, apprentice, career
- DIY and education: how to, diagram, manual, tutorial, course
- Parts and equipment: for sale, used, replacement part, wholesale
- No commercial intent: free, cheapest, calculator, template
- Wrong service or wrong place, including the towns and regions you do not cover
How do the match types work here?
The same three, with the opposite effect.
- Broad negative: Blocks searches containing those words in any order. The bluntest, and the easiest to regret.
- Phrase negative: Blocks searches containing that phrase in order.
- Exact negative: Blocks only that search. The safest when you are unsure.
Add each exclusion at the level where it is genuinely true. A word that is irrelevant in one campaign may be the whole point of another.
How is the list maintained?
From the search terms report, on a schedule.
- Weekly while an account is new and learning
- Monthly once it settles
- After every change to match types or budgets
- After adding an automated campaign type, which widens matching again
This is not a job that finishes. Search behavior moves, Google loosens matching over time, and a list built last year is blocking a different internet.
What do the terms mean?
- Search terms report: What people actually typed, as opposed to the keywords you bid on. The source for every good negative.
- Shared negative list: One list applied across several campaigns.
- Brand exclusion: Stopping an automated campaign from bidding on your own name.
- Match type: How loosely the exclusion is interpreted.
Owner questions
