The Complete Guide to Google Ads Negative Keywords

What Are Negative Keywords?

Negative keywords are terms or phrases that prevent your Google Ads from showing for specific searches. When you add a negative keyword to your campaign or account, you're telling Google: "Don't show my ads when someone searches for this."

For example, if you sell premium leather shoes, you might add "cheap" as a negative keyword. This prevents your ads from appearing when someone searches for "cheap leather shoes" - a search unlikely to result in a sale of your premium products.

The Core Problem Negative Keywords Solve

Google Ads uses match types to determine when your ads show. Even with exact match keywords, Google shows your ads for "close variants" - searches it considers similar to your keywords. This is helpful for reaching more customers, but it also means your ads appear for searches you never intended.

Without negative keywords, your ads might show for:

• Searches looking for free alternatives to your paid product
• Job seekers searching for employment in your industry
• People looking for DIY tutorials instead of professional services
• Searches for competitor brands
• Information-seeking queries with no commercial intent

Each of these impressions and clicks costs you money but has little to no chance of converting.

Why Negative Keywords Matter

Negative keywords affect three critical areas of your Google Ads performance:

1. Budget Efficiency

Every click on an irrelevant search term uses budget that could have gone to a qualified prospect. Your daily budget is limited, so wasted clicks directly reduce how many potential customers you can reach.

2. Quality Score Impact

When your ads show for irrelevant searches, your click-through rate (CTR) suffers. People don't click ads that aren't relevant to their search. Lower CTR hurts your Quality Score, which increases your cost per click across all keywords.

3. Conversion Rate

Even when irrelevant searches do click your ads, they rarely convert. This lowers your overall conversion rate and increases your cost per conversion - making your campaigns appear less profitable than they actually are.

Types of Negative Keywords

Google Ads offers three negative keyword match types. Understanding when to use each is crucial for effective filtering.

Negative Broad Match (Most Common)

Your ad won't show if the search contains all your negative keyword terms, in any order.

Example: Negative keyword "running shoes"

Blocks: "best running shoes", "shoes for running", "running shoes store near me"

When to use: Most common and recommended for general negative keywords. Provides good coverage without being overly restrictive.

Negative Phrase Match

Your ad won't show if the search contains your exact phrase in that specific order.

Example: Negative phrase "running shoes"

Blocks: "best running shoes", "running shoes for women"

Allows: "shoes for running" (different word order)

When to use: When you need to block a specific phrase but don't want to exclude all variations.

Negative Exact Match

Your ad won't show only if the search exactly matches your negative keyword.

Example: Negative exact [running shoes]

Blocks: Only the exact search "running shoes"

Allows: "best running shoes", "running shoes for women", everything else

When to use: Rarely needed. Only when you want to block one very specific search term.

How to Find Negative Keywords

The most effective negative keywords come from analyzing your actual search term data. Here's a systematic approach:

Common Negative Keyword Categories

Based on analyzing hundreds of Google Ads accounts, here are the most common negative keyword categories:

• Price-Related: free, cheap, discount, coupon, deal, budget, affordable
• Information-Seeking: how to, what is, tutorial, guide, tips, DIY, learn
• Employment: jobs, careers, hiring, salary, employment, work, resume
• Wrong Product: used, refurbished, rental, wholesale, bulk, parts
• Competitors: [competitor brand names]
• Wrong Audience: student, kids, children (if you sell to businesses)

Implementation Strategies

Where you add negative keywords matters as much as what you add. Google Ads offers two levels:

Account-Level Negative Keywords

Apply to ALL campaigns in your account. Best for universal exclusions that will never be relevant:

• Employment-related terms (jobs, careers, hiring)
• Your own brand name (to avoid wasting budget on self-searches)
• Terms that never apply to your business (if you're B2B, exclude B2C terms)

Campaign-Level Negative Keywords

Apply only to specific campaigns. Use when a term is irrelevant to one campaign but might be relevant to another.

Example: If you sell both residential and commercial services, add "business" as a negative to your residential campaigns, and "home" or "residential" as a negative to your commercial campaigns.

Negative Keywords by Campaign Type

Different Google Ads campaign types require different negative keyword strategies:

Search Campaigns

Most straightforward implementation. Add negative keywords directly to campaigns or ad groups. Review Search Terms Report weekly and add 5-10 negatives per campaign monthly (average for mature accounts).

Performance Max Campaigns

Performance Max uses search terms but restricts negative keywords. You can only add negative keywords at the account level, and they must be brand-related.

Shopping Campaigns

Shopping campaigns show products based on your product feed, not keywords. However, negative keywords still apply to the search queries that trigger your products.

Common shopping campaign negative keywords:

• free, download (if you sell physical products)
• repair, fix, parts (if you only sell complete products)
• DIY, tutorial, how to make
• cheap, discount (if you sell premium products)

Display & Video Campaigns

Display and video campaigns use placement targeting more than keyword targeting, but you can still add negative keywords to prevent showing on irrelevant websites or videos.

Best Practices

1. Review Weekly, Not Monthly

New irrelevant searches appear constantly as Google expands match types and your campaigns run. Weekly reviews catch waste before it accumulates.

2. Use Negative Keyword Lists

Google Ads allows you to create negative keyword lists that apply to multiple campaigns. This is much more efficient than adding the same negatives to each campaign individually.

3. Check for Conflicts

Negative keywords can accidentally block your own positive keywords. Before adding a negative keyword, search your positive keywords to ensure there's no overlap.

Example of conflict:
Positive keyword: "running shoes"
Negative keyword: "running" (broad match)
Result: Your ad won't show for "running shoes"

4. Don't Be Too Aggressive Early

In your first 30 days, focus on obviously irrelevant terms (jobs, free, DIY). After you have conversion data, you can be more aggressive with terms that get clicks but no conversions.

5. Consider Search Intent

Not all "cheap" searches are bad. Someone searching "cheap CRM software" might actually convert if your pricing is competitive. Consider the complete search term, not just individual words.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake 1: Adding Too Many Too Fast

Overly aggressive negative keywords can block valuable traffic. Add negatives gradually and monitor impression changes.

Mistake 2: Not Applying to Performance Max

Many advertisers don't realize Performance Max uses search terms but restricts negative keywords at campaign level. Build comprehensive account-level negative keyword lists that automatically apply to all campaign types including Performance Max.

Mistake 3: Using Single-Word Broad Match Negatives

Adding common words like "review" or "best" as broad match negatives can block valuable traffic. Use phrase match for common words: "review" (phrase) blocks "coffee maker review" but not "best coffee makers review" (probably valuable).

Mistake 4: Setting and Forgetting

Google constantly expands match types and shows your ads for new search variations. Schedule weekly reviews of search terms. Set a calendar reminder or use automation to analyze search terms daily.

Mistake 5: Not Checking for Conflicts

Negative keywords can accidentally block your own positive keywords. Review your negative keywords against your positive keywords before adding them. Use the Keyword Conflicts tool in Google Ads (under Tools & Settings).

Mistake 6: Ignoring Account-Level Opportunities

Terms like "jobs", "careers", "resume" should be account-level negative keywords for most businesses. They're never relevant, so apply them universally rather than campaign-by-campaign.

Automation Options

Managing negative keywords manually is time-consuming. Here are your automation options:

Manual Management

Process:

• Weekly search terms report review
• Identify irrelevant searches manually
• Add negative keywords one by one

Time investment: 30-60 minutes per week

Best for: Small accounts with limited search volume

Google Ads Scripts

Process:

• Write JavaScript code to analyze search terms
• Define rules for what constitutes "irrelevant"
• Automate adding negative keywords
• Maintain script when Google Ads API updates

Time investment: 10-20 hours to build, 5-10 hours/month maintenance

Requirements: JavaScript knowledge, Google Ads API familiarity

No-Code Automation Tools

Process:

• Connect Google Ads account
• Activate negative keyword automation
• Review AI-generated suggestions
• Apply with one click or full automation

Time investment: 30 seconds to set up, zero ongoing maintenance

Best for: Business owners who want automation without coding

Requirements: None - point-and-click interface

Which Automation Approach Is Right for You?

Frequently Asked Questions