Negative Keywords & How To Use Them In Google Ads

Negative keywords are an essential tool for optimizing your Google Ads campaigns and ensuring your advertising budget is spent effectively. By excluding irrelevant search terms, negative keywords help you reach the right audience and improve your return on investment (ROI). In this comprehensive guide, we'll dive deep into the world of negative keywords and explore how to leverage them to boost your campaign performance.

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So, what exactly are negative keywords?

They are terms or phrases that you specify to prevent your ads from appearing for certain searches. For instance, if you sell luxury watches and add "cheap" as a negative keyword, your ads won't show up for searches like "cheap luxury watches." This filtering process ensures your ads are displayed to users who are more likely to convert, resulting in a higher click-through rate (CTR) and lower cost per acquisition.

While negative keywords may seem like a simple concept, their strategic implementation can significantly impact your advertising efforts. By understanding the different types of negative keywords and how to identify, research, and implement them effectively, you can take your Google Ads campaigns to new heights.

In the first part of this guide, we'll cover the fundamentals of negative keywords, including their importance, types, and how to identify and research them effectively.

Understanding Negative Keywords

Negative keywords are terms or phrases that you don't want your ads to show up for. They act as filters, preventing your ads from being triggered by irrelevant searches, thereby saving your budget for more pertinent clicks. By using negative keywords, you can refine your audience targeting and ensure your ads are shown to the most relevant users.

Importance of Negative Keywords in Google Ads

Negative keywords play a crucial role in optimizing your Google Ads campaigns. Here are some key benefits of using negative keywords:

1. Improved Ad Relevance: By excluding irrelevant searches, negative keywords help ensure your ads are shown to users who are more likely to be interested in your products or services, improving ad relevance and click-through rates.
2. Cost Savings: Negative keywords help you avoid wasting your advertising budget on clicks from users who are unlikely to convert, ultimately reducing your cost per acquisition.
3. Better Quality Scores: Higher ad relevance and lower bounce rates can positively impact your Quality Scores, resulting in lower costs per click and better ad positions.
4. Focused Targeting: Negative keywords allow you to fine-tune your targeting and ensure your ads are only shown to your desired audience, maximizing the effectiveness of your campaigns.

Types of Negative Keywords

Google Ads offers three types of negative keywords, each with its own level of specificity:

1. Broad Match Negative Keywords: These prevent your ads from showing if the search query contains any of your negative keyword terms, regardless of the order or additional words in the query.
2. Phrase Match Negative Keywords: These prevent your ads from showing if the search query contains the exact phrase of your negative keywords, in the same order, even if there are additional words before or after the phrase.
3. Exact Match Negative Keywords: These prevent your ads from showing if the search query matches your negative keywords exactly, without any additional words.

Choosing the appropriate match type is essential for achieving the desired level of exclusion and ensuring your negative keywords are effective in filtering out irrelevant traffic.

How to Identify Negative Keywords

Identifying negative keywords is an ongoing process that requires a deep understanding of your target audience, products or services, and market trends. Here are some effective strategies for identifying negative keywords:

1. Search Terms Report: Regularly review your search terms report in Google Ads to identify irrelevant search queries that triggered your ads. These terms can be added as negative keywords to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
2. Customer Feedback: Listen to your customers and analyse the language they use when describing their needs or concerns. This can provide valuable insights into terms that may be associated with irrelevant searches.
3. Competitor Analysis: Examine the negative keywords used by your competitors to gain inspiration and identify potential gaps in your own negative keyword strategy.
4. Industry Knowledge: Leverage your expertise and understanding of your industry to anticipate irrelevant searches and proactively add them as negative keywords.
5. Customer Support Logs: Review customer support inquiries and complaints to identify common misunderstandings or irrelevant searches that may require the addition of negative keywords.

Researching Negative Keywords

In addition to identifying negative keywords from your own data and insights, it's essential to conduct thorough research to uncover potential negative keywords you may have overlooked. Here are some effective research methods:

1. Keyword Research Tools: Utilize keyword research tools like Google's Keyword Planner, SEMrush, Ahrefs, or Ubersuggest to explore related terms and phrases that could be added as negative keywords.
2. Online Forums and Communities: Monitor online forums, social media groups, and industry-specific communities to gain insights into the language and terminology used by your target audience, which can help identify potential negative keywords.
3. Competitor Analysis: Analyse your competitors' ad copy, landing pages, and negative keyword lists (if available) to uncover negative keywords they are using that may be relevant to your campaigns.
4. Brainstorming Sessions: Collaborate with your team or conduct internal brainstorming sessions to generate ideas for negative keywords based on your collective knowledge and expertise.

By consistently researching and adding relevant negative keywords to your campaigns, you can ensure your ads are shown to the most qualified users, maximizing the effectiveness of your advertising efforts.

Tools for Finding Negative Keywords

While manual research and analysis are essential for identifying negative keywords, leveraging specialized tools can streamline the process and provide valuable insights. Here are some powerful tools that can assist you in finding and managing negative keywords effectively:

1. Google Ads Search Terms Report: This built-in report within the Google Ads interface provides a comprehensive list of the actual search queries that triggered your ads, allowing you to quickly identify and add irrelevant terms as negative keywords.
2. Google Ads Keyword Planner: Although primarily designed for keyword research, the Keyword Planner can also suggest related terms and phrases that could be potential negative keywords for your campaigns.
3. SEMrush: This popular SEO and digital marketing toolkit offers a comprehensive Keyword Magic Tool, which can generate a list of relevant negative keywords based on your seed terms and competitors' data.
4. Ahrefs: Ahrefs' Keyword Explorer tool not only provides keyword suggestions but also includes a "Negative Keywords" feature, which can help you identify terms to exclude from your campaigns.
5. Ubersuggest: Neil Patel's free keyword research tool, Ubersuggest, allows you to explore related keywords and phrases, many of which could be potential negative keywords for your campaigns.
6. Keyword Shitter: Despite its unconventional name, Keyword Shitter is a powerful tool that can generate a comprehensive list of negative keywords based on your seed terms and various filtering options.
7. Third-Party Negative Keyword Lists: Several companies and agencies offer pre-built negative keyword lists tailored to specific industries or niches, which can serve as a starting point for your negative keyword strategy.

Implementing Negative Keywords in Google Ads

Once you've identified and researched your negative keywords, it's time to implement them in your Google Ads campaigns. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to add negative keywords in Google Ads:

1. Sign in to your Google Ads account and navigate to the "Keywords" section.
2. Click on the "Negative Keywords" tab.
3. From here, you can add negative keywords at the campaign or ad group level, depending on your desired level of granularity.
4. Click on the "+" button and enter your negative keywords, separating them with commas or line breaks.
5. Select the appropriate match type (broad, phrase, or exact) for each negative keyword.
6. Review your negative keywords for any potential conflicts or overlaps with your existing keyword lists.
7. Save your changes, and your negative keywords will take effect immediately.

It's important to note that negative keywords are not case-sensitive, and plural forms are automatically included when you add a singular term as a negative keyword.

Negative Keyword Strategies

Developing an effective negative keyword strategy involves more than just adding a few irrelevant terms to your campaigns. It requires a holistic approach that considers your business objectives, target audience, and campaign structure. Here are some strategies to consider:

1. Start Broad, Then Refine: Begin with a broad approach by adding general negative keywords that exclude irrelevant topics or themes. As you gather more data and insights, refine your negative keyword lists with more specific terms.
2. Group by Themes: Organize your negative keywords into thematic groups related to your products, services, or industry. This approach makes it easier to manage and update your negative keyword lists.
3. Continuous Monitoring and Adjustment: Regularly review your search terms reports and campaign performance data to identify new negative keywords and adjust existing ones as needed.
4. Prioritize High-Impact Negative Keywords: Focus your efforts on identifying and implementing negative keywords that are likely to have the most significant impact on your campaign performance and cost savings.
5. Leverage Negative Keyword Lists: Create shared negative keyword lists that can be applied across multiple campaigns or ad groups, ensuring consistency and efficiency in your negative keyword management.
6. Collaborate with Teams: Involve relevant stakeholders, such as marketing, sales, and customer support teams, in the negative keyword research and management process to ensure a comprehensive and well-rounded approach.

By implementing a strategic and data-driven approach to negative keyword management, you can optimize your campaigns for better performance, higher ROI, and a more efficient use of your advertising budget.

Broad Match Negative Keywords

Broad match negative keywords are the broadest type of negative keyword match type in Google Ads. They prevent your ads from showing if the search query contains any of your negative keyword terms, regardless of the order or additional words in the query.

For example, if you add "cheap" as a broad match negative keyword, your ads won't show up for searches like "cheap luxury watches," "watches cheap online," or any other query that includes the term "cheap" in any order or combination.

Broad match negative keywords are useful for excluding irrelevant topics or themes from your campaigns. They provide a wide exclusion net, helping you quickly filter out a large volume of irrelevant traffic.

However, it's important to use broad match negative keywords judiciously, as they can potentially exclude some relevant searches if not implemented carefully. It's generally recommended to start with broad match negative keywords and then refine your lists with more specific phrase or exact match negative keywords as needed.

Phrase Match Negative Keywords

Phrase match negative keywords offer a more targeted approach to excluding irrelevant traffic from your campaigns. These negative keywords prevent your ads from showing if the search query contains the exact phrase of your negative keywords, in the same order, even if there are additional words before or after the phrase.

For instance, if you add "cheap watches" as a phrase match negative keyword, your ads won't show up for searches like "cheap luxury watches for men" or "buy cheap watches online," but they may still appear for searches like "affordable luxury watches" or "watches cheap price."

Phrase match negative keywords are particularly useful for filtering out specific, non-converting search terms that you've identified from your search terms reports or customer feedback. They provide a balance between broad exclusion and precise targeting, allowing you to exclude irrelevant phrases while still capturing relevant searches that may contain variations or additional words.

Exact Match Negative Keywords

Exact match negative keywords offer the highest level of precision when it comes to excluding irrelevant traffic from your campaigns. These negative keywords prevent your ads from showing if the search query matches your negative keyword exactly, without any additional words or variations.

For example, if you add "cheap luxury watches" as an exact match negative keyword, your ads won't show up for the exact search query "cheap luxury watches," but they may still appear for variations like "cheap luxury watch online" or "affordable luxury watches."

Exact match negative keywords are especially useful for excluding highly specific terms or phrases that are clearly irrelevant to your campaigns. They provide surgical precision in filtering out unwanted traffic, ensuring your ads are only shown for relevant searches that align with your campaign objectives.

However, it's important to use exact match negative keywords judiciously, as they can potentially exclude relevant searches if not implemented carefully. It's generally recommended to use exact match negative keywords in combination with broad and phrase match negative keywords to achieve a comprehensive and effective negative keyword strategy.

By understanding and utilizing the different match types for negative keywords, you can fine-tune your campaign targeting and ensure your ads are shown to the most relevant audience, maximizing the effectiveness of your advertising efforts.

Common Mistakes with Negative Keywords

While negative keywords are a powerful tool for optimizing your Google Ads campaigns, there are some common mistakes that advertisers make when implementing and managing them. Avoiding these pitfalls can help you maximize the effectiveness of your negative keyword strategy.

1. Overuse of Negative Keywords: One of the most common mistakes is the overuse of negative keywords. While it's important to exclude irrelevant traffic, adding too many negative keywords can inadvertently restrict your ad's reach, causing you to miss out on potential conversions. It's crucial to strike a balance between filtering out unwanted traffic and maintaining a broad enough reach to capture relevant searches.
2. Neglecting to Update Negative Keyword Lists: Markets, trends, and consumer behaviour are constantly evolving, which means your negative keyword lists should be regularly updated to reflect these changes. Failing to review and update your negative keywords can lead to missed opportunities or wasted ad spend on irrelevant traffic.
3. Improper Use of Match Types: Using the wrong match type for your negative keywords can either be too restrictive or too broad, resulting in unintended exclusions or the inclusion of irrelevant traffic. It's essential to understand the nuances of each match type and use them appropriately based on your campaign objectives.
4. Lack of Negative Keyword Research: Relying solely on intuition or a limited set of data to identify negative keywords can lead to missed opportunities or ineffective exclusions. Thorough research, including competitor analysis, customer feedback, and search query mining, is crucial for building a comprehensive and effective negative keyword list.

Avoiding Overuse of Negative Keywords

To avoid the pitfall of overusing negative keywords, it's important to regularly review your negative keyword lists and assess their impact on your campaign performance. One effective strategy is to start with a broad approach, excluding only the most obvious irrelevant terms or themes, and then gradually refine your lists as you gather more data and insights.

Periodic audits of your search terms reports can help identify any potentially relevant searches that may have been inadvertently excluded due to overly broad negative keywords. Additionally, monitoring your campaign's impression share and search query data can provide insights into whether your negative keywords are too restrictive, causing you to miss out on potential conversions.

Negative Keywords and Account Structure

Integrating negative keywords effectively within your Google Ads account structure can significantly enhance your campaign performance and optimize your advertising efforts. Here are some best practices for incorporating negative keywords into your account structure:

1. Campaign-Level Negative Keywords: Apply broad, overarching negative keywords at the campaign level to exclude irrelevant traffic across all ad groups within the campaign. This approach ensures consistency and efficiency in managing your negative keyword lists.
2. Ad Group-Level Negative Keywords: Utilize ad group-level negative keywords to tailor exclusions more precisely based on the specific products, services, or themes targeted by each ad group. This granular approach allows you to fine-tune your targeting and avoid broad-brush restrictions.
3. Shared Negative Keyword Lists: Create shared negative keyword lists that can be easily applied across multiple campaigns or ad groups. This centralized approach streamlines management and ensures consistency in your negative keyword implementation.
4. Negative Keyword Inheritance: Leverage the inheritance structure of Google Ads to ensure that campaign-level negative keywords automatically apply to all ad groups within the campaign, while ad group-level negative keywords override any conflicting campaign-level keywords.

By thoughtfully structuring your negative keywords within your Google Ads account, you can optimize your campaigns for maximum relevance, targeting precision, and efficiency.

Using Negative Keywords in Search Campaigns

In the context of search campaigns, negative keywords play a crucial role in refining who sees your ads, ensuring that only relevant searches trigger your ad impressions. By effectively implementing negative keywords, you can improve your campaign's overall performance and maximize your return on investment.

1. Review Search Term Reports Regularly: Regularly review your search term reports to identify irrelevant queries that have triggered your ads. These terms can be added as negative keywords to prevent similar occurrences in the future, improving the relevance of your ad targeting.
2. Leverage Broad Match Negative Keywords: Start with broad match negative keywords to exclude broad, overarching themes or topics that are clearly irrelevant to your products or services. This approach can quickly filter out a significant portion of undesirable traffic.
3. Refine with Phrase and Exact Match Negative Keywords: As you gather more data and insights, refine your negative keyword lists by adding phrase and exact match negative keywords to target specific, non-converting search terms or phrases that you want to exclude.
4. Monitor Impression Share and Search Query Data: Regularly monitor your campaign's impression share and search query data to ensure that your negative keywords are not overly restrictive, causing you to miss out on potentially relevant traffic and conversions.
5. Collaborate with Cross-Functional Teams: Involve relevant stakeholders, such as marketing, sales, and customer support teams, in the negative keyword research and management process. Their insights and feedback can help identify additional negative keyword opportunities and ensure a comprehensive approach.

By continuously monitoring and adjusting your negative keywords in search campaigns, you can maintain a high level of relevance, improve your click-through rates, and ultimately drive more qualified traffic and conversions.

Using Negative Keywords in Display Campaigns

While negative keywords are commonly associated with search campaigns, they can also be highly effective in optimizing your display campaigns. By implementing negative keywords for display campaigns, you can prevent your ads from appearing on irrelevant websites or contexts, thereby improving ad relevance and click-through rates.

1. Exclude Irrelevant Topics or Content: Use broad match negative keywords to exclude your ads from appearing on websites or content that cover irrelevant topics or themes. For example, if you sell eco-friendly products, you may want to add "climate change denial" as a broad match negative keyword to avoid appearing on websites that promote misinformation on climate change.
2. Leverage Placement Exclusions: In addition to negative keywords, leverage placement exclusions to prevent your ads from appearing on specific websites or domains that may be irrelevant or inappropriate for your brand or campaign objectives.
3. Monitor and Analyse Placement Reports: Regularly review your placement reports to identify websites or contexts where your ads are appearing but not performing well. These placements can be added as negative keywords or placement exclusions to improve the overall performance of your display campaigns.
4. Collaborate with Brand Safety Teams: If your organization has a dedicated brand safety team, collaborate with them to identify potentially risky or inappropriate contexts that should be excluded from your display campaigns using negative keywords or placement exclusions.
5. Utilize Contextual Targeting Exclusions: Google Ads offers contextual targeting options, which allow you to target or exclude specific topics, interests, or content categories. Use these contextual targeting exclusions in conjunction with negative keywords to refine your ad placements and improve relevance.

By effectively implementing negative keywords in your display campaigns, you can ensure that your ads are shown to the most relevant audiences, improving click-through rates, engagement, and ultimately, your return on investment.

Impact of Negative Keywords on Quality Score

Quality Score is a crucial metric that determines your ad rank and cost-per-click (CPC). A higher Quality Score can lead to better ad positions and lower costs, making it a key factor in campaign optimization and performance. Negative keywords can significantly impact your Quality Score by improving the relevance of your ads and targeting.

1. Improved Ad Relevance: By excluding irrelevant searches and traffic, negative keywords help ensure that your ads are shown to users who are more likely to be interested in your products or services. This increased relevance between your ads and the user's search intent can positively impact your Quality Score.
2. Lower Bounce Rates: When your ads are displayed to more relevant audiences, users are less likely to quickly bounce back from your website or landing pages after clicking on your ads. Lower bounce rates signal higher user engagement and satisfaction, which can contribute to a better Quality Score.
3. Higher Click-Through Rates (CTRs): Negative keywords help filter out irrelevant traffic, ensuring that your ads are shown to users who are more likely to find them relevant and useful. This increased relevance can lead to higher click-through rates, which are a key factor in determining Quality Score.
4. Better Keyword Relevance: By effectively using negative keywords, you can ensure that your ads are triggered by the most relevant search queries, improving the relevance between your keywords and the user's search intent. This keyword relevance is a crucial component of Quality Score.
5. Improved Landing Page Experience: When your ads are shown to more relevant users, they are more likely to have a positive experience on your landing pages, as the content and offerings better align with their interests and needs. A better landing page experience can contribute to a higher Quality Score.

It's important to note that while negative keywords can have a positive impact on Quality Score, they should be used in conjunction with other optimization strategies, such as keyword research, ad copy optimization, and landing page improvements, to maximize the overall effectiveness of your campaigns.

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