What Are Negative Keywords? Learn How They Save Money & Improve ROI

Irrelevant clicks drain budgets and skew performance data. Properly implemented negative keywords within your Google Ads account typically reduce wasted spend by 20-35% while improving conversion rates across the entire campaign. This guide covers everything from basic setup to advanced strategies.

Introduction to Negative Keywords

Negative keywords are a crucial aspect of paid search campaigns, allowing advertisers to refine their targeting and prevent ads from showing to uninterested search users. By excluding specific words or phrases, advertisers can save budget and apply their advertising dollars to keywords that are more likely to generate a return on investment (ROI). In Google Ads, negative keywords can be added at the campaign or ad group level, and can be used in conjunction with other keyword match types, such as broad match, phrase match, and exact match. A negative phrase match keyword prevents ads from appearing in search queries that include the exact phrase in a specified order, while still allowing for additional words. This strategic exclusion helps ensure that your ads are only shown to users with relevant search intent, thereby improving the overall effectiveness of your search campaigns.

Understanding Match Types

Understanding match types is crucial for effective negative keyword management. Negative keywords can be assigned as broad match, phrase match, or exact match, each with its own rules for excluding search queries.

• Broad Match Negative Keywords: These exclude ads from searches that contain all the words in the keyword phrase, even if they’re in a different order. For example, if “cheap shoes” is a broad match negative keyword, your ad won’t show for searches like “shoes cheap” or “cheap running shoes.”
  

• Phrase Match Negative Keywords: These exclude ads from searches that contain the exact keyword phrase in the same order, with or without additional words. For instance, if “cheap shoes” is a phrase match negative keyword, your ad won’t show for searches like “buy cheap shoes” or “cheap shoes online.”
  

• Exact Match Negative Keywords: These exclude ads from searches that contain the exact keyword phrase without any additional words. For example, if “cheap shoes” is an exact match negative keyword, your ad won’t show for the search “cheap shoes,” but it could still appear for “buy cheap shoes.”

  
  

By understanding and utilizing these different match types, advertisers can refine their negative keyword lists to maximize relevance and ROI, ensuring their ads only appear for the most relevant search queries.

What Negative Keywords Do

Negative keywords prevent your ads from showing for unwanted searches by:

✅ Blocking off-topic queries

✅ Filtering out poor-quality traffic

✅ Improving campaign relevance scores

A negative exact match keyword prevents ads from appearing for search queries that exactly match the specified negative keyword, without any additional terms. Negative exact match keywords prevent ads from appearing for search queries that exactly match the specified negative keyword, enhancing ad targeting and maximizing Return On Ad Spend (ROAS) by avoiding irrelevant searches.

Real-World Example: A high-end jewelry store adds “cheap” as a negative keyword to avoid attracting bargain hunters unlikely to purchase. Conversion rates increase by 22% after this adjustment.

Benefits of Using Negative Keywords

The benefits of using negative keywords are numerous. By excluding irrelevant search terms, advertisers can improve the relevance of their ads, increase their click-through rate (CTR), and reduce wasted spend. Negative keywords can also help to tighten ad group relevance, allowing for a single message to speak to the entire group of keywords. Additionally, negative keywords can help to avoid human error, such as accidentally targeting irrelevant keywords, and can save advertisers money by reducing the number of irrelevant clicks. By using negative keywords effectively, advertisers can improve their overall ROI and ad spend efficiency, ensuring that their budget is spent on attracting potential customers who are more likely to convert.

Using account level negative keywords allows advertisers to apply a standardized list of negative keywords across all eligible search and shopping campaigns within a Google Ads account, simplifying management and reducing errors.

Identifying Negative Keywords

Identifying negative keywords is essential for effective paid search campaigns. There are several methods advertisers can use to identify negative keywords:

• Keyword Research: Conducting thorough keyword research helps understand the language of your target audience and identify potential negative keywords. Tools like Google Ads Keyword Planner can be invaluable in this process.
  

• Manual Searches: Performing manual searches on Google can help spot terms that should be avoided. This hands-on approach allows advertisers to see firsthand which search queries might trigger their ads unnecessarily.
  

• Search Term Report Analysis: Analyzing search term reports in Google Ads provides insights into the actual queries triggering your ads. By reviewing these reports, advertisers can identify irrelevant search queries and add them to their negative keyword lists.
  

Understanding search intent is crucial in this process. By identifying negative keywords, advertisers can avoid wasting ad spend on irrelevant search queries and improve their overall campaign performance, ensuring their ads reach the right audience.

4 Core Types of Negative Keywords

1. Brand Protection

Exclude:

• Competitor brands

• Your brand + "complaints" or "reviews"
  

2. Mismatched Intent

Filter:

• "Free" (if not offering free products)

• "DIY" (for service-based businesses)
  

3. Unqualified Audiences

Block:

• "For students" (if targeting professionals)

• "Beginner" (for advanced products)
  

4. Unprofitable Categories

Negate:

• "Wholesale" (for B2C retailers)

• "Used" (when selling new items)
  

Where to Find Negative Keywords

1. Search Terms Reports Review actual queries triggering your ads and add irrelevant terms as negatives. Most advertisers find 15-20% of their search terms should be negated. To identify negative keywords, utilize search term reports in Google Ads, conduct manual searches on Google, and leverage Google’s autocomplete feature to discover irrelevant terms that could waste advertising budget. Creating a global list of negative keywords that will automatically apply to all relevant search and shopping inventory ensures consistent management of negative keywords.

   
   

2. Competitor Analysis Tools like SpyFu can reveal competitors’ negative keyword lists, helping you avoid their learned mistakes.

   
   

3. Customer Service Logs Look for phrases like “I thought you sold…” to identify search intent mismatches.

   
   

4. Auto-Suggest Tools Check Google/Bing suggestions for your primary keywords to discover potential negatives.
   

Expert Insight: Export search terms monthly and negate any query with more than 5 clicks but zero conversions - this single practice recovers an average of 18% of wasted spend.

Creating Negative Keyword Lists

Creating negative keyword lists is an essential step in using negative keywords effectively. Advertisers can create lists of negative keywords at the campaign or ad group level, and can apply these lists to multiple campaigns or ad groups. A well-curated negative keywords list is critical for optimizing PPC ad campaigns, ensuring that ads are only shown to the most pertinent audiences. When creating negative keyword lists, it’s essential to consider the different match types, such as broad match, phrase match, and exact match, and to use the correct syntax and formatting. Advertisers can also use tools, such as Google Ads’ keyword planner, to help identify negative keyword opportunities and create lists of negative keywords. By creating and applying negative keyword lists, advertisers can ensure that their ads are only shown to relevant search users and that their budget is being used efficiently.

Search Query Analysis

Search query analysis is a critical step in identifying negative keywords. By analyzing search queries, advertisers can identify irrelevant terms that should be added to their negative keyword list. Here’s how to do it effectively:

• Review Search Term Reports: Regularly review search term reports in Google Ads to see the actual queries that triggered your ads. Look for irrelevant or low-performing search queries and add them to your negative keyword list.

  
  

• Customize Column Sets: Customize your column sets in Google Ads to track specific performance metrics, such as clicks, conversions, and cost per conversion. This helps identify which search queries are not performing well and should be negated.

  
  

• Add Negative Keyword Terms: Based on your analysis, add negative keyword terms to your account to prevent your ads from showing for irrelevant searches. This helps improve ad relevance and reduces wasted ad spend.

  
  

• Regular Review: Regularly reviewing search queries can help advertisers avoid ads showing for irrelevant searches and improve their ad relevance. By analyzing search queries, advertisers can also identify opportunities to refine their keyword targeting and improve their overall campaign performance.

  
  

• Identify Negative Keyword Opportunities: Use filters and quantitative data to identify search queries that deserve to be negated. This can help advertisers save time and money, and optimize their PPC marketing efforts.

  
  

By conducting thorough search query analysis, advertisers can ensure their ads are only shown to relevant search users, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of their campaigns.

Implementation Guide

Google Ads Setup

1. Navigate to Tools > Negative Keyword Lists

2. Create themed lists (e.g., "Brand Exclusions")

3. Apply at campaign or account level

   
   

Bing Ads Setup

1. Go to Shared Library > Negative Keywords

2. Use campaign-level negatives for precision

   
   

Best Practice: Start with phrase match negatives (e.g., "free *") before using exact match for persistent issues. This layered approach catches 73% more irrelevant variants.

Measuring the Effectiveness of Negative Keywords

Measuring the effectiveness of negative keywords is crucial to ensuring that they are working correctly and that they are having a positive impact on campaign performance. Advertisers can save negative keywords to a new or existing list, providing flexibility in managing and refining their negative keyword strategy over time. Advertisers can use metrics, such as CTR, conversion rate, and cost per conversion, to measure the effectiveness of their negative keywords. By monitoring these metrics and making adjustments to their negative keyword lists as needed, advertisers can ensure that their negative keywords are helping to improve campaign performance and reduce wasted spend. Additionally, advertisers can use tools, such as Google Ads’ search terms report, to identify new negative keyword opportunities and to refine their negative keyword lists over time. By regularly measuring and refining their negative keywords, advertisers can ensure that their campaigns are running efficiently and effectively.

Advanced Strategies

1. The Negative Funnel Layer negatives by funnel stage:

   
   

   • Top: “free” and “sample”

   • Middle: “compare” and “vs”

   • Bottom: competitor names

     
     

2. Seasonal Adjustments Add holiday terms post-season and block outdated product references to maintain relevance.

   
   

3. Match Type Stacking Combine broad, phrase, and exact match negatives for comprehensive coverage:

   
   

   • Broad: “free download”

   • Phrase: “free *”

   • Exact: [free]

   • Ensure proper negative keyword matching by using specific symbols recognized by Google Ads to avoid ineffective ad targeting.

   
   

A ‘negative broad match keyword’ prevents ads from appearing in searches that contain all the words of the selected keyword phrase in any order.

Common Mistakes

❌ Over-Negating: Blocking valid traffic by being too aggressive. Adding too many negative keywords can negatively affect campaign performance and limit audience reach.

❌ Ignoring Variants: Missing singular/plural forms and common misspellings

❌ Set-and-Forget: Not reviewing negative lists regularly. Regularly review your existing negative keyword list to ensure it remains relevant and effective in preventing ads from showing for irrelevant searches.

Solution: Maintain a negative keyword audit schedule every 30 days, analyzing performance data to refine your lists.

Tools & Resources

Free Options:

• Google Ads Search Terms Report

• Bing Ads Search Query Report

• Google Ads Keyword Planner: Use this tool to discover new negative keyword opportunities and create a new negative keyword list to optimize your campaigns.

  
  

Paid Tools:

• SEMrush (Competitor Negatives)

• Optmyzr (Negative Keyword Recommendations)

  
  

Ready to Stop Wasting Ad Spend?

Negative keywords are powerful, but they’re just one part of a winning paid media strategy. At Buddylytics, we handle everything from keyword management to campaign optimization so you can focus on running your business.

It makes sense to create proactive lists of negative keywords to avoid irrelevant search matches and enhance your click-through rates.

Our team will:

• Audit your existing negative keywords

• Identify missed cost-saving opportunities

• Optimize your entire paid media strategy

Claim Your Free Campaign Audit