Running Google Ads without a strong negative keyword strategy is like trying to fill a leaky bucket—you’ll waste budget on clicks that were never going to convert. Whether you're managing a tight ad spend or scaling campaigns, negative keywords are one of the most overlooked yet powerful tools to boost ROI and reduce irrelevant traffic.
What Are Negative Keywords?
Negative keywords are terms that prevent your ads from appearing in search queries that aren’t relevant to your offer. For example, if you sell luxury watches, adding “cheap” or “free” as negative keywords ensures your ads won’t show for bargain hunters who are unlikely to convert.
They help you:
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Improve click-through rates (CTR) by filtering out unqualified traffic
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Reduce cost-per-click (CPC) waste
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Increase conversion rates by reaching better-matched audiences
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Maintain brand relevance and ad quality scores
Why You Should Never Skip Negative Keywords
Every irrelevant click you pay for is budget wasted. Without a curated list of negative keywords, your ads might show up for:
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Job seekers looking for employment at your company
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Researchers or students doing non-commercial searches
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Shoppers looking for products you don’t sell (wrong size, style, use case)
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Price-sensitive users when you're offering premium products
This not only drains your ad budget but also hurts long-term performance by sending the wrong signals to Google’s algorithm.
How to Build a High-Impact Negative Keyword List
Here’s a step-by-step method to get started or level up your current list:
1. Use Google Search Terms Report
Go to your Google Ads account, navigate to the Search Terms report, and identify queries that led to clicks but didn’t convert. Look for:
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Irrelevant terms (e.g. “DIY,” “review,” “how to”)
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Mismatched intent (e.g. “careers,” “used,” “free”)
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Product/service confusion (e.g. if someone searches for a competitor's brand)
Add these terms to your negative keyword list.
2. Brainstorm Based on Buyer Intent
Put yourself in the shoes of someone who isn't your ideal customer. Think of words they’d use, such as:
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“Cheap,” “free,” “discount,” “budget”
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“How to,” “review,” “examples,” “samples”
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“Job,” “internship,” “career,” “hiring”
You can proactively exclude these terms, especially in the early stages of your campaign.
3. Research Competitor Brand Terms (Carefully)
If you don’t want to compete on competitor names (and pay for clicks unlikely to convert), add them to your negative list. Be cautious though—sometimes competitor bidding is a strategic choice, so assess based on your campaign goals.
4. Use Google’s Keyword Planner
Use this tool not just for finding what to bid on—but also to spot unwanted variations or related searches. If you're advertising “men’s leather shoes,” and you see searches for “leather shoe repair” or “kids’ leather shoes,” you might want to exclude those.
5. Categorize Your Negative Keywords
Google lets you apply negative keywords at different levels:
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Campaign-level: Exclude broadly across all ad groups
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Ad group-level: Customize more narrowly for specific sets of ads
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Negative keyword lists: Shared across multiple campaigns for efficiency
For example, create separate lists for:
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Job seekers
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Freebies and budget shoppers
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Irrelevant use cases
Maintain and Update Your List Regularly
Building a strong list is not a one-and-done job. Set a schedule to review your search terms weekly or bi-weekly, especially during early campaign phases or when launching new products.
Ask yourself:
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Are there new trends or search behaviors showing up?
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Are negative keywords from one campaign also relevant to others?
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Should I be segmenting my lists more precisely?
Bonus Tip: Phrase vs. Exact Match
When adding negative keywords, understand the match types:
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Exact match ([cheap]): Blocks only the exact search term “cheap”
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Phrase match (“cheap shoes”): Blocks any query containing that phrase
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Broad match (cheap): Blocks any query that includes the word "cheap" in any order
Use with caution to avoid overblocking valuable traffic.
Final Thoughts
A smart negative keyword strategy doesn’t just prevent waste—it actively sharpens your campaign targeting, increases your relevance, and stretches your budget further. Whether you're just starting with Google Ads or managing dozens of campaigns, refining your negative keyword list can be the difference between good performance and great performance.