Branded Shopping campaigns are one of the most cost-effective ways to capture high-intent traffic — especially when users are already searching for your products by name. But without proper use of negative keywords, even the most promising campaigns can quietly leak budget and misalign with your business goals.
Let’s walk through why negative keywords are critical in branded Shopping ads, where advertisers often go wrong, and how to apply them the right way.
Why Negative Keywords Matter in Branded Campaigns
In a typical Google Shopping setup, you don’t get to choose keywords directly — your product titles and feed content determine which queries trigger your ads. This lack of direct control makes negative keywords your main lever for shaping traffic quality.
For branded Shopping campaigns, this becomes even more essential:
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You want to protect branded campaigns from being triggered by generic terms.
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You need to keep budget focused on high-converting queries, especially if you’re splitting Shopping campaigns by intent (e.g., brand vs. non-brand).
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Without exclusions, your branded campaign might overlap with your generic or competitor campaigns, inflating CPAs and confusing performance insights.
Common Mistakes Advertisers Make
Even experienced marketers sometimes apply negatives incorrectly. Watch out for these common missteps:
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❌ Not excluding non-brand queries from branded campaigns
Your campaign labeled “Brand” shouldn't be capturing searches like “best running shoes” if your brand is “SwiftFeet.” Use phrase or exact match negatives like"running shoes"to prevent this. -
❌ Blocking too aggressively
Adding negatives without proper analysis might accidentally block relevant branded queries (e.g., excluding “shoes” could block “SwiftFeet shoes”). -
❌ Forgetting misspellings and variants
Not all users type your brand name perfectly. Omitting common typos or alternate brand spellings can lead to wasted impressions. -
❌ Applying negatives at the wrong level
Using campaign-level negatives when ad group-level targeting would be more precise can limit flexibility in structure and reporting.
Best Practices for Negative Keywords in Branded Shopping Campaigns
Here’s how to get it right:
1. Split Campaigns by Intent
Create separate Shopping campaigns for branded and non-branded traffic. Then use negative keyword sculpting to ensure they don’t overlap.
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In your branded campaign, add non-brand keywords as negatives (e.g., “cheap,” “discount,” “shoes”).
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In your non-branded campaign, add your brand terms as negatives (e.g., “SwiftFeet,” “Swift Feet running”).
This allows for clean performance tracking and budget allocation.
2. Monitor Search Terms Regularly
Use the search term report to identify:
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Irrelevant traffic slipping into your branded campaigns
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New branded queries worth isolating in their own ad groups
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Misspellings or alternate terms that need to be included or excluded
Tools like AdsPolar streamline this process by surfacing cross-channel search patterns and wasted spend clusters, helping you act faster without needing to download and compare separate reports.
3. Use Match Types Thoughtfully
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Use exact match negatives for precise exclusions (e.g.,
[cheap shoes]) -
Use phrase match to block broader patterns (e.g.,
"running shoes") -
Be careful with broad match negatives — they can unintentionally restrict traffic too much
4. Document Your Exclusion Logic
As your account grows or multiple people manage it, keeping track of negative keyword logic is key. Maintain a shared exclusion list or campaign notes to explain why each keyword was added.
When to Reassess
Negative keywords aren’t “set it and forget it.” You should re-evaluate your exclusions when:
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You launch new products or rebrand
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Competitors start bidding on your brand terms
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Performance metrics (CTR, ROAS, CPA) shift unexpectedly
Final Thoughts
Adding negative keywords to branded Shopping campaigns may not sound glamorous, but it’s one of the highest-leverage moves for keeping your budget focused, clean, and high-performing.
Done well, it helps preserve your brand equity, prevents unnecessary intra-account competition, and gives your campaign structure clarity.
In the age of automated campaigns and limited keyword control, mastering negatives isn’t optional — it’s a must-have skill for every e-commerce advertiser.