Negative Keywords: Complete Strategy Guide
A strong negative keyword strategy can cut wasted spend by 20-30%. Learn how to build, organise, and maintain negative keyword lists effectively.
Expert PPC Management
Why Negative Keywords Matter
Negative keywords prevent your ads from showing for irrelevant searches. Without them, you're paying for clicks from people who will never convert—job seekers, researchers, people looking for free solutions, or searchers in the wrong industry entirely.
We regularly see accounts waste 20-30% of their budget on irrelevant searches that could have been blocked with proper negative keyword management. Get started with our 500+ negative keyword list covering 11 categories you can copy-paste directly into Google Ads.
Types of Negative Keywords
Negative Broad Match
Blocks searches containing all words in the negative keyword, in any order. "free software" blocks "free project management software" but not "software pricing."
Negative Phrase Match
Blocks searches containing the exact phrase in order. "free software" blocks "download free software" but not "software free trial."
Negative Exact Match
Blocks only the exact search term. [free software] only blocks "free software"—not "free accounting software."
Building Your Negative Keyword List
Start with Universal Negatives
These apply to almost every business:
- Job-related: jobs, careers, hiring, salary, interview, resume, CV
- Educational: how to, what is, meaning, definition, tutorial
- Free-seekers: free, cheap, discount (if you don't offer these)
- Irrelevant: DIY, homemade (for professional services)
Industry-Specific Negatives
Every industry has terms that attract wrong audiences. A B2B software company might add "personal use," "home," and "consumer." A UK business might add competitor regions.
Brand Negatives
Add competitor brand names if you don't want to show for those searches. Also add your own brand name to non-brand campaigns to prevent overlap.
Organising Negative Keywords
Negative Keyword Lists
Create shared negative keyword lists and apply them across campaigns. This makes management easier and ensures consistency.
- Universal negatives (applies to all campaigns)
- Competitor brand list
- Your own brand list (for non-brand campaigns)
- Industry-specific lists
Campaign vs. Ad Group Level
Apply broad negatives at the campaign level. Use ad group level negatives for more surgical blocking when you need different rules for different ad groups.
Mining the Search Terms Report
Your best source of negative keywords is your own data. Review the Search Terms report weekly and add negatives for:
- Searches with zero conversions and significant spend
- Queries clearly mismatched to your offer
- High-impression, low-CTR searches (indicate poor relevance)
- Repeat offenders appearing across multiple keywords
Common Negative Keyword Mistakes
- Being too aggressive: Blocking terms that actually convert
- Forgetting about match types: Using only broad when phrase would be better
- Set-and-forget: Not reviewing and updating lists regularly
- Conflicting keywords: Adding negatives that block positive keywords
- No organisation: Adding all negatives at random levels
Written by
PPC Chief15+ years of Google Ads expertise. We help businesses cut wasted ad spend and turn PPC into a predictable source of qualified leads and revenue.
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500+ keywords to block wasted clicks
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