Negative Keywords, explained properly.
What are negative keywords?
Negative keywords instruct Google Ads to exclude specific searches from triggering your ads. They are a significant optimisation lever in pay-per-click campaigns, because unrelated clicks eat budget without generating conversions. For example, a premium kitchen design company would add "cheap" as a negative keyword to avoid showing ads for "cheap kitchen units".
Why negative keywords matter
Google's match types can trigger ads on close variants, related terms and semantically similar queries. Negative keywords give you back control by explicitly preventing displays regardless of how a match type is interpreted. Without them, ads may appear on: - Searches with the wrong intent. - Searches seeking a different product. - Searches from the wrong geographic locations. - Branded competitor comparison searches.
Negative keyword match types
- **Negative broad:** blocks searches containing all the words in any order. - **Negative phrase:** blocks searches containing the exact phrase in order. - **Negative exact:** blocks only the exact term, without variations. Phrase match is the recommended default for most negative keywords.
Where to find negative keywords
- **The Search Terms report:** the most valuable source, showing exactly what real users typed to trigger your ads. - Brainstorming during campaign setup. - Industry-specific exclusions such as free, jobs, course and DIY for professional services. Review weekly during the first month of a campaign, then fortnightly, to spot low or zero-conversion queries, misaligned intent and words that do not fit what you offer. We include negative keyword review as a standard weekly task during the first campaign month.
Negative keyword lists
Google Ads lets you create shared negative keyword lists that apply across multiple campaigns, which saves a lot of time. Three recommended master lists are: 1. A universal junk list (free, jobs, DIY, illegal, and so on). 2. A brand mismatch list with competitor names to avoid. 3. A campaign-specific list for product or service mismatches.
Take this further
Negative keywords are usually the single biggest opportunity in any audited Google Ads account.
Negative Keywords: common questions.
How many negative keywords should I have?
There is no fixed number. A small B2C account might run cleanly with 50 to 100 negatives, while a complex B2B or ecommerce account often has 500 or more.
Do negative keywords affect Quality Score?
Indirectly, yes. Preventing irrelevant ad displays avoids low click-through-rate impressions that reduce Quality Score. A better Quality Score lowers cost per click and improves ad positioning.
Can I add negative keywords at the campaign or ad group level?
Both are available. Campaign-level negatives apply across all ad groups, while ad-group-level negatives apply only to that specific group.
How do I find negative keywords without a campaign running?
Brainstorm intent variations for your target keywords and develop five to ten unwanted variations per desired search, such as free, jobs, definition and course. Use Google's autosuggest results, then refine with real Search Terms data after launch.
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