Quick answer: Negative keywords are search terms you tell Google Ads to ignore, so your ad does not show when someone searches for them. They are one of the highest-leverage settings in PPC: a good negative keyword list can cut wasted spend by 20 to 40 percent in many accounts, freeing budget for the searches that actually convert.
What Are Negative Keywords?
Negative keywords tell Google Ads which searches should NOT trigger your ads. Adding them is one of the single highest-impact optimisation tasks in PPC, because every irrelevant click is wasted budget.
If you run a premium kitchen design company and someone searches “cheap kitchen units”, you do not want to pay for that click. Adding “cheap” as a negative keyword prevents it from happening.
Types of Negative Keywords
Negatives use the same match type logic as regular keywords:
- Broad negative: Excludes any search containing that word anywhere in the query
- Phrase negative: Excludes searches containing that phrase in order
- Exact negative: Only excludes the precise query, useful for very specific exclusions
Negative Keyword Lists
Google Ads allows you to create shared negative keyword lists and apply them across multiple campaigns, a significant time-saver. Maintain one master list of irrelevant terms and apply it everywhere.
Where to Find Negative Keywords
- Search Term Report: The most valuable source, shows exactly what real users typed to trigger your ads
- Brainstorming irrelevant terms during campaign setup
- Industry-specific exclusions (free, jobs, course, DIY if you sell professional services)
Our PPC management service includes negative keyword review as a standard weekly task during the first month of a new campaign.
Why Negative Keywords Matter
Google’s match types (broad, phrase, exact) determine which searches your ads can show on. Even with phrase or exact match, Google will pull in close variants, related terms, and same-meaning queries. Negative keywords are how you push back: they say "regardless of how Google interprets the match, never show on this term."
Without negatives, your ad can appear on:
- Searches with the wrong intent (e.g. "free SEO course" when you sell paid SEO services).
- Searches with the wrong product (e.g. "men’s running shoes" when you only sell women’s).
- Searches with the wrong location if your geographic targeting is loose.
- Searches with branded comparison terms for competitors you do not want to be associated with.
How to Find Negative Keywords
The Search Terms report in Google Ads is the goldmine. It shows you every actual query that triggered your ad, regardless of which keyword in your account matched. Reviewing it weekly for the first month, then fortnightly after, will surface:
- Queries with low or zero conversions that ate budget.
- Queries where the searcher clearly wanted something different from your offer.
- Queries with words that should never trigger your ad (free, jobs, careers, DIY, course, training, when those are not what you sell).
Negative Keyword Match Types
Like positive keywords, negatives have match types:
- Negative broad: blocks any search containing all the words, in any order.
- Negative phrase: blocks any search containing the exact phrase.
- Negative exact: blocks only the exact term, no variations.
For most negative keywords, phrase match is the sensible default. It catches genuine variations without being so aggressive it accidentally blocks profitable traffic.
Negative Keyword Lists
Negative keyword lists let you maintain shared lists across multiple campaigns. Most accounts benefit from at least three master lists:
- A "junk" list with universal negatives (free, jobs, DIY, illegal, etc.).
- A "brand mismatch" list with competitor names you do not want to bid on.
- A campaign-specific list for product or service mismatches relevant to that campaign only.
Frequently Asked 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. A complex B2B or ecommerce account often has 500 or more. The right number is whatever it takes to consistently exclude irrelevant searches without blocking profitable ones.
Do negative keywords affect Quality Score?
Indirectly, yes. By preventing your ad from showing on irrelevant searches, you avoid low-CTR impressions that drag down Quality Score. Better Quality Score means lower CPCs and better ad position. Negatives are one of the cleanest Quality Score levers in any account.
Can I add negative keywords at the campaign or ad group level?
Both. Campaign-level negatives apply across every ad group inside the campaign. Ad-group-level negatives apply only to that ad group, useful when you want a term excluded from one product line but allowed in another. Use whichever scope makes sense for the keyword.
How do I find negative keywords without a campaign running?
Brainstorm intent variations of your target keywords. For every search you want to attract, write down five or ten variations you do not want to attract (free, jobs, definition, course, etc.). Add Google’s autosuggest results for your terms to spot more. Then refine using actual Search Terms data once the campaign starts running.
Take this further
Negative keywords are usually the single biggest opportunity in any audited Google Ads account. Cleaning up search terms typically frees 20 to 40 percent of wasted spend within the first month.
Ready to apply this to your own site? Book a free discovery call, or explore our PPC packages.