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In short: Negative keywords stop your ads appearing for searches that have nothing to do with what you offer. With broad match and Smart Bidding they matter more than ever. What counts is the right match type, the right level (account, campaign, ad group) and one detail many advertisers miss: negative keywords do not include close variants, so plurals, misspellings and synonyms have to be added separately.
Many campaigns cost more than necessary because they pay for clicks that never lead anywhere. If you sell new running shoes, you don’t want to pay for “second hand running shoes”, “running shoe repair” or “running shoe review pdf”. That is exactly what negative keywords are for.
The three match types
| Type | Format | Excludes | Example for “women running shoes” |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broad match | women running shoes | searches containing all the words, in any order | “running shoes for women cheap” is excluded, “men running shoes” is not |
| Phrase match | “women running shoes” | searches containing this exact word sequence | “women running shoes sale” is excluded, “running shoes women” is not |
| Exact match | [women running shoes] | only this exact search with no extra words | only “women running shoes” is excluded |
Important: unlike regular keywords, negative keywords do not cover synonyms, plurals, misspellings or other word forms. “used” does not exclude “use” or “second hand”. Add the common variants yourself, and in languages such as German, also the different endings and compound words.
Which level to exclude at?
- Account: terms that fit no campaign, such as “job”, “training”, “free” or “pdf”. Account-level negatives also apply to Performance Max.
- Lists: shared negative keyword lists you attach to several campaigns, for example one for competitor brands or for informational searches.
- Campaign: terms that should not appear in this campaign but may in another.
- Ad group: to steer traffic between ad groups so a search lands in the right one.
How to find the right terms
- Search terms report: under Insights and reports you can see which searches triggered your ads. Select irrelevant ones and add them directly as negative keywords.
- Think ahead before launch: typical exclusions are second hand, repair, how-to, jobs, images, definitions, free offers and regions you don’t serve.
- Use Keyword Planner: research often surfaces related terms that don’t fit your offer.
- Sort by cost: focus on search terms with spend but no conversions. That is where the biggest savings are.
Benefits at a glance
- Less waste: you don’t pay for people who would never buy.
- Higher click-through rate: fewer irrelevant impressions improve CTR.
- Higher conversion rate: traffic becomes more relevant.
- Better data for Smart Bidding: the algorithm learns from relevant signals.
Common mistakes
- Excluding too broadly: a broad negative like “shoes” in a shoe shop blocks almost everything. Check negatives regularly for conflicts with your own keywords; Google flags such conflicts.
- Maintaining them only once: search behaviour changes. Review the search terms report several times a week in the first weeks, then at least monthly.
- Forgetting Performance Max: searches run there too. Use account and campaign-level negatives and brand exclusions.
Frequently asked questions
How many negative keywords make sense?
As many as needed, as few as possible. A well-maintained list of a few dozen to a few hundred terms is enough for most accounts. Relevance matters, not volume.
Do negative keywords apply to Display and YouTube?
Only to a limited extent. In Display and video campaigns they act on content rather than searches and don’t reliably exclude every placement. Placement and topic exclusions matter more there.
Conclusion
Negative keywords are one of the simplest and most effective levers in Google Ads. Maintain them regularly and you save budget and give the algorithm better data.
Want to know how much of your budget goes on irrelevant searches? We check it as part of our Google Ads management. The first 60 minutes of consulting are free: book a consultation.
Sources: Google Ads Help: About negative keywords
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