Negative Keywords
Negative keywords are the searches a store refuses to buy, the exclusion memory that protects every campaign.
What negative keywords are
Negative keywords are the searches you refuse to buy: terms added to campaigns so ads stop showing for them, the exclusion side of search advertising where waste gets cut query by query.
Why negative keywords matter
Match types and automation cast wide nets by design, and the net catches queries that can only lose money: free-seekers, wrong products, job hunters, DIY researchers, competitor names you’d rather not fund. Negatives are how the account learns, the search terms report shows what was actually bought, and the exclusion list is the accumulated memory of every lesson, often worth more than the keyword list it protects.
Building the exclusion discipline
- Mine the search terms report on a schedule: real queries, real waste, weekly
- Structure the negatives: universal lists (free, jobs, DIY) shared, campaign-level for routing
- Mind negative match types: exact and phrase negatives behave literally, blocking exactly what’s written
- Automation era: modern campaign types expose fewer negative controls, use the exclusion levers each offers, and audit what slips through
Frequently asked questions
What belongs on every store’s negative list from day one?
The intent mismatches every catalog shares: free, cheap-beyond-your-range, jobs and careers, repairs and manuals, wholesale if you’re retail, and the adjacent products you don’t stock. Category-specific waste then accumulates from the search terms report, which always knows better than the brainstorm.
Can negatives be overdone?
Easily: aggressive exclusion prunes discovery along with waste, and broad negatives silently block converting long-tail queries. Add negatives from evidence rather than fear, review the list when volume dips, and remember every negative is a standing bet that the query can never work.