Negative keywords tell Google which searches you don’t want your ads to show for. For a local business, adding them is often the quickest way to cut wasted clicks from people who were never going to buy: job seekers, DIY searchers, students and people looking for something you don’t sell.
What do negative keywords do?
Google’s help page describes them as a way to exclude search terms so your ads focus on the keywords that matter to your customers. Its example: an optometrist who sells eyeglasses might exclude “wine glasses” and “drinking glasses”. The aim is sharper targeting, and potentially better return on investment.
How do the match types work?
For Search campaigns, Google explains three:
- Broad match negative (default): blocks an ad when the search contains all your negative terms in any order. With “running shoes”, “blue running shoes” and “shoes running” are blocked, but “running shoe” is not.
- Phrase match negative: blocks the ad when the terms appear in the same order, with other words allowed around them.
- Exact match negative: blocks the ad only when exactly those terms appear, in order, with nothing extra.
One catch from Google: negative keywords don’t match close variants. Add singular, plural and synonym forms yourself.
What could a local business exclude?
These depend on your business, so treat them as prompts, not a copy-paste list:
- Job and training intent: jobs, vacancy, salary, course, training, internship.
- DIY intent: if you sell a service, “how to”, “DIY”, “tutorial”.
- Free or cheap intent: free, cheap, second hand, if that doesn’t fit your offer.
- Wrong product or place: services you don’t offer or cities you don’t serve.
- Research-only intent: meaning, definition, wiki, images, PDF.
How do you find the right ones?
- Open the search terms report in your Google Ads account.
- Sort by cost or clicks, and find terms that spent money without producing calls or enquiries.
- Add clearly irrelevant words as negatives, choosing the match type deliberately.
- Repeat weekly for the first two months, then monthly.
What are the risks?
Google notes that using too many negative keywords can reduce how many customers your ads reach. Be careful with broad negatives that might block good searches. For example, blocking “cheap” could remove price-sensitive customers you actually want. Also, Google says a search longer than 16 words can still trigger your ad if the negative keyword appears after the 16th word.
What else helps cut waste?
Track calls and form submissions as conversions, limit ads to your service area and hours, and send clicks to a page that matches the ad. Our SEM and paid ads service includes a regular search-terms review, and you can see how we scope work on our packages page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a negative keyword in Google Ads?
A word or phrase you add so your ads don’t show on searches containing it. It helps you avoid irrelevant clicks.
How many negative keywords should I add?
As many as are clearly irrelevant, but not so many that you block good searches. Google warns that too many can reduce your reach.
Do negative keywords match plurals and misspellings?
No. Google says negative keywords don’t match close variants, so add singular, plural and synonym forms yourself.
How often should I review search terms?
Weekly at first, then monthly once your campaign is stable and the obvious waste is gone.
Can negative keywords improve my results?
They can improve targeting and may improve return on investment, according to Google, but they work best alongside good conversion tracking and a relevant landing page.