You’re probably familiar with ad blockers.
If you’ve ever visited a website that had random ads popping up every ten seconds, then you know just how useful ad blockers are. They prevent irrelevant content from reaching you, ensuring your browsing experience is seamless and stress-free.
Negative keywords function roughly the same way.
By essentially acting as a barrier or filter for your Google Ads, negative keywords can help improve and refine your ad campaign. They prevent your ads from being shown when a specific term or phrase is searched. This increases the likelihood of your ad being seen by those who truly want to see it, thereby increasing its target relevance.
(If you want to learn more about the nuances of negative keywords and how they work, check out our guide to negative keywords for Google Ads.)
But how do you actually use negative keywords? How do you implement them in your ad campaigns? And how do you know that you’re using the right ones?
Let’s break it down.
Step 1: Keyword Research
As with regular keywords, you’ll need to conduct proper research to ensure you’re using the best possible negative keywords for your campaign.
Remember: negative keywords limit your ad’s reach. You have to be 100% certain about the terms you include in your negative keyword list–otherwise you end up doing more harm than good to your campaign. You can very easily sabotage your ads if you include negative keywords that are actually relevant to your audience.
Say you’re selling eyeglasses. You do not sell sunglasses or contact lenses. So you would include those two terms–”sunglasses” and “contact lenses”–in your negative keyword list.
Say you also include the term “glasses” in your list because you don’t want people who are searching for “drinking glasses” to get your ad.
Unfortunately, this blocks your ad from people who search “eye glasses” even though they are still part of your target market.
This is why keyword research is so important.
If you’re going to compile a negative keyword list for your Google ad campaign, we can recommend the following tools:
- Google Keyword Planner - the original keyword research tool, Google Keyword Planner is a good starting point if you’re new to the world of negative keywords. You can type your targeted keywords into the planner and it will return a list of similar searches.
- Keyword Tool - a great alternative to Google Keyword Planner, Keyword Tool can extract thousands of useful keywords in a matter of seconds (or less) using Google Suggest. It’s also free to use, so you don’t risk losing more ad spend by trying it out.
- Google Search Terms Report - if you have a Google Ads account, you’ll have access to the Insights and reports tab for your current campaign. The Insights and reports tab will contain the actual search terms that triggered your ad (based on the search volume as well). You can use these terms to figure out negative keywords by zeroing in on the ones that are related to your ad but don’t accurately or exactly match what you sell.
- Google Suggest - another free alternative to Google Keyword Planner. You can use Google’s search suggestions or autocomplete feature in the Google search bar to see similar searches. You can then get negative keyword ideas from the suggested terms.
Using our earlier example, searching for “eyeglasses” would return terms like “eyeglasses frame,” “eyeglasses parts,” and “eyeglasses for men.”
If you only sell eyeglasses and not their individual parts (like the frames, lenses, screws, nosepads, etc.), then you could include “eyeglasses parts” or “parts” in your negative keywords list. You could also include related terms like “frames” “lenses” and the like to further refine your ad reach.
Step 2: Choose Match Type
Before you add negative keywords to your Google ad campaign, you should decide their match type. Choosing a match type for your negative keywords allows you to further refine your ad reach limit. This is because the match type basically sets the parameters that must be met in order for the negative keyword to stop the corresponding ad from triggering.
These parameters are based on word arrangement and case sensitivity, and there are three of them: negative broad match, negative phrase match, and negative exact match.
Negative broad match is basically the default setting of negative keywords. If a user’s search query includes any of your negative keywords, in any order, your ad will not be triggered. Here’s an example:
|
Negative Keyword |
Search Term |
Ad Triggers? |
|
Running shoes |
Shoes for running |
No |
|
Running shoes |
Running shoes deals |
No |
|
Running shoes |
Shoes for women |
Yes |
|
Running shoes |
Running gear |
Yes |
A negative phrase match is more case-sensitive. If a user’s search query includes your negative keywords in the exact, specified order, your ad will not be triggered. As long as the query contains all your specified negative keywords in the same order, Google will not show your ad–regardless of whether there are additional terms or not.
Let’s use the same example:
|
Negative Keyword |
Search Term |
Ad Triggers? |
|
Running shoes |
Shoes for running |
Yes |
|
Running shoes |
Running shoes deals |
No |
|
Running shoes |
Shoes for women |
Yes |
|
Running shoes |
Running gear |
Yes |
Negative exact match is the most case-sensitive option. If a user’s search query includes all of your negative keywords, in the exact order, and without additional search terms, your ad will not be triggered. Of the three, negative exact match keywords eliminate the least amount of traffic due to its specificity.
Here’s how a negative exact match keyword would behave:
|
Negative Keyword |
Search Term |
Ad Triggers? |
|
Running shoes |
Shoes for running |
Yes |
|
Running shoes |
Running shoes deals |
Yes |
|
Running shoes |
Shoes for women |
Yes |
|
Running shoes |
Running gear |
Yes |
|
Running shoes |
Running shoes |
No |
When you have a list of potential negative keywords, deciding which ones are broad match, phrase match, and exact match can help you further control who sees your ads.
Specifying Match Type Negative Keywords in Google Ads
In your Google Ads account, you can specify what match you want by using special symbols around each negative keyword.
Negative broad match keywords don’t need symbols. Negative phrase match keywords would be placed in “quotation marks.” Negative exact match keywords would be placed in [square brackets]. For example:
- Broad Match Keyword: running shoes
- Phrase Match Keyword: running gear
- Exact Match Keyword: buy running shoes
These would be listed in the provided grid as so:
Running shoes
“Running gear”
[buy running shoes]
Step 3: Add Negative Keywords to Your Campaign
Now that you have your negative keywords and you know their best match type, you can add them to your Google ad campaign. In order to do so, you need to have a Google Ads account.
You probably already know this if you’re currently running an ad campaign but Google Ads is basically Google’s advertising program. It runs on Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising, which basically means that you pay Google every time a visitor clicks on your ad.
You can learn more about setting up your own Google Ads account via their support page.
Once you have your Google Ads account set up and your list of negative keywords, you can start adding them to your campaigns.
Adding Individual Negative Keywords to a Google Ad Group/Campaign:
- Navigate to your Google Ads Dashboard and open the current search campaign.
- Select the Keywords and Targeting tab, and then select the Keywords, Negative option.
- You’ll see the option to Add negative keyword; click on it, then choose between the following:
- Ad group negative keyword
- Campaign negative keyword
- Select the destination for the negative keyword you want to add and click OK.
- Enter the individual negative keyword in the edit panel. Don’t forget to save!
Adding Multiple Negative Keywords to a Google Ad Group/Campaign
When adding multiple negative keywords, you first need to understand the difference between campaign-wide negative keywords and ad group-wide negative keywords.
- Campaign-Wide Negative Keywords are keywords that will affect all the ad groups you have running in your campaign.
- Ad Group-Wide Negative Keywords are keywords that will affect the specific ad group under your current campaign.
For instance; you’re selling eyeglasses. One ad group that you currently have running is an ad for your Seasonal Sale. The other ad group you have running is an ad that offers customers free eyeglasses cases and lens cloth wipes if they have previously purchased a pair of glasses from you. A third ad group is a general brand advertisement that encourages visitors to check out your online store.
Campaign-wide negative keywords will affect all three ads. Ad group-wide negative keywords will only affect the group they’re assigned to. “Free” could be a negative keyword for your seasonal sale ad, but you can allow it for your free eyeglasses case and cloth wipe ad.
As for a campaign-wide negative keyword, the term “contact lens” can be applied as none of the ads running are offering contact lenses.
The reason you need to know the difference between these two terms is because it isn’t possible to add multiple campaign-wide and ad group-wide negatives at the same time. You have to decide whether the keywords you’re adding will affect just one group or the whole campaign.
- Navigate to your Google Ads Dashboard
- Select Keywords and Targeting, then select the Keywords, Negative option
- Click on the Make multiple changes tool
- You have two options; My data includes columns for campaigns and/or ad groups OR Use selected destinations
- Choose Use selected destinations, then choose between:
- Add as campaign-level negative keywords - choose this for campaign-wide negatives.
- Add as ad group-level negative keywords - choose this for ad group-wide negatives.
Conclusion
Like regular keywords, negative keywords can help improve your Google ad’s reach and relevance. Ergo, knowing and understanding the technical side of negative keywords is crucial to run a successful, highly-converting ad campaign. With some patience, practice, and a lot of trial and error, you’ll soon become comfortable choosing the best terms and phrases to block your ads from uninterested parties.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
How do I find the best negative keywords for my Google Ad campaign?
How do I figure out the match type for my negative keywords?
Answer: Unfortunately, there is no tool or plug-and-play formula that can help you determine the best match type for different keywords. The best way would be through trial and error. Knowing and understanding how the three match types - broad, phrase, and exact - work can also help you make an informed decision.
How do I add negative keywords to my Google Ads campaign?
Answer: In your Google Ads account, navigate to the 'Keywords and Targeting' section and select 'Keywords, Negative.' You can then add individual or multiple negative keywords in the space provided. Remember to specify the match type (broad, phrase, or exact) using special symbols around each keyword.