How to use negative keywords in Google Ads

Did you know that 65% of businesses waste ad spend due to irrelevant clicks in their PPC campaigns? Negative keywords from the search terms report are the secret weapon to combat irrelevant queries. They help filter out unwanted traffic, saving you money and boosting your ROI. By strategically using negative keywords, you can target your ideal audience more effectively. This post will dive into the importance of negative keywords, how they work, and tips for implementing them in your campaigns. Say goodbye to wasted ad dollars and hello to smarter marketing strategies.

Key Takeaways

• Utilize Negative Keywords: Start by identifying and adding negative keywords to your Google Ads campaigns to avoid irrelevant traffic from search queries and improve ad performance.
• Understand Their Importance: Recognize that negative keywords are crucial for optimizing your ad spend, helping you reach the right audience while minimizing wasted clicks.
• Learn How They Work: Familiarize yourself with how negative keywords filter out unwanted search terms, ensuring your ads are only shown to users who are likely to convert.
• Regularly Manage Your List: Keep your negative keyword list updated by regularly reviewing search term reports to find new terms that should be added.
• Explore Different Types: Understand the differences between broad match, phrase match, and exact match negative keywords to apply them effectively in your campaigns.
• Leverage AI Tools: Consider using AI-Assisted tools like Shopstory for automating the management of negative keywords, which can save time and enhance your ad strategy.

What Are Negative Keywords

Definition

Negative keywords are terms that prevent ads from appearing in irrelevant searches. Advertisers use these terms to filter out unwanted traffic. This helps ensure that only relevant users see their ads.

How It Affects Targeting

Selecting negative keywords plays a crucial role in refining ad targeting. It allows advertisers to focus on their desired audience. By eliminating unrelated search queries, campaigns can reach the right customers more effectively. This leads to better engagement and higher conversion rates.

How It Affects Your Ad Strategy

Negative keyword opportunities enhance advertising strategies by focusing on user intent. When advertisers exclude certain negative terms, they attract users who are genuinely interested in their products or services.

For example, a company selling luxury watches might add "cheap" as a negative keyword. This prevents their ads from showing up for budget-conscious shoppers. As a result, the campaign attracts customers willing to spend more.

Using a well-structured level negative keyword list is essential. This list should include both broad and specific negative phrases. For instance, including "free" or "discount" can help filter out price-sensitive searches.

Types of Negative Keywords

There are three main types of negative keywords in Google Ads: broad match, phrase match, and exact match. Including a healthy mix is crucial in a negative keyword strategy. This includes synonyms and common misspellings. For instance, using "sneakers" alongside "shoes" can help avoid irrelevant traffic. Misspellings like "shos" should also be included to ensure no unwanted clicks occur. The three match types are:

• Broad Match Negative Keywordssome text
  • Excludes a wide range of related search queries, including variations of your negative keyword.
  • Example: If you add "cheap" as a broad match negative keyword, your ad won’t show for searches like "cheap shoes," "cheap sneakers," or even "affordable shoes."
  • When to use: Ideal for blocking a broad range of irrelevant searches, such as businesses promoting high-end products should avoid appearing in searches related to discounts. However, be careful not to block too many variations. For instance, excluding "free" may prevent ads from appearing in searches for "free trial."
• Phrase Match Negative Keywordssome text
  • Blocks searches that include the exact phrase you specify but allows for other variations.
  • Example: Adding "cheap shoes" as a phrase match blocks that exact phrase but still allows your ad to show for searches like "affordable shoes" or "discounted shoes."
  • When to use: Use this when you need more control over which queries to exclude but don’t want to block every variation. 
• Exact Match Negative Keywordssome text
  • Excludes only the exact search terms specified and no other variations.
  • Example: Adding "blue shoes" as an exact match negative keyword prevents your ad from showing only for that specific query.
  • When to use: Best for highly targeted campaigns where you want to exclude very specific search terms. This works well for niche products, ensuring ads don’t show for unrelated searches.

Why Are Negative Keywords Important?

Understanding how negative keywords work and why they matter is the key to better targeting and higher returns.

Maximizing Efficiency

Negative keywords play a crucial role in maximizing ad spend efficiency. They help advertisers filter out unwanted traffic. By excluding certain terms, businesses can focus their budget on relevant searches. This targeted approach reduces wasted spending.

Higher Click-Through Rates

Using negative keywords can lead to higher click-through rates (CTR). They eliminate unqualified clicks that do not align with advertising goals. For instance, if a company sells luxury watches, adding "cheap" as a negative keyword prevents ads from showing to users looking for low-cost options. This strategy ensures that only interested users see the ads.

Improved Return on Investment

The impact of negative keywords extends to overall return on investment (ROI). Effective ad targeting increases the likelihood of conversions. When ads reach the right audience, advertisers see better results. A well-structured campaign with negative keywords can significantly enhance performance metrics.

Successful Google Ads advertising campaigns often include multiple ads and ad groups utilizing this technique. Advertisers can create dynamic search ads or video campaigns that resonate with their target market while avoiding irrelevant traffic.

In summary, negative keywords are essential for effective Google advertising. They enhance ad relevance, improve CTR, and boost ROI for digital advertising campaigns. By implementing these strategies, advertisers can achieve their advertising efforts more effectively.

How Negative Keywords Work

Excluding Irrelevant Searches

Negative keywords exclude specific search terms from ad campaigns. This mechanism prevents ads from showing up for irrelevant searches. For example, if a business sells luxury watches, it can use "cheap" as a negative keyword. This ensures that those looking for low-priced options will not see their ads.

Reaching the Right Audience

Negative keyword targeting improves relevant customer engagement. By filtering out unwanted traffic, businesses can focus on users who truly matter. This strategy helps attract potential customers who are more likely to convert. It creates a direct link between the ad content and the search intent of the audience.

Boosting Ad Effectiveness

Effective use of negative keywords can lead to increased ad visibility among interested users. When irrelevant searches are filtered out, ads can reach a more focused audience. This can result in higher click-through rates (CTR) and better return on investment (ROI). A well-structured negative keywords table helps advertisers track and manage these terms efficiently.

Matching Strategies

Different negative keyword strategies exist to optimize campaigns further. Advertisers can choose broad match or exact match types for their negative keywords. Broad matching captures variations of a term, while exact matching targets only the specified term. Both approaches enhance ad performance by ensuring that ads appear only for relevant queries.

How to Add and Manage Negative Keywords

1. Log into your Google Ads account.
2. Navigate to the campaign where you want to add negative keywords.
3. Click on “Keywords” in the left sidebar.
4. Select “Negative Keywords”.
5. Click the plus button to add individual terms or upload a list.

Best Practices

Make sure to review your search term reports regularly. By analyzing which search terms are triggering your ads and making small adjustments to your negative keyword list, you’ll ensure that your campaigns remain focused on attracting the right traffic. This regular review can make a big difference in your ad performance over time.

Tracking Performance

Tracking the performance of negative keywords requires specific tools and methods. Use Google Ads reports to analyze which search keywords trigger ads. Identify patterns in clicks and conversions. Tools like Google Analytics can also provide insights into user behavior. This data helps refine targeting strategies.

Automate Your Negative Keywords with Shopstory

Managing negative keywords manually can be a tedious and repetitive task. Why not automate it for better efficiency and results? Here’s how Shopstory can streamline this process:

• Identify Negative Keywords from Search Term Report: Automatically pinpoint underperforming keywords in your Google Shopping campaigns. These keywords are flagged and added to a Google Sheet for your review, ensuring you catch irrelevant ad clicks early.
• Add Negative Keyword in Google Ads from Google Sheet: This flow directly updates your Google Ads account, streamlining your optimization process.

This two-step process allows you to review the negative keywords before they are implemented. For enhanced efficiency, a combined flow can be implemented to directly add these suggested negative keywords to your Google Ads account, refining and optimizing your keyword strategy for better campaign performance.

By automating with Shopstory, you can save time by focusing on strategic tasks instead of manual keyword management. This helps to improve targeting, enhancing ad relevance and audience engagement. Additionally, you can boost ROAS, achieving better campaign performance and reducing wasted spend.

Conclusion

Negative keywords are essential for optimizing your Google Ads campaigns. They help you filter out irrelevant traffic and focus on what truly matters. By understanding how they work and managing them effectively, you can boost your ad performance and save money.

If you’d like to try automation, Shopstory's no-code automation tool makes it easy to manage negative keywords and optimize campaigns. This is particularly efficient for online shops, PPC marketers, and marketing agencies, who run hundreds of campaigns and are looking to streamline budget allocation, refine bid strategies, or automate keyword lists to reach the right audience. 

Get started for FREE today and see how Shopstory can supercharge your Google Ads performance.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are negative keywords in Google Ads?

Negative keywords prevent your ads from showing for specific search terms. This helps you avoid irrelevant clicks, saving your budget and improving ad performance.

Why are negative keywords important?

They enhance targeting by filtering out unwanted traffic. This leads to higher click-through rates (CTR) and better return on investment (ROI) for your campaigns.

How do I add negative keywords?

You can add negative keywords in your Google Ads account under the "Keywords" section. Simply enter the keywords you want to exclude from triggering your ads.

What types of negative keywords are there?

There are three main types: broad match, phrase match, and exact match. Each type controls how strictly a keyword must match to trigger exclusion.

Can I automate negative keyword management?

Yes, AI tools can help automate the process. They analyze performance data and suggest relevant negative keywords to improve campaign efficiency.

How does broad match for negative keywords work?

Broad match negative keywords block your ads from showing for any search that includes the specified term, regardless of order or additional words.

What is phrase match for negative keywords?

Phrase match negative keywords prevent your ad from appearing if the exact phrase is used in a search query, maintaining the specified order of words.