Paid campaigns remain vital in digital marketing. They provide businesses with a direct way to connect with their target audience and get trackable and quantifiable results.
However, due to growing competition and rising ad costs, maximizing the impact of every dollar is more important to your bottom line than ever.
Every click holds value, and unnecessary ad spending can quickly undermine your return on investment (ROI).
In the pursuit of efficiency, many marketers overlook one of the simplest tools available: negative keywords. This strategy can potentially conserve valuable resources but is often underutilized due to limited understanding.
In this PPC guide, we cover:
• What Are Negative Keywords?
• Benefits of Using Negative Keywords
• How to Choose the Right Negative Keyword Match Type
• How to Identify Negative Keywords
• How to Implement Negative Keywords in Google Ad Campaigns
• How To Identify Negative Keywords Without Unintentionally Excluding Valuable Traffic
Keep reading to uncover how negative keywords can transform the way you advertise.
What Are Negative Keywords?
Negative keywords are specific words added to campaigns to prevent ads from appearing in search results that include those terms.
“[They] are essential in paid search campaigns because they help refine targeting and improve the efficiency of your ad spend,” said John Powell, a Paid Search Engineer at Thrive Internet Marketing Agency.
“By excluding irrelevant search terms that are unlikely to convert, negative keywords prevent your ads from being shown to users who aren’t part of your target audience,” Powell said. “Negative keywords are a critical tool for maintaining the focus and effectiveness of your paid search campaigns.”
5 Benefits of Using Negative Keywords
Here are the key benefits of using negative keywords:
1. Improved Ad Relevance
With negative keywords, ads are prevented from appearing in searches unrelated to the offerings.
2. Higher Click-Through Rate (CTR)
Filtering out irrelevant search terms means the ads are displayed to a more appropriate audience. This leads to increased engagement and improved performance metrics.
3. Reduce Wasted Spend
Irrelevant clicks can drain ad budgets without generating meaningful results. Negative keywords help allocate spending more effectively by excluding terms that attract unqualified traffic.
4. Improve Campaign Efficiency
When irrelevant clicks are minimized, conversion rates and cost per acquisition (CPA) improve. As a result, campaigns drive better outcomes from the same budget.
5. Stronger Quality Scores
Search engines reward campaigns with high relevance. Negative keywords contribute to better targeting and higher CTRs, which can improve Quality Scores.
Incorporating irrelevant keywords in your paid campaigns means sharpening your marketing to deliver better outcomes. It’s a small adjustment with a big impact on your bottom line.
3 Types of Negative Keywords
Understanding the different types of negative keywords is essential for controlling where your ads appear. Each match type helps refine your targeting on PPC campaigns.
1. Broad Match Negative Keywords
Broad match negative keywords block ads from appearing in searches with all negative keyword terms in any order. However, they allow ads to show for queries containing only part of the negative keyword or additional unrelated terms.
Example where the negative keyword is “free courses”
Blocked Queries:
• “free online courses”
• “courses for free in 2024”
Allowed Queries:
• “online courses”
• “best programming courses”
2. Phrase Match Negative Keywords
Phrase match negative keywords prevent your ad from appearing in searches with the exact phrase or a close variation. Additional words before or after the phrase won’t trigger the ad, but inserting words within the phrase may still show it.
Example where the negative keyword is “digital marketing agency”
Blocked Queries:
• “best digital marketing agency”
• “affordable digital marketing agency near me”
Allowed Query:
• “digital marketing strategy for small businesses”
3. Exact Match Negative Keywords
Exact match negative keywords prevent your ad from appearing only if the search query matches the negative keyword exactly or is a close variation. Queries with additional words, a different word order or other variations will not be blocked.
Example where the negative keyword is “SEO tools”
Blocked Queries:
• “SEO tools”
• “SEO tool”
Allowed Queries:
• “best SEO tools for agencies”
• “SEO tools comparison 2024”
How To Choose the Right Negative Keyword Match Type
Selecting the correct match type ensures that your ads reach the right audience.
Broad match provides extensive filtering, phrase match offers moderate precision and exact match ensures the highest level of control. A strategic combination will help you reduce wasted ad spend and drive qualified traffic to your campaigns.
How To Identify Negative Keywords
Here’s how to find negative keywords for your ad campaigns:
1. Analyze Search Query Reports
Search query reports (SQRs) provide insights into the terms users search for when your ads are triggered. Analyzing this data helps identify irrelevant or unprofitable keywords.
• Access your campaign’s Search Terms or Search Query report in Google Ads.
• Review the search terms that triggered your ads.
• Highlight terms that don’t match your products, services or audience intent.
• Add these terms as negative keywords to prevent your ads from appearing for them in the future.
Example: If your ad for “digital marketing courses” is triggered by “free digital marketing courses,” you can add “free” as a negative keyword.
2. Conduct Competitor Analysis
Competitor analysis helps you understand what terms other businesses in your niche are targeting. Examining the keywords your competitors bid on lets you uncover terms they target that are irrelevant to your offerings or audience.
• Use tools like Semrush or SpyFu to analyze competitor ad campaigns.
• Identify keywords that competitors rank for but don’t align with your offerings.
• Consider excluding overly broad terms or terms tied to your competitors’ unique value propositions.
Example: If a competitor offers “marketing software” but you specialize in services, add “software” as a negative keyword.
3. Leverage Keyword Research Tools
Keyword research tools will let you identify terms that are too broad, irrelevant or associated with a different intent than your campaign’s objectives.
• Use tools like Ahrefs, Ubersuggest or Moz Keyword Explorer to identify related keywords.
• Look for terms with high search volume but low relevance to your campaign.
• Add irrelevant terms to your negative keyword list to filter out unproductive searches.
Example: If your campaign is targeting “paid marketing solutions,” identify and exclude terms like “free marketing tools.”
4. Utilize Google Keyword Planner
Google Keyword Planner is a free and highly effective tool for identifying keywords that might require exclusion from your campaigns. It provides valuable insights into the search terms people use to find products, services or information related to your industry.
• Open Google Keyword Planner and search for keywords related to your campaign.
• Analyze the suggested keywords for terms that don’t match your products, services or target audience.
• Add irrelevant or misleading keywords to your negative keyword list.
Example: While researching “content marketing,” you might find terms like “content marketing certification” that don’t fit your services. Add these as negative keywords.
How To Implement Negative Keywords in Google Ad Campaigns
Now that you know how to identify irrelevant keywords, it’s time to implement them into your campaigns. Follow this PPC guide:
Apply Negative Keywords in Your Google Ad Campaign
Step #1: Go to Your Campaign or Ad Group
• Log in to your Google Ads account.
• Select the specific campaign or ad group from the dashboard where you want to add negative keywords.
• Ensure you’ve chosen the correct campaign/ad group based on your negative keyword targeting strategy.
Step #2. Access the Keywords Section
• In the left-hand menu, click “Keywords” to manage all keyword settings for your campaign or ad group.
• This section provides insights into your existing keywords, match types and performance data.
Step #3. Open the “Negative Keywords” Tab
• At the top of the Keywords section, you’ll see a tab labeled “Negative Keywords.” Click on it to manage or create a list of excluded terms.
Step #4. Add Negative Keywords
• Manually Add Negative Keywords:
○ Click the “+” button to add new negative keywords.
○ Enter each keyword or phrase you want to exclude, separating them by line.
○ Select the match type for each keyword to determine how the exclusion will apply.
• Upload Negative Keywords in Bulk:
○ For large keyword lists, click the upload option (available as a file or copy-paste method).
○ Prepare a spreadsheet or text file with your negative keywords.
○ Upload the file and confirm the changes.
Step #5. Choose the Scope of Application
After adding your negative keywords, specify where they should apply:
• Campaign Level: The keywords will exclude irrelevant searches across the entire campaign. This is ideal for broad exclusions affecting all ad groups in the campaign.
• Ad Group Level: The keywords only apply to a specific ad group. This allows more granular control, especially for campaigns with diverse offerings.
Step #6. Save Your Changes
Once you’ve added and scoped your negative keywords, click Save to apply them to your campaign or ad group. Review your settings to ensure accuracy.
Test and Analyze Results
Implementing negative keywords is just the beginning. Ongoing testing and analysis are crucial to maximizing their impact. Here’s how to effectively test and measure your strategy:
Monitor PPC Metrics
• Click-Through Rate (CTR): A higher CTR often indicates that your negative keywords filter out unqualified traffic, leaving only relevant users more likely to engage.
• Quality Score: Google uses Quality Score to evaluate the relevance of your keywords, ads and landing pages. Excluding irrelevant queries through negative keywords can improve your score.
• Conversion Rate: Track conversions to ensure that the traffic reaching your site is not only engaging with your ads but also taking desired actions.
• Cost Per Conversion: A drop in this metric shows that your budget is spent on more qualified leads.
Measure ROI Improvements
Compare campaign performance before and after implementing negative keywords. Look for:
• Increased efficiency in ad spend.
• Higher ROI due to better-qualified traffic.
• Improved performance on key PPC metrics like CTR and Quality Score.
Adjust Regularly
Negative keywords are not a “set it and forget it” strategy.
“Regularly reviewing and updating your negative keyword list is crucial to maintaining the efficiency and effectiveness of your paid search campaigns. Over time, user behavior, market trends and your campaign goals can change, making ongoing optimization essential,” Powell said.
But how often should advertisers revisit their lists?
“The frequency depends on your campaign size, industry and activity levels,” Powell said.
• Weekly or Biweekly: For high-volume campaigns, frequent reviews help catch irrelevant traffic early.
• Monthly: Medium-sized campaigns or those in stable markets may require updates once a month.
• Seasonally: Seasonal campaigns or industries with significant periodic fluctuations benefit from keyword list updates tied to those cycles.
“Consistent monitoring of search term reports and campaign performance should guide the timing of updates. The key is staying proactive to ensure your campaign remains aligned with your goals and audience,” Powell said.
How To Identify Negative Keywords Without Unintentionally Excluding Valuable Traffic
Effectively managing ad keywords is fundamental to a successful paid search strategy. It’s about ensuring your ads target the right audience and avoiding irrelevant traffic without losing opportunities for valuable engagement.
“Balancing the use of negative keywords without excluding potentially valuable traffic requires a strategic and data-driven approach,” Powell said.
Use this PPC guide:
• Start Broad and Refine Over Time: Begin with a focused negative keyword list based on obvious exclusions. Then, gradually refine the list using data from search term reports to identify patterns in irrelevant clicks.
• Use Phrase and Exact Match Types: Apply match types for negative keywords strategically. Using phrase or exact match ensures you only exclude specific irrelevant terms while keeping broader queries intact to capture potentially valuable traffic.
• Analyze Search Term Reports Regularly: Monitor the queries triggering your ads frequently. Look for terms that are irrelevant or underperforming, but also identify borderline cases that could provide insights into user intent.
• Segment Campaigns and Ad Groups: Create segmented campaigns or ad groups for different themes or user intents. This approach allows for more precise negative keyword targeting without affecting potentially valuable traffic in other segments.
• Test and Measure Impact: Implement changes incrementally and measure their impact on performance. If excluding a keyword negatively affects traffic or conversions, adjust your strategy to include related terms with high potential value.
• Leverage Audience Insights: Use demographic and behavioral data to understand which search terms align with your audience’s intent. This helps you avoid excluding ad keywords that may initially seem irrelevant but align with your goals.
“Through careful analysis, regular optimization and strategic use of match types, you can effectively manage negative keywords without losing opportunities for valuable traffic,” Powell said.
Transform Your PPC Strategy with Thrive Internet Marketing Agency
Negative keywords are a powerful tool for improving your PPC campaigns. However, managing and optimizing ads is time-consuming. It requires constant monitoring, adjustments and expertise to stay competitive. Instead of juggling these tasks on your own, partnering with professionals ensures your campaigns are consistently delivering the best results.
Thrive Internet Marketing Agency is here to help. With our expertise in Google Ads management, conversion rate optimization and search engine marketing, we tailor data-driven strategies to meet your business goals.
Contact Thrive today to discover how we can help transform your campaigns into a powerful engine for growth.
