Negative Keywords — Complete Guide

Negative keywords are the most underused feature in Google Ads. They’re also one of the most profitable.

In one real case, a home decoration e-commerce client (in the Czech market) was wasting over €720/month on irrelevant clicks. After implementing a proper negative keyword strategy, their ROAS jumped from 2.1x to 4.8x — more than doubling their return. Same budget, dramatically better results.

This guide covers everything: what negative keywords are, why they matter, how to find them, and a ready-to-use list of 50+ universal negatives.

What Are Negative Keywords?

Negative keywords are words or phrases you add to your campaigns to prevent your ads from showing when someone searches for them.

Example: You sell premium office furniture. Without negative keywords, your ads might show for:

• „free office furniture“
• „office furniture DIY“
• „IKEA office furniture“ (if you’re not IKEA)
• „office furniture assembly instructions“

None of these searchers are your customers. But you pay for every click.

Negative keywords block these searches. You tell Google: „Never show my ad when someone searches for these terms.“

Why Negative Keywords Matter

1. Save money

The most obvious benefit. Every irrelevant click costs you money. In a typical account, 20-40% of search queries are irrelevant. Negative keywords eliminate this waste.

2. Improve CTR

When your ads stop showing for irrelevant searches, your impressions decrease but clicks stay the same (or increase). Result: higher CTR.

Higher CTR → better Quality Score → lower CPC. It’s a virtuous cycle.

3. Increase conversion rate

Fewer irrelevant visitors = higher percentage of visitors who actually convert. Your conversion rate improves because you’re filtering out people who were never going to buy.

4. Better data for Smart Bidding

Google’s automated bidding strategies learn from your conversion data. If that data is polluted with irrelevant clicks, the algorithm learns the wrong patterns. Clean data = better optimization.

Types of Negative Keywords

Just like regular keywords, negative keywords have match types:

Negative Broad Match (default)

Your ad won’t show if the search contains all of the negative keyword terms, in any order.

Negative keyword: free shipping

• Blocks: „free shipping office chairs“ ✓
• Blocks: „office chairs with free shipping“ ✓
• Does NOT block: „free office chairs“ ✗ (missing „shipping“)

Negative Phrase Match

Your ad won’t show if the search contains the exact phrase, in the exact order.

Negative keyword: "free shipping"

• Blocks: „free shipping office chairs“ ✓
• Does NOT block: „free fast shipping“ ✗ (extra word in the middle)

Negative Exact Match

Your ad won’t show only for the exact search term.

Negative keyword: [free office furniture]

• Blocks: „free office furniture“ ✓
• Does NOT block: „free office furniture near me“ ✗ (additional words)

Which type to use?

Situation	Recommended Type
The word is ALWAYS irrelevant	Negative Broad Match
The specific phrase is irrelevant	Negative Phrase Match
Only this exact query is irrelevant	Negative Exact Match

Most of the time, use Negative Broad Match. It’s the broadest protection. Use Phrase or Exact when you need to be more precise (e.g., „free“ is negative Broad, but „free trial“ should not be blocked if you offer free trials).

How to Find Negative Keywords

Method 1: Search Terms Report

This is your primary tool. It shows the actual queries people typed before clicking your ad.

1. Go to Keywords → Search terms
2. Set the date range to the last 30 days
3. Sort by Cost (descending) — see where money goes
4. Look for queries that are:

• Irrelevant to your business
• Informational (not buying intent)
• For products/services you don’t offer
• Geographic mismatches

1. Add them as negative keywords

Do this weekly. Set a reminder for every Monday morning.

Method 2: Google Keyword Planner

When researching new keywords, also look for terms you should exclude:

1. Enter your main keywords in Keyword Planner
2. Review the suggestions
3. Note any irrelevant variations that might trigger your ads

Method 3: Google Autocomplete

Type your main keyword into Google and see what autocomplete suggests. Irrelevant suggestions = potential negative keywords.

Method 4: Competitor analysis

Search for your keywords and see what else comes up. If there’s a dominant brand or irrelevant category in the results, consider adding it as a negative.

Method 5: Common sense

Think about who should NOT see your ads. Are you a premium brand? Block „cheap,“ „discount,“ „budget.“ Do you only serve one city? Block other city names.

50+ Universal Negative Keywords

Here’s a starter list organized by category. Adapt these to your business — not all will apply to everyone.

Price/Deal Seekers (if you’re not the cheapest option)

free
freebie
giveaway
cheap
cheapest
discount
coupon
promo code
voucher
clearance
bargain
deal
budget
affordable
low cost
second hand
used
refurbished
pre-owned

Job Seekers

job
jobs
career
careers
employment
hiring
salary
resume
CV
vacancy
intern
internship

Educational/Research Intent

how to
tutorial
guide
course
class
training
certification
exam
degree
university
what is
definition
wiki
wikipedia
PDF

DIY / Non-Purchase Intent

DIY
homemade
template
free template
download
sample
example
open source

Competitors (use carefully)

[competitor name 1]
[competitor name 2]
[competitor name 3]

Note: Only add competitor names as negatives if you genuinely don’t want to show up for those searches. Some advertisers deliberately bid on competitor terms.

Geographic (if you serve a specific area)

[cities you don't serve]
[countries you don't ship to]

Adult/Inappropriate

xxx
porn
nude
naked
sex

Miscellaneous

complaint
lawsuit
scam
fraud
review (if you don't want review-seeking traffic)
reddit
youtube
image
images
photo
video

Setting Up Negative Keywords

Campaign-Level Negatives

Applied to a single campaign. Use for campaign-specific exclusions.

1. Open the campaign
2. Go to Keywords → Negative keywords
3. Click the + button
4. Add your negative keywords

Account-Level Negative Keyword Lists

Applied across multiple campaigns. Much more efficient for universal negatives.

1. Go to Tools & Settings → Shared Library → Negative keyword lists
2. Create a new list (e.g., „Universal Negatives“)
3. Add your keywords
4. Apply the list to all relevant campaigns

Best practice: Create these lists:

• Universal Negatives — Apply to ALL campaigns (job seekers, adult, etc.)
• Brand Negatives — Competitor names (apply to non-brand campaigns)
• Product-Specific — For individual product categories

Weekly Management Routine

Negative keywords aren’t a one-time setup. The market changes, new irrelevant queries appear, and your account needs ongoing maintenance.

Every Monday (15 minutes):

1. Open Search Terms report for the last 7 days
2. Sort by Cost (highest first)
3. Scan for irrelevant queries
4. Add them as negative keywords
5. Check if any negatives are accidentally blocking good traffic

Monthly (30 minutes):

1. Review Search Terms for the full month
2. Look for patterns (entire categories of waste)
3. Update your negative keyword lists
4. Check campaign-level vs. list-level negatives for conflicts

Common Mistakes with Negative Keywords

Mistake 1: Never reviewing Search Terms

Most waste comes from not looking. You can’t fix what you don’t see.

Mistake 2: Being too aggressive

Blocking too many terms can kill your traffic. Be strategic. If a query has low cost and some conversions, leave it.

Mistake 3: Using only Exact Match negatives

Exact Match negatives are too narrow for most cases. If „free running shoes“ is bad, so is „free running shoes for men“ — use Broad Match negative.

Mistake 4: Not using negative keyword lists

Managing negatives at the campaign level across 20 campaigns is a nightmare. Use shared lists.

Mistake 5: Forgetting to check for conflicts

Make sure your negative keywords don’t accidentally block your target keywords. Google Ads has a „conflicts“ check — use it.

Real Impact: Case Study

Client: Home decoration e-commerce store (Czech market) Problem: ROAS stuck at 2.1x despite solid products and competitive prices

What we found:

• 34% of clicks were on irrelevant queries (DIY searches, competitor names, informational queries)
• No negative keyword management in over 8 months
• Search Terms report had never been reviewed

What we did:

• Added 280+ negative keywords in the first week
• Created 3 structured negative keyword lists
• Set up a weekly review routine

Results after 60 days:

• Irrelevant clicks: 34% → 6%
• ROAS: 2.1x → 4.8x
• Monthly waste saved: €720+
• Same budget, but revenue more than doubled

Summary

What	Why	How Often
Negative keywords	Block irrelevant searches	Ongoing
Search Terms review	Find new negatives	Weekly
Universal negative list	Baseline protection	Set up once, update monthly
Match type selection	Balance protection vs. reach	Per keyword
Conflict check	Avoid blocking good traffic	Monthly

What’s Next?

1. Start today: Download the list above, add it to your account as a shared negative keyword list
2. Review Search Terms: Even 15 minutes will reveal waste you didn’t know existed
3. Set a weekly reminder: Consistency is what makes this work

For more Google Ads optimization:

• 5 Most Expensive Google Ads Mistakes — Negative keywords are mistake #1, but there are 4 more
• Quality Score Guide — Better negatives → better CTR → better QS → lower CPC
• Google Ads Beginner’s Guide — The complete starting point

Need help cleaning up your account? Book a free 30-minute consultation and we’ll identify how much you’re losing to irrelevant clicks.

About the author: Martin Bradac — PPC & SEO specialist with 9+ years of experience managing €80K+/month in ad spend.

Enjoyed this article? Read next:

• Google Ads for Beginners: Complete Guide
• 5 Most Expensive Google Ads Mistakes
• Quality Score: How to Improve It