How they work
If you add 'free' as a negative keyword, your ad won't show for searches like 'free website design'. You pay for clicks, so blocking searches that won't turn into customers saves money and keeps budget for the ones that will.
The match types
Negative keywords come in broad, phrase and exact versions, just like regular keywords. A broad negative blocks any search containing all its words, a phrase negative blocks that exact phrase within a search, and an exact negative blocks only that exact search.
Where to find them
The search terms report shows the actual searches that triggered your ads. Reviewing it regularly turns up job seekers, DIY researchers, competitor names and other searches you don't want to pay for.
Why Negative Keywords matters
Without negative keywords, broad campaigns can spend a big share of budget on irrelevant searches. A good negative list is one of the fastest, cheapest ways to cut wasted spend and lower your cost per lead.
Blocking the job seekers
A roofing company's ads were showing for 'roofing jobs' and 'roofer salary'. Adding negatives like 'jobs', 'salary', 'hiring' and 'training' stopped those clicks, and the same budget brought in more real inspection requests.
Common mistakes
Setting them once and forgetting
New irrelevant searches appear all the time. Review your search terms report every week or two, especially in new campaigns.
Blocking too much
An overly broad negative can stop ads from showing for good searches. Check what a negative will block before adding it.
Missing account-level lists
Common exclusions like 'free' or 'jobs' often apply to every campaign. Shared negative lists save time and keep coverage consistent.
Where we work on this