What are negative keywords and how do you build the list?
Negative keywords are words and phrases added to a Google Ads account, campaign or ad group that prevent an ad from showing when a search contains them, so budget is not spent on job seekers, DIY researchers or the wrong service.
What is a negative keyword?
A negative keyword is an exclusion rule in Google Ads: when a search query contains the excluded word or phrase, the ad does not enter the auction for that query. Negatives exist at three levels. Account-level negatives, added in the account settings, apply to every campaign including Performance Max. Campaign-level negatives apply to one campaign. Ad-group negatives apply to one ad group and are mostly used to steer a query to the right ad rather than to block it.
The list is a lead-quality tool as much as a cost tool. A query that reaches the ad, lands on the page and calls the tracking number costs the same whether it was a customer or a job seeker, and the wrong call still has to be answered. Every campaign we run pairs the negative list with a speed to lead path, so the calls that do get through are answered within the minute.
How do negative match types work?
Negative keywords use three match types, and they behave differently from positive keywords. A negative broad match blocks any search that contains all the words in any order, but it does not block synonyms or plurals. A negative phrase match blocks searches that contain the exact phrase in that order. A negative exact match blocks only that exact query. Because negatives do not expand to close variants, the plural, the misspelling and the synonym each need their own entry.
The practical rule is to use broad negatives for whole categories you never want (jobs, free, DIY), phrase negatives for competitor names and unrelated services, and exact negatives sparingly for single queries that keep leaking through.
- Broad negative: all words present, any order, no synonyms
- Phrase negative: the exact phrase in order
- Exact negative: only that query
- Plurals and misspellings need separate entries
What should a service business exclude from day one?
A starter list by intent group. Every account adds its own from the search-terms report.
| Intent group | Example negatives | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Employment | jobs, hiring, career, salary, apprenticeship, resume | Job seekers search the same service words as customers |
| Do it yourself | diy, how to, tutorial, kit, parts, manual, video | Researchers, not buyers |
| Free and cheap | free, cheapest, discount code, coupon | Rarely books; attracts bargain-only calls |
| Education | course, training, school, certification, degree | Students, not clients |
| Wrong service | the sub-services you do not offer (e.g. commercial, industrial, wholesale) | Calls for work you cannot take |
| Competitors | named competitors unless you bid on them on purpose | Low conversion and brand-name policy risk |
| Wrong location | cities and states outside the service area | Leads you cannot serve |
| Reviews and complaints | reviews, complaints, lawsuit, scam | Reputation research, not purchase |
How do we build and maintain the list?
Five steps, repeated weekly for the first month and monthly after that.
Load the starter list at account level
The intent groups above go in as an account-level negative list so they apply to Search and Performance Max alike.
Read the search-terms report weekly
Every query that spent money without a qualified lead is reviewed and either negated or given its own ad group.
Match the CRM outcome to the query
With call tracking and offline conversion import, queries that produced wrong-service calls are visible and negated at phrase match.
Keep a shared negative list
Negatives that apply to every campaign live in one shared list in the account so a new campaign starts protected.
Check for conflicts
Google flags negatives that block a positive keyword; the report is checked after each update so a good keyword is not silenced.
Do negative keywords work in Performance Max?
Account-level negative keywords apply to Performance Max, and Google has added campaign-level negatives and brand exclusions for it. They remain hints in a system that expands beyond keywords, so the starter list keeps Performance Max away from jobs and DIY queries but does not give the same control a Search campaign has. For Performance Max the stronger quality control is the conversion definition: optimising to a CRM-qualified lead means the campaign stops chasing the queries the negatives would otherwise have to block.
Do negative lists differ by country?
The intent groups are the same in the USA; the vocabulary changes. Each market’s list is built from its own search-terms report rather than copied.
Common questions about negative keywords
Can a negative keyword block a good search?
Yes, which is why negatives are reviewed against the keyword list. Google shows a conflict warning when a negative blocks a positive keyword, and we check it after every list update.
How many negatives should an account have?
There is no fixed number. A service-business account usually starts with 80 to 150 entries from the intent groups and grows by a handful a week from the search-terms report.
Do negatives apply to Local Services Ads?
No. Local Services Ads uses job types and service areas rather than keywords, and unwanted leads there are handled through the dispute process instead.
Should I negate competitor names?
Usually yes, unless you run a deliberate competitor campaign. Competitor queries convert poorly for most service businesses and can raise trademark policy issues in ad copy.
How often should the list be updated?
Weekly for the first month of any new campaign, then monthly. The search-terms report and the CRM outcomes are the two inputs.
Want your Google Ads budget spent on searches that book?
We build and maintain the negative list from your real search terms and call outcomes, and answer the calls that get through.
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