Every Google Ads account leaks money. Not because the strategy is wrong, but because Google matches your ads to searches that were never going to convert: free, jobs, DIY, competitor names, how to fix it myself. Negative keywords in Google Ads are the single cheapest lever you have to stop that spend and push budget back toward searches with buying intent.
This is not a definition-only article. Below you get the exact workflow we use on client accounts: how to pull and read the search terms report, how to decide which level to add a negative at, how broad, phrase and exact negatives actually behave (they do not behave like normal keywords), and a set of copy-and-paste starter lists by industry.
What are negative keywords in Google Ads?
A negative keyword is a word or phrase you add to a campaign, ad group or account to prevent your ads from showing for searches that contain it. Where a standard keyword tells Google “show my ad for this”, a negative keyword tells Google “never show my ad when this appears in the query”.
Quick example: a paid accounting firm bidding on accounting software will get impressions on free accounting software. Adding free as a negative keyword removes that whole family of searches in one line.
What negative keywords actually do for your account
- Cut wasted spend on clicks that cannot convert.
- Improve CTR, because your ads only appear on relevant searches, which supports Quality Score.
- Feed cleaner data to Smart Bidding. This matters more than the spend saving. If half your clicks are irrelevant, your tCPA and tROAS algorithms are learning from noise.
- Stop internal cannibalisation between campaigns (brand vs generic, high margin vs low margin products).
Why negatives matter more in 2026 than they did five years ago
Exact match no longer means exact. Broad match keywords combined with Smart Bidding, Performance Max and AI-driven query matching means Google has a very wide mandate to find you traffic. Negative keywords are now one of the few hard controls advertisers still have over where their money goes.
Practical consequence: if you run broad match or Performance Max, negatives are not optional housekeeping. They are part of the campaign structure, and they need a review rhythm.
Step 1: Pull the search terms report
The search terms report shows the real queries people typed before clicking (or seeing) your ad, as opposed to the keywords you bid on. This is where every negative keyword decision starts.
How to find the search terms report
- In Google Ads, open the campaign or ad group you want to audit.
- In the left menu, go to Campaigns > Insights and reports > Search terms. (In older navigation: Keywords > Search terms.)
- Set the date range to the last 30 to 90 days. Shorter periods will not give you enough volume to judge.
- Add the columns you need: Cost, Clicks, Impressions, Conversions, Cost/conv., Conv. rate.
- Click the download icon and export to CSV or Google Sheets if you want to work faster with filters.
How to read it without wasting an hour
Do not scroll from the top. Use filters to surface the money losers immediately:
- Filter 1 (the classic): Clicks > 3 AND Conversions = 0. Sort by Cost descending. This is your wasted spend list.
- Filter 2: Cost > your target CPA AND Conversions = 0. Anything here has already cost you more than a conversion is worth.
- Filter 3 (pattern hunting): Search term contains free, jobs, salary, cheap, DIY, review, what is, how to. One filter can reveal fifty terms at once.
- Filter 4 (high impressions, low CTR): Impressions > 500 AND CTR < 1%. These terms are not costing you clicks, but they are dragging your CTR and signalling irrelevance.
Important caveat: Google only shows search terms that reach a privacy threshold, so a meaningful share of your spend will sit in unreported queries. Do not assume the report is complete. This is exactly why proactive negative lists (built before the waste happens) matter as much as reactive ones.
Do not only look for losers
While you are in the report, tag the converting terms too. Search terms with conversions that are not in your keyword list are candidates to promote into their own exact match keyword or ad group. Negatives and expansion come from the same report.
Step 2: Understand negative keyword match types (they are not like normal match types)
This is where most accounts go wrong. Negative keywords use the same three names as normal keywords, but the rules are different in two crucial ways:
- Negative keywords do not match close variants. A negative for
shoewill not blockshoes. A negative foraccomodationwill not blockaccommodation. Plurals, misspellings, singulars and stems all need to be added separately. - Negative broad match requires ALL words to be present in the query, in any order. It does not expand to synonyms or related concepts.
| Negative match type | How to write it | Blocks | Does NOT block |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broad | running shoes | Any query containing both words in any order: shoes running cheap, buy running shoes | running trainers, running shoe (singular) |
| Phrase | “running shoes” | Queries containing the exact sequence: red running shoes, running shoes sale | shoes for running (word order broken) |
| Exact | [running shoes] | Only the query running shoes with nothing added | cheap running shoes, running shoes uk |
Which one should you use?
- Broad negatives for universal waste:
free,jobs,salary,torrent,pdf. Use single words here for maximum blocking power. Handle with care: one careless broad negative can kill an entire campaign. - Phrase negatives are the workhorse. Use them for themes you want gone:
"how to make","is it worth","near me"if you do not serve locally. - Exact negatives for surgical work: excluding one specific query while keeping close relatives, or separating brand from generic campaigns.
Rule of thumb: the higher the level you add a negative at, the tighter the match type should be. Account-level broad negatives are the most dangerous thing in this article.
Step 3: Decide the right level (ad group, campaign, or account)
Adding a negative in the wrong place is how advertisers accidentally block converting traffic. Here is the decision framework.
| Level | Use it when | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Ad group | The term is relevant to the campaign but belongs in a different ad group. Mostly used for traffic sculpting. | Adding [leather sofa] as a negative in the “Fabric Sofas” ad group so it routes to the Leather ad group |
| Campaign | The term is irrelevant to this campaign’s offer, but may be valid elsewhere in the account. | Blocking your brand name in a generic prospecting campaign so brand traffic goes to the brand campaign |
| Negative keyword list (shared) | The same set of exclusions applies to several campaigns. Edit once, applies everywhere. | A “Job Seekers” list or “Competitor Brands” list applied to all non-brand campaigns |
| Account level | The term must never trigger any ad, anywhere, including Performance Max and Demand Gen. | Sensitive terms, obvious spam, adult terms, permanently irrelevant categories |
How to add negative keywords at campaign or ad group level
- Go to Campaigns > Audiences, keywords and content > Search keywords.
- Open the Negative search keywords tab.
- Click the plus (+) button.
- Select whether you are adding to a campaign or an ad group, then choose which one.
- Enter your terms, one per line, with the correct punctuation: no punctuation for broad, “quotes” for phrase, [brackets] for exact.
- Save.
Shortcut: you can also add negatives directly from the search terms report. Tick the checkbox next to any query and click Add as negative keyword. Faster, but you lose control of the match type, so use it for exact-match one-offs.
How to create a negative keyword list
- Go to Tools > Shared library > Exclusion lists (previously “Negative keyword lists”).
- Click the plus button, name the list something descriptive (“Jobs and Careers”, “Free and DIY”, “Competitors”, “Adult and Spam”).
- Paste your keywords, one per line.
- Save, then click Apply to campaigns and select every campaign it should cover.
You can also apply an exclusion list from inside a campaign: Negative search keywords tab > plus button > Use negative keyword list.
How to add account-level negative keywords
Go to Admin > Account settings > Account-level negative keywords (available in most accounts; if you cannot see it, use a shared list applied to all campaigns instead). Account-level negatives apply across Search, Shopping and Performance Max inventory, which makes them the only way to exclude certain queries from PMax at scale, alongside campaign-level negatives and brand exclusions.
Google applies limits to each of these (typically in the thousands per campaign and list, with a smaller cap at account level). If you are pushing against a limit, that is usually a signal your structure needs consolidating rather than more negatives. stackmatix.com has a solid rundown on this.
Step 4: Starter negative keyword lists by industry
Use these as a foundation, not a final answer. Read each one against your own offer before you paste it in. If you sell training courses, do not block course. If you are recruiting, do not block jobs.
Universal list (almost every advertiser)
free, cheap, jobs, job, career, careers, salary, salaries, hiring, vacancy, vacancies, internship, resume, cv, diy, how to make, how to build, torrent, crack, pirate, pdf, download, meaning, definition, wikipedia, reddit, youtube, images, photos, porn, nude, complaint, complaints, scam, lawsuit, refund, cancel, login, log in, sign in, my account, used, second hand, wholesale, for sale near me, template, sample, example, course, tutorial, training
By industry
| Industry | Common wasted searches | Starter negatives |
|---|---|---|
| SaaS / B2B software | Free tools, open source, tutorials, existing customers looking for support | free, freeware, open source, github, api docs, support, login, pricing calculator, alternative to, nonprofit, student, crack, excel template |
| Ecommerce / retail | Second-hand marketplaces, returns, out-of-catalogue brands | ebay, amazon, aliexpress, vinted, used, second hand, refurbished, wholesale, dropship, coupon, promo code, return policy, track my order, repair, replacement parts |
| Legal services | People looking for free advice, legal definitions, students | free, pro bono, legal aid, law school, definition, meaning, template, sample letter, do it yourself, citizens advice, how much do lawyers earn |
| Home services / trades | DIY researchers, part-buyers, people outside your service area | diy, how to fix, how to install, youtube, parts, spare parts, rental, hire, apprentice, course, certification, [city you do not serve] |
| Healthcare / clinics | Symptom research, medication info, job hunters | symptoms, causes, nhs, free, home remedy, side effects, medication, nurse jobs, is it contagious, images, pictures |
| Education / training | Free courses, certification hunters, past papers | free, youtube, pdf, past papers, answers, cheat, scholarship, grant, is it worth it, reviews reddit |
| Real estate | Renters when you sell, buyers when you rent, valuation research | rent, rental, to let, social housing, council, free valuation, zillow, rightmove, agent commission, jobs |
| Finance / insurance | Claim-handling, comparison sites, definitions | free, calculator, definition, comparison, compare the, claim form, complaint, ombudsman, how to become a broker, salary |
The debate: how many negative keywords is too many?
You will see the argument online that an account with hundreds of negative keywords has a structural problem, and there is truth in it. If you are adding fifty negatives a week forever, the real issue is usually one of these:
- Broad match keywords in a campaign that has no conversion volume to guide the algorithm.
- Keywords that are too generic for the offer (bidding on software instead of invoicing software for freelancers).
- Landing pages that do not reinforce commercial intent, so Google infers a wider topic.
- No brand vs generic separation, so campaigns compete with each other.
The counterpoint: a mature account that has run for years will accumulate legitimate negatives, and pruning them for the sake of a tidy number is a bad trade. Our position: negatives are a symptom-management tool, not a strategy. Add them freely, but if the volume of new negatives is not falling month over month, fix the keyword and structure problem underneath.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Blocking your own converting keywords. A negative always beats a positive keyword. If you add broad negative
insuranceand bid on car insurance, your ad will not show. Check Recommendations for “negative keyword conflicts” regularly. - Forgetting plurals and misspellings. Negatives do not catch close variants. Add
jobandjobs. Add common typos for your own brand if you want them excluded. - Using broad negatives at account level. One broad negative applied everywhere can silently switch off a campaign. Prefer phrase and exact at that level.
- Adding everything as exact match. You will be playing whack-a-mole forever. Look for the theme, then block the theme with a phrase negative.
- Never reviewing them. Product lines change, service areas expand. A negative added two years ago may now be blocking a service you actually sell.
- Ignoring Performance Max and Shopping. These channels waste money on bad queries too. Use account-level negatives, campaign-level negatives and brand exclusions.
- Not documenting the reason. Keep a simple sheet: term, level, date, reason. Future you (or the next person on the account) will need it.
A realistic maintenance schedule
| Account spend | Search terms review frequency | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| New campaign (first 30 days) | Every 2 to 3 days | All search terms, regardless of clicks |
| Under 2,000 / month | Every 2 weeks | Terms with clicks and zero conversions |
| 2,000 to 20,000 / month | Weekly | Cost above target CPA, zero conversions, plus theme scanning |
| Over 20,000 / month | Twice weekly, with automated alerts or scripts | N-gram analysis, conflict checks, PMax query themes |
Going further: n-gram analysis
Once you have volume, stop looking at individual queries and start looking at word patterns. Export the search terms report, split each query into single words and two-word pairs, then sum cost and conversions by word. You will quickly see that every query containing reviews costs 400 and converts zero, which is one phrase negative instead of thirty exact negatives. Free Google Ads scripts and most PPC tools can do this automatically.
FAQ
How do I find negative keywords in Google Ads?
Open Campaigns > Insights and reports > Search terms, set a 30 to 90 day date range, then filter for search terms with clicks or significant cost and zero conversions. Those are your candidates. Existing negatives live in the Negative search keywords tab and in Tools > Shared library > Exclusion lists.
What is a negative keyword example?
If you sell premium tailored suits, cheap, rental, hire, halloween costume and free are negative keywords. Adding phrase negative "suit hire" stops your ads showing for suit hire near me and wedding suit hire prices.
How do I make a negative keyword list?
Go to Tools > Shared library > Exclusion lists, click the plus button, name the list, paste your keywords one per line, save, then apply the list to the relevant campaigns. Lists are the fastest way to manage negatives across many campaigns because you edit them once.
What is the benefit of negative keywords?
They stop budget going to searches that cannot convert, which lowers wasted spend, raises click-through rate and relevance, and gives Smart Bidding cleaner conversion data to learn from. In most audits we run, negatives are the fastest single source of efficiency gains in the first month. innovationvisual.com makes the same point with more data.
Do negative keywords work with Performance Max?
Yes. You can apply account-level negative keywords, campaign-level negative keywords and negative keyword lists to Performance Max, plus brand exclusions to control brand traffic. They are essential in PMax precisely because you have less query-level visibility.
Do negative keywords match plurals and misspellings?
No. Unlike standard keywords, negative keywords do not match close variants. shoe will not block shoes. Always add singular, plural and common misspelling variants explicitly.
Can negative keywords hurt my campaign?
They can, if they are too broad. A negative always overrides a positive keyword, so a single careless broad negative can block a large share of valid traffic. Use phrase and exact match for anything applied at account level, and check the negative keyword conflicts report in Recommendations after every bulk upload.
Should I add negative keywords before launching a campaign?
Yes. Start with a universal list (jobs, free, DIY, adult, spam) plus your industry starter list from the table above. You will still need to refine from real data, but you avoid burning the first two weeks of budget on obvious waste.
The short version
- Pull the search terms report every week. Filter for cost with zero conversions.
- Look for themes, not individual queries, and block themes with phrase negatives.
- Ad group level for sculpting, campaign level for relevance, shared lists for scale, account level only for terms that must never appear.
- Remember negatives ignore close variants: add plurals and misspellings.
- If your negative list keeps growing forever, the problem is your keyword strategy, not your negatives.
If your Google Ads account has never had a proper search terms audit, there is almost certainly budget sitting in queries you would never approve manually. Get in touch and we will show you exactly where it is going. There’s a good explainer over at instapage.com.