For every dollar you spend on Google Ads, a portion of it goes to clicks from people who will never buy from you. Someone searching “free accounting software” clicks your ad for a $200/month accounting tool. Someone searching “accountant salary” clicks your ad for an accounting firm. Someone searching “quickbooks tutorial” clicks your ad for a competitor product.
Negative keywords stop these clicks from happening. They tell Google: “Don’t show my ads when someone searches for these terms.” Every click you prevent on an irrelevant search is money you can redirect to searches that actually convert.
What Negative Keywords Are
A negative keyword is a word or phrase you add to your Google Ads campaign that prevents your ad from being triggered by searches containing that term.
If you’re a personal injury attorney and you add “jobs” as a negative keyword, your ads won’t show when someone searches “personal injury lawyer jobs,” “injury attorney job openings,” or any other search containing the word “jobs.”
Without it, your ad shows up, a law student clicks it, and you pay $15-50 for a click from someone who will never become a client.
How Much You’re Probably Wasting
Based on audits of hundreds of Google Ads accounts, the average business wastes 15-30% of their search budget on irrelevant clicks. For an account spending $5,000/month, that’s $750-1,500 per month going to clicks that will never convert.
The waste is highest in accounts that:
- Use broad match keywords extensively
- Haven’t reviewed their search terms report in over a month
- Have no negative keyword list applied
- Are in industries with ambiguous search terms (law, finance, software, consulting)
Negative Keyword Match Types
Just like regular keywords, negative keywords have match types. But they work slightly differently:
Negative Broad Match (Default)
Blocks searches that contain all of the terms in any order.
Negative keyword: free template
- Blocks: “free accounting template,” “template free download,” “free tax template”
- Does NOT block: “free software” (missing “template”), “accounting template” (missing “free”)
Negative Phrase Match
Blocks searches that contain the exact phrase in order.
Negative keyword: "free template"
- Blocks: “free template download,” “accounting free template”
- Does NOT block: “free accounting template” (words are separated)
Negative Exact Match
Blocks only the exact search, nothing else.
Negative keyword: [free template]
- Blocks: “free template” (only this exact search)
- Does NOT block: “free template download,” “free accounting template,” anything else
Which Match Type to Use
| Scenario | Match Type | Why |
|---|---|---|
| General irrelevant terms (“free,” “jobs”) | Negative broad match | Catches all variations |
| Specific phrases you want to block | Negative phrase match | Precise without blocking too much |
| One very specific search to block | Negative exact match | Maximum precision |
Default to broad match for most negatives. Only use phrase or exact when broad match would accidentally block relevant searches.
Finding Negative Keywords
1. Search Terms Report
The best source. Google shows you the actual searches that triggered your ads. Read our full guide on how to read the search terms report for the complete process.
Quick version: Go to your campaign, click Insights and reports, then Search terms. Sort by cost. Look for irrelevant searches. Add them as negatives.
2. Think About Your Business
Before you even look at data, brainstorm terms that are obviously irrelevant:
If you sell premium products: free, cheap, discount, bargain, budget If you sell to businesses: personal, home, diy, homemade If you’re a service provider: jobs, career, salary, hiring, certification, training, course If you serve a specific area: names of cities/states you don’t serve If you sell one product type: names of products you don’t sell
3. Google’s Keyword Planner
Enter your main keywords in Keyword Planner and look at the suggested keywords. Many suggestions will be irrelevant variations that show you what people are actually searching. Add the irrelevant modifiers as negatives.
4. Google Search Auto-Complete
Type your keywords into Google and look at the auto-complete suggestions and “People also ask” questions. Many of these will reveal search intents that don’t match your business.
Building a Negative Keyword List
Google Ads lets you create shared negative keyword lists that apply across multiple campaigns. This is the right way to manage negatives at scale.
How to Create a Shared List
- Go to Tools in the top menu
- Click Negative keyword lists under Shared library
- Click the + button to create a new list
- Name it (e.g., “Universal Negatives” or “Career-Related Negatives”)
- Add your keywords
- Apply the list to your search campaigns
Starter List: Universal Negatives
These terms are almost always irrelevant for businesses selling products or services:
Informational intent (not buying):
- free
- how to
- what is
- tutorial
- guide
- example
- template
- sample
- definition
- wiki
- wikipedia
Career/employment:
- jobs
- job
- careers
- career
- salary
- hiring
- employment
- internship
- volunteer
- certification
Competitive research:
- review
- reviews
- vs
- comparison
- alternative
- alternatives
- forum
- quora
Price-sensitive (if you’re not budget-positioned):
- cheap
- cheapest
- free
- bargain
- coupon
- promo code
- discount code
Not ready to buy:
- diy
- homemade
- build your own
- plans
- blueprint
Warning: Don’t blindly add all of these. “How to” and “guide” could be valuable if you run content marketing campaigns. “Review” could be valuable if you have strong reviews and want comparison shoppers. Use this list as a starting point and customize for your business.
Industry-Specific Lists
Create separate lists for industry-specific negatives:
For attorneys:
- law school, bar exam, paralegal, legal aid, pro bono, public defender
For SaaS:
- open source, github, free tier, self-hosted, crack, torrent
For home services:
- diy, how to fix, youtube, video, parts, tools
For ecommerce:
- used, refurbished, rental, borrow, second hand (unless you sell these)
How to Add Negatives Efficiently
From the Search Terms Report
- Check the boxes next to irrelevant search terms
- Click Add as negative keyword
- Choose a negative keyword list or specific campaign/ad group
In Bulk
- Go to your negative keyword list
- Click Edit then Add keywords
- Paste a list of negative keywords (one per line)
At the Right Level
| Level | When to Use |
|---|---|
| Negative keyword list (shared) | Universal negatives, career terms, and other terms irrelevant to all campaigns |
| Campaign level | Terms irrelevant to this campaign but potentially relevant to others |
| Ad group level | Terms you want to block in one ad group but allow in another within the same campaign |
Start with shared lists for universal negatives. Add campaign-level negatives as you find campaign-specific irrelevant terms.
Mistakes to Avoid
Adding Too Many Negatives Too Fast
If you add hundreds of negatives at once without checking for conflicts, you might accidentally block relevant searches. Add in batches, monitor impressions and clicks for a few days, and make sure you didn’t block something valuable.
Using Exact Match When You Need Broad
If you add “free software” as a negative exact match, you’re only blocking that precise search. “Free accounting software,” “best free software,” and “free software download” will still trigger your ads. Use negative broad match to catch all variations.
Not Checking for Conflicts
A negative keyword can conflict with your positive keywords. If you bid on “affordable standing desk” and add “affordable” as a negative, your ad won’t show for your own keyword. Google Ads will warn you about some conflicts, but not all.
Never Updating Your List
Search behavior changes. New irrelevant terms appear constantly, especially when Google’s broad match algorithm expands. Check your search terms report at least weekly for the first month, then biweekly.
Measuring the Impact
After adding negatives, track these metrics:
| Metric | Expected Change | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Click-through rate | Increase | You’re showing to more relevant searches |
| Cost per click | May decrease | Better CTR improves Quality Score |
| Conversion rate | Increase | Fewer irrelevant clicks means a higher percentage of clicks convert |
| ROAS | Increase | Less waste, same (or more) conversions |
| Impressions | Decrease | You’re filtering out irrelevant impressions |
A drop in impressions is expected and healthy. You want fewer, more relevant impressions — not more irrelevant ones.
For more on how Quality Score affects your costs, see our Quality Score guide.
The Bottom Line
Negative keywords are the simplest, highest-impact optimization in Google Ads. They cost nothing to implement, they start saving money immediately, and they compound over time as your list grows. If you’re spending money on Google Ads without a maintained negative keyword list, you’re overpaying.
Start by downloading your search terms report, finding the obvious waste, and building a shared negative keyword list. Then check it weekly. The savings add up fast.
And if you want to make sure your Google Ads conversion tracking is solid (so your search terms report actually shows which terms convert), run a free scan. Accurate conversion data makes your negative keyword decisions much better.