Negative keywords are one of the most important — and often overlooked — components of successful Google Ads management.
Used correctly, they help advertisers control spend, improve relevance, and ensure ads appear only for searches that are genuinely likely to convert. Used poorly (or not at all), they can quietly drain budgets and distort performance data.
This article explains what negative keywords are, how they work, and how they should be applied within a Google Ads account.
What Are Negative Keywords?
Negative keywords are words or phrases that prevent your ads from showing when they are included in a user’s search query.
For example, if you sell premium software and add “free” as a negative keyword, your ads won’t show for searches such as “free software tools” — even if other keywords in your account match.
In short, negative keywords help you exclude irrelevant or low-value searches before they trigger your ads.
How Negative Keywords Work
Google Ads normally shows ads when a search query matches your selected keywords. Negative keywords work in the opposite way — they block your ads from appearing when certain terms are present.
If a search query contains a negative keyword you’ve added, your ad will not enter the auction at all. This means:
- You don’t pay for the click
- Your impression share is preserved for relevant searches
- Your performance data stays cleaner and more meaningful
This makes negative keywords essential for cost control and efficiency, particularly in competitive industries.
Negative Keyword Match Types
Just like standard keywords, negative keywords can be applied using different match types. However, they behave slightly differently.
Negative Broad Match
Your ad won’t show if the search contains all of the negative keyword terms, in any order.
Example negative keyword:
running shoes
Blocked searches could include:
- cheap running shoes
- shoes for running
Negative Phrase Match
Your ad won’t show if the search contains the exact phrase, in the same order.
Example negative keyword:
“running shoes”
Blocked searches could include:
- buy running shoes online
But not:
- shoes for running
Negative Exact Match
Your ad won’t show only if the search matches exactly.
Example negative keyword:
[running shoes]
Blocked search:
- running shoes
This allows for very precise exclusions where needed.
Where Negative Keywords Can Be Applied
Negative keywords can be applied at multiple levels within a Google Ads account, each serving a different strategic purpose.
Account-Level Negative Keywords
These apply across the entire account and are best for excluding universally irrelevant terms such as:
- free
- jobs
- training
- DIY
This ensures these searches never trigger ads in any campaign.
Campaign-Level Negative Keywords
These apply to all ad groups within a specific campaign and are useful when campaigns target different services or audiences, or when you want to prevent overlap between campaigns.
For example, excluding “small business” terms from an enterprise-focused campaign.
Ad Group-Level Negative Keywords
These apply only to a specific ad group and are commonly used to improve relevance between keywords and ads, or to prevent closely related ad groups from competing with each other.
A typical use case would be separating brand and non-brand ad groups.
How Negative Keywords Are Identified
Effective negative keyword lists are built over time rather than set once and forgotten.
Common sources include:
- Search term reports, highlighting irrelevant queries that triggered ads
- Client insight into what they do not sell or offer
- Competitor research, where appropriate
- Performance analysis, identifying terms with high spend and no return
Regular review is essential, particularly as search behaviour and Google’s matching logic continue to evolve.
Why Negative Keywords Are Critical to Performance
Well-managed negative keywords help to:
- Reduce wasted ad spend
- Increase click-through rate
- Improve conversion rates
- Protect budgets in competitive auctions
- Support smarter bidding decisions
They also improve the quality of data feeding into automated bidding strategies, making optimisation more effective over time.
Final Thoughts
Negative keywords are not a one-off task — they are an ongoing optimisation discipline. Accounts that actively manage negative keywords tend to be more efficient, more predictable, and easier to scale.
Whether you’re running a small account or managing complex campaigns, a structured approach to negative keywords is fundamental to getting the most from Google Ads.