How to Find Negative Keywords for Google Ads: A Complete Guide
Why Negative Keywords Are Crucial in Google Ads
If you’re running Google Ads campaigns, finding the right keywords is essential for ensuring your ads reach the right audience. However, equally important is identifying negative keywords—terms or phrases that tell Google when not to show your ad. Without the proper negative keyword strategy, you might find yourself wasting money on irrelevant clicks.
Negative keywords prevent your ads from showing for searches that aren’t relevant to your business, which leads to a more targeted, cost-efficient campaign.
In this guide, we’ll explore how to find negative keywords for your Google Ads campaigns, why they matter, and how to make your PPC ads more effective by filtering out irrelevant traffic.
What Are Negative Keywords in Google Ads?
Before diving into how to find negative keywords, let’s quickly review what they are. Negative keywords are terms you specify in your Google Ads campaign to prevent your ads from appearing when these terms are searched.
For instance, if you run a luxury watch store, you might want to exclude keywords like “cheap watches” or “discount watches.” These phrases would attract users who aren’t interested in your high-end products.
By setting up negative keywords, you refine your ad targeting and avoid wasted clicks, which saves your advertising budget and improves your campaign’s performance.
How Negative Keywords Improve Your Campaign
There are several reasons why negative keywords can greatly enhance your Google Ads campaigns:
- Better Budget Utilization
When you use negative keywords, you’re ensuring that your ads are only shown to people who are genuinely interested in what you’re offering, which helps maximize your ad spend. - Higher Conversion Rates
By excluding irrelevant searches, you’re more likely to attract users who are looking for exactly what you sell. This increases the chances of conversion. - Improved Quality Score
Google’s Quality Score is influenced by the relevance of your keywords. When you avoid irrelevant clicks, your click-through rates (CTR) improve, which boosts your Quality Score, making your ads cheaper and more effective.
Where to Start: Identifying Negative Keywords
There are several strategies you can employ to identify negative keywords for your campaigns. Let’s look at some of the most effective methods.
1. Use Google Search Terms Report
Google Ads provides a Search Terms Report, which shows the actual queries that triggered your ads. This is one of the best places to start. Here’s how to use it:
- Step 1: Go to your Google Ads account.
- Step 2: Navigate to the “Keywords” section.
- Step 3: Click on “Search Terms” to see the terms people searched for before clicking your ad.
- Step 4: Identify irrelevant queries and add them as negative keywords.
By examining the report regularly, you can continuously refine your negative keyword list and avoid wasted impressions.
2. Keyword Research Tools
Using keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush can help you uncover potential negative keywords. These tools show you a wide variety of search queries related to your business, including those that may not be relevant to your campaign.
When using these tools, look for:
- Broad match terms: These may generate clicks from unrelated searches.
- Highly competitive or irrelevant terms: If you’re targeting specific niches, terms that are too broad can waste your budget.
3. Competitor Research
Look at your competitors’ ads and websites to identify keywords they might be targeting. From there, you can figure out which terms would be best to exclude from your own campaigns. You can even use tools like SpyFu or Ahrefs to analyze your competitors’ keyword strategies.
4. Customer Feedback and Reviews
Listening to your customers is another great way to find negative keywords. If customers mention things like “cheap,” “low-cost,” or “free,” these could be terms that don’t align with your brand image, and adding them as negative keywords could save you money.
How to Add Negative Keywords in Google Ads
Once you’ve identified a list of negative keywords, the next step is to add them to your Google Ads account.
Step-by-Step Guide:
- Step 1: Go to your Google Ads dashboard and select your campaign.
- Step 2: Click on “Keywords” and then “Negative Keywords.”
- Step 3: Click the “+” icon to add your negative keywords.
- Step 4: Choose whether to add them to the campaign or ad group level. If the negative keyword applies to your entire campaign, adding it at the campaign level is best.
Be sure to regularly check your negative keywords and update your list based on new search terms that are irrelevant to your business.
Types of Negative Keywords You Can Add
Google Ads allows you to add different types of negative keywords to fine-tune your targeting:
- Negative Broad Match
This type of match will exclude your ads from appearing if the search contains your negative keyword, regardless of the word order or other terms. - Negative Phrase Match
With phrase match, your ad won’t show if the exact phrase (or close variation) is used in the search. - Negative Exact Match
If you use exact match negative keywords, your ads won’t show if the user searches that exact term or close variations.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Using Negative Keywords
While negative keywords are powerful, there are common mistakes to avoid to ensure they don’t hurt your campaigns:
- Overusing Negative Keywords
Avoid going overboard by excluding too many terms. If you filter out too many keywords, you risk missing out on valuable traffic. - Not Regularly Updating Your Negative Keyword List
It’s easy to set it and forget it, but as trends and search behavior change, you need to regularly review your negative keyword list and make updates. - Ignoring Broad Match Negative Keywords
Broad match negative keywords are crucial for filtering out irrelevant traffic. Don’t overlook their importance in your strategy.
Conclusion: Maximizing ROI with Negative Keywords
In conclusion, finding and using negative keywords in Google Ads is an essential step toward refining your PPC campaigns. By excluding irrelevant terms, you ensure that your ads only reach the most relevant audience, helping to improve your ROI and reduce wasted spend.
Remember, using negative keywords isn’t a one-time task. Regularly updating your keyword list, using tools like the Search Terms Report, and analyzing competitor strategies will ensure that your campaigns continue to perform at their best.
FAQs About Finding Negative Keywords for Google Ads
- What are negative keywords in Google Ads? Negative keywords prevent your ads from showing up for irrelevant search queries, ensuring you only pay for clicks that are relevant to your business.
- How often should I update my negative keywords list? You should review and update your negative keywords list regularly, especially after analyzing your search term reports.
- Can I add negative keywords at the ad group level? Yes, you can add negative keywords at both the campaign and ad group levels in Google Ads.
- Why are negative keywords important for my Google Ads campaigns? Negative keywords help you save money by preventing your ads from being shown to people who are not interested in your products or services.
- How do I identify irrelevant search terms in my Google Ads campaign? The Search Terms Report in Google Ads is the best tool for identifying irrelevant search queries.
- What types of negative keywords should I add? You can add broad match, phrase match, or exact match negative keywords, depending on how specific you want your exclusions to be.
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