Negative Keywords in Google Ads – Best Practices to Optimize Search, Shopping, & Performance Max

Access My Google Ads Course:
Watch My Inbound Marketing Course:
Join my FREE Newsletter For Bonus Content:

Negative Keywords in Google Ads: Best Practices to Optimize Search, Shopping, & Performance Max

Reaching the right audience is crucial for maximizing your return on investment (ROI). While targeting the right keywords is important, knowing what to exclude can be equally vital. This is where negative keywords come into play. In this blog post, we'll explore the power of negative keywords in Google Ads and share best practices to optimize your Search, Shopping, and Performance Max campaigns.
Understanding Negative Keywords
Negative keywords are search terms that you don't want your ads to show for. They help you focus on only the keywords that matter to your customers, improving your targeting and potentially increasing your ROI.
For example, if you're an optometrist selling eyeglasses, you might want to add negative keywords like "wine glasses" or "drinking glasses" to avoid showing your ads to users searching for those unrelated products.
How Negative Keywords Work

Search Campaigns: Negative keywords prevent your ads from showing on searches containing those terms.
Display and Video Campaigns: They help avoid targeting unrelated sites or videos, although they work slightly differently than in search campaigns.
Account-Level Negatives: You can create a global list of negative keywords that applies across all eligible search and shopping inventory in your account.

Types of Negative Keywords

Negative Broad Match: Your ad won't show if the search contains all your negative keyword terms, regardless of order.
Negative Phrase Match: Your ad won't show if the search contains the exact keyword terms in the same order.
Negative Exact Match: Your ad won't show if the search contains the exact keyword terms, in the same order, without extra words.

Best Practices for Optimizing Your Campaigns

Conduct Thorough Keyword Research: Identify terms similar to your keywords but irrelevant to your products or services.
Use Search Term Reports: Regularly review your search term reports to identify irrelevant queries triggering your ads.
Start Broad, Then Refine: Begin with broad match negative keywords, then refine with phrase and exact match as needed.
Create Negative Keyword Lists: Group common negative keywords into lists for easy application across multiple campaigns.
Consider Your Sales Funnel: Use negative keywords to guide users to the right stage of your funnel.
Be Cautious with Plurals and Variants: Remember that negative keywords don't match to close variants, so include singular, plural, and misspelled versions if necessary.
Regularly Review and Update: Keep your negative keyword list current as your business evolves and market trends change.
Use Account-Level Negative Keywords: For terms that should never trigger your ads, use account-level negative keywords.
Balance Reach and Relevance: While negative keywords are powerful, be careful not to over-restrict your reach.
Customize for Each Campaign Type: Adjust your approach for Search, Shopping, and Performance Max campaigns, as negative keywords work differently across these formats.

Optimizing Performance Max with Negative Keywords
While Performance Max campaigns use automation to optimize performance, you can still use negative keywords to guide the algorithm:

Brand Protection: Use negative keywords to prevent your ads from showing for competitor brand terms.
Audience Refinement: Exclude irrelevant audience segments to focus on your target market.
Channel Optimization: If certain channels aren't performing well, use negative keywords to reduce exposure on those platforms.

Conclusion
Negative keywords are a powerful tool in your Google Ads arsenal. By effectively using them across your Search, Shopping, and Performance Max campaigns, you can improve ad relevance, reduce wasted spend, and ultimately drive better results for your business. Remember to regularly review and refine your negative keyword strategy as part of your ongoing campaign optimization efforts.