How To Use Negative Keywords in Paid Ads

You're throwing your hard-earned cash into the digital wilderness, hoping to attract the right customers and drive those all-important conversions. But what if your ads show up for irrelevant searches, wasting your budget and attracting the wrong kind of attention? 

What Are Negative Keywords and Why Should You Care?

Think of negative keywords as your trusty spam filter for paid ads. They're the words or phrases that tell Google (or other ad platforms) not to show your ads when those terms are searched. It's like saying, "Hey Google, if someone's searching for 'free stuff,' don't show them my ad for premium designer handbags."

Why are negative keywords so important? 

Save money

By preventing your ads from showing up for irrelevant searches, you avoid wasting your budget on clicks that are unlikely to convert.

Improve targeting

Negative keywords help you refine your audience and ensure your ads are reaching the most relevant potential customers.

Increase click-through rates (CTR)

When your ads are more targeted, they're more likely to resonate with the people who see them, leading to higher CTRs.

Boost conversions

By attracting more qualified traffic to your website or landing page, you increase the likelihood of conversions and achieve a better return on your ad spend.

Types of Negative Keywords

Just like regular keywords, negative keywords come in different flavours:

Broad match

This is the most general type. If you add "shoes" as a broad match negative keyword, your ads won't show for any search that includes the word "shoes," such as "running shoes," "leather shoes," or "cheap shoes."

Phrase match

This type offers more control. If you add "running shoes" as a phrase match negative keyword, your ads won't show for searches that include that exact phrase, but they might still show for searches like "best running shoes" or "buy running shoes online."

Exact match

This is the most specific type. If you add "red running shoes" as an exact match negative keyword, your ads will only be excluded for searches that match that exact phrase.

Choosing the right match type depends on your specific needs and how much control you want over when your ads are shown.

Strategies and Tactics

Think like your customer – and your wrong customer. Put yourself in the shoes of your ideal customer: what are they searching for? Now think about searches that might seem similar but are irrelevant to what you offer – those are your negative keywords. 

To find them, check out your search terms report in Google Ads; it’s a goldmine! 

This report shows the actual searches that triggered your ads, so you can spot irrelevant or low-performing terms and add them to your negative keyword list. You can also use negative keyword tools to generate ideas based on your existing keywords or industry.

Start broad by adding negative keywords with a wide match to cover a range of irrelevant terms, then refine as you gather more data, using phrase match or exact match to fine-tune your targeting. 

But don’t overdo it, negative keywords are powerful, but too many can restrict your reach and stop you from connecting with genuinely interested customers. 

Make it a habit to regularly review and update your list; search trends evolve, and keeping your negative keywords fresh will ensure your ads stay effective and relevant.

Negative Keywords in Action

Let's see how negative keywords can work their magic in different scenarios:

• E-commerce: If you're selling high-end furniture, you might add negative keywords like "cheap," "discount," or "IKEA" to prevent your ads from showing to people looking for budget options.
• B2B: If you're offering consulting services for large enterprises, you might add negative keywords like "small business," "startup," or "DIY" to ensure your ads are reaching the right decision-makers.
• Local Services: If you're a plumber in London, you might add negative keywords like "Manchester," "DIY plumbing," or "plumbing courses" to focus your ads on local customers who need your services.

Advanced Negative Keyword Tactics

Once you've mastered the fundamentals, you can explore more advanced negative keyword strategies:

Use negative keyword lists

Create separate negative keyword lists for different campaigns or ad groups to improve organisation and efficiency.

Leverage campaign exclusions

Use campaign exclusions to prevent your ads from showing on specific websites or in certain contexts that are irrelevant to your business.

Combine negative keywords with other targeting options

Use negative keywords in conjunction with other targeting options, such as demographics, interests, and behaviours, to create highly targeted campaigns.

You can significantly improve your campaign performance and achieve your marketing goals by strategically using them to refine your targeting and prevent wasted ad spend.

Want to maximise your paid advertising ROI and reach the right audience? Get in touch with Childsey and let's create a strategy that gets you the results you deserve.