Google Ads

Negative keyword

A word or phrase you tell Google never to show your ad for.

A negative keyword is a word or phrase you add to a campaign so your ad stops showing for searches that contain it. It is the opposite of a keyword: a keyword invites a search in, a negative keeps it out. Most wasted spend on a Search account is a missing negative: the account is paying for people looking for jobs, courses, free tools or a different product that happens to share a word with yours. You find the candidates in the search terms report, where every real search that triggered an ad is listed with what it cost and whether it converted; the ones that spent and never converted are the negatives you have not added yet. Match types apply to negatives too, so a broad negative can block more than you meant.

Augusta Bhardwaj

Built Admiral · runs the audits on real accounts