Negative keyword research

Common exclusion themes

Research before launch

Start with what the business does not do. A wedding photographer does not sell cameras or teach photography; a removals firm does not rent vans. Write down the services, products, areas and customer types you cannot serve, then the words people use for them. That list, combined with the common themes, forms the launch negatives.

Negative match types

Google's help says Search campaign negatives can be broad, phrase or exact. Broad and phrase negatives block a wider set of searches containing the words; exact negatives block a specific search. Use the narrowest negative that solves the problem. Blocking the single word 'cheap' might remove bargain hunters but also block 'cheap boiler repair' if that converts for you.

Ongoing negative research

1. 01

   Export

   Search terms for a period.

   Output: Search list

2. 02

   Sort

   By spend, with conversions.

   Output: Ranked list

3. 03

   Judge

   Irrelevant, unproven, converting.

   Output: Candidates

4. 04

   Check

   Would it block converters?

   Output: Approved negatives

5. 05

   Apply

   At the right level, logged.

   Output: Updated lists

Example: negatives for an IT support firm

Negative research checks

Campaign or ad group level

A negative at campaign level affects every ad group in that campaign. At ad group level it affects only that group, which is useful for steering searches between groups. For example, 'emergency' might be a negative in a planned-work ad group so those searches go to the emergency group instead.

Shared lists

Where your account allows shared negative lists, themes that apply everywhere, such as jobs and training, can be kept in one list applied to several campaigns. That keeps them consistent and easy to update.

Reviewing old negatives

Negative lists grow and are easy to forget. When you add a service or area, check that old negatives are not blocking it.

When a search has had a fair chance

A search with a few clicks and no enquiry has not proved anything. Decide how many clicks or how much spend a relevant-looking search must have before it is judged, based on how often your clicks usually convert. Clearly irrelevant searches can be excluded straight away; borderline ones deserve that fair chance first.

Competitor searches

Searches for competitors' names may appear in the report. Whether to exclude them depends on whether you deliberately target competitors and whether those searches produce enquiries. If you do not intend to compete for them, adding competitor names as negatives keeps spend on searches about your services.

Steering between ad groups

Negatives can also direct searches to the right ad group rather than block them altogether. Adding 'installation' as a negative in a repairs group sends those searches to the installation group, where the ad and landing page fit better.