A negative keyword prevents your ad from appearing in irrelevant searches. This is how you create lists, select the right match type (broad/phrase/exact), avoid duplicates, and improve your CPL.
What is a negative keyword?
A negative keyword is a term that, when added, prevents your ads from being shown in irrelevant searches. It saves budget, improves CTR and CVR, and lowers CPL/CPA figures when clicks come from the right applicants.
In short: a negative keyword = “show everything else, but not this.”
How negatives work (Google/Meta/TikTok)
In Google Ads, there are three match types for negative keywords:
Broad: prevents all searches where the word appears in any form (no close variants logic).
Phrase
"keyword phrase": prevents searches where the keyword phrase appears in the same order.Exact
[keyword]: prevents this exact search.
The negative does not expand to forms in the same way as a standard broad match – add inflections and the most common variants yourself.
Where are these used?
Search campaigns: removes incorrect intent/area.
PMax/Shopping: account-level/campaign-specific negative lists (when available).
Social media: use audience exclusions (e.g., job seekers, students) – the logic is the same, although the name is different.
Synonyms & searches
negative keyword, exclusion words, negative keywords, negative lists.
7 Steps to Implementation
Start with the search terms report. Add to negatives all terms that you cannot sell (brand out, if you don't want to).
Group the lists. Account level "general" + campaign-specific. E.g. Job Search, Study, Free, DIY.
Select the match type correctly.
Unwanted word family → broad (e.g. “free”).
Specific word pair → phrase (“what is...”, “wiki”).
Exact misspell → exact (
[competitor phone number]).
Mirror the intent. In buying intent, block “what/which is/free/guide” – but don’t block if you are also doing an info campaign.
Inflections and languages. Add Finnish + the most common English words (free, job, salary, tutorial).
Update weekly. Check new search terms and add the top 20 unnecessary terms to the list.
Document. Keep a CSV/Sheets list and name the logic clearly (date, added, reason).
Starter List (modify for your field)
Free/cheap: free, free, cheap, discount, sale, cheapest, diy, do it yourself, open source
Job search/study: job, job vacancy, salary, internship, trainee, career, cv, thesis
Info intent (if sales campaign): what is, how, wiki, definition, example, history
Competitors' brands: add only if you don’t want competitor search (or keep a separate campaign)
Area exclusions: locations that you do not serve (spellings + inflections)
Avoid too aggressive exclusions. Better to have a separate info campaign than block all “what is” traffic.
Most Common Mistakes
Everything in one list. Account-level + campaign lists separately → manageability.
Sentence vs. precise mixed up. You prevent too much or too little – consider the intent.
PMax without exclusions. Budget bleeds into brand/unrelevant; add negative lists when possible and direct feed/titles correctly.
Oversized block. “What is” removed – while cutting off all early intent → info campaign separately.
No updates. New searches emerge every week; establish a routine.
FAQ
Does negative prevent close variations as well?
Not in the same logic as positive broad. Add the most common forms yourself (plural, inflections, typos).
How should I handle competitor names?
If you specifically want purchase intent from competitors, create a separate campaign. Otherwise, add them to the negative list.
Can I use the same lists across all campaigns?
Start at the account level with shared lists, but make campaign-specific additions (intent varies).
How does this affect results?
Unnecessary searches disappear → CTR and CVR increase → CPC/CPL decrease. Monitor the trend for 2–4 weeks after the change.
