Negative keywords are the keywords your ad shouldn't show on. Every Google Ads account that's been running more than a month has wasted spend — money that went to search queries that were never going to convert. Negatives stop the bleed.
How wasted spend happens
You bid on the keyword "plumber". Without negatives, Google shows your ad on:
- "plumber salary" — someone considering becoming a plumber
- "plumber jobs" — someone looking for work
- "plumber definition" — someone doing homework
- "plumber meme" — bored teenagers
- "free plumber" — people who'll never pay
- "DIY plumber" — they're not hiring you
Each of those clicks costs you money and converts at 0%.
How to find your negatives
The Search Terms report. Every Google Ads account has it. It shows you the actual search queries people typed before clicking your ad — not just the keywords you bid on, but what users actually searched.
Tools → Search terms in Google Ads. Sort by spend descending. Look at the top 50 queries. For every one that has spend but zero conversions, ask: does this person need what I sell? If no, add as a negative.
Match types for negatives
- Negative broad — blocks any search containing those words in any order. Most aggressive.
- Negative phrase — blocks searches containing the exact phrase. Most useful default.
- Negative exact — blocks only the exact phrase, no extras.
Default to negative phrase unless you have a reason to go broader.
The universal "junk" negative list
Add these to every account on day one. They almost never convert:
freecheapdiyhow totutorialjob,jobs,career,careers,hiring,salarydefinition,meaning,wiki,wikipediaused(unless you sell used)youtube,reddit,quorameme,jokes
Industry-specific negatives
- SaaS:
open source,github,alternative to(unless you ARE the alternative) - Lawyers:
do my own,handle myself, names of competitor firms - E-commerce:
review(depends),knockoff,replica,fake - Local services: ZIP codes / cities you don't serve
- B2B:
resume,internship,training
Negative keyword lists
Build a master "junk" list at the account level and apply it to every campaign. New campaign? Inherit. Saves you re-doing the work each time.
Cadence
Pull the search terms report weekly for the first month, then biweekly. The first month catches the obvious junk; ongoing catches drift as Google's matching changes.