{"id":5732,"date":"2018-08-27T08:20:52","date_gmt":"2018-08-27T15:20:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlesavemktg.com\/blog\/?p=5732"},"modified":"2020-01-29T11:36:46","modified_gmt":"2020-01-29T19:36:46","slug":"negative-keywords","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlesavemktg.com\/blog\/negative-keywords\/","title":{"rendered":"The Importance of Negative Keywords"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Using negative keywords is one of the most overlooked but effective strategies to optimize your Google Ads or Bing Ads<\/a> campaigns. How do you make the most of this important tool? Let’s go over what negative keywords are, why they’re important, and the most efficient means to add them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Negative Keywords<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When you add negative keywords<\/strong>, you\u2019re telling the algorithm that you don\u2019t want your ads to show if certain words and phrases are included in a user\u2019s search.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s say your keyword is women\u2019s bicycle<\/em>, but your store only sells new bikes. Adding used<\/em> to your negative keyword list means your ad won\u2019t come up if someone searches for used women\u2019s bicycle<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can’t stress this enough:<\/strong> you have to include negative keywords and regularly check your search terms report to cut out irrelevant searches, especially<\/em><\/strong> if you use broad match keywords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember \u2014 you pay for every click. Why would you want to pay for clicks that you know won’t work for your business? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like keywords, negative keywords have match types<\/a>: negative broad match, negative phrase match, and negative exact match. There is no negative modified broad match.\u00a0As Google states<\/a>, “these negative match types work differently than their positive counterparts. The main difference is that you’ll need to add synonyms, singular or plural versions, misspellings, and other close variations if you want to exclude them.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The taxonomy for negative keywords is a minus sign (–<\/strong>) followed by either “quotation marks”<\/strong> for negative phrase match or [piano brackets]<\/strong> for negative exact match. If you only use the minus sign, your keyword is in negative broad match, which I do not recommend you use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Checking your search terms report<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To see the search terms that triggered clicks on your ad, navigate to the Keywords tab and click on \u201cSearch terms.\u201d Here, you\u2019ll find the actual search terms that users typed into Google when they clicked on your ad. You can place a checkmark on an individual keyword to see how broad match, modified broad match, or phrase match expanded your keyword list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The irrelevant searches you find in the Search terms report should inspire the addition of negative keywords. The next section discusses the most efficient way to add them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adding negative keywords<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sort your search terms by descending impressions, so you start with queries that most often triggered your\u00a0ads. When you add a checkbox to select a search term that’s irrelevant, an option appears to Add as negative keyword<\/strong>. When you add negatives from this screen, the default match type is negative exact match, which you\u2019ll see signified by piano brackets. In the used bike example, the word used<\/em> would never<\/em> be relevant, so it\u2019s better to add -\u201cused\u201d<\/strong> as a negative phrase match keyword, rather than trying to add each exact match iteration of user queries. This way, you\u2019ll filter out more junk in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, you don’t have to wait for irrelevant search queries to add negative keywords. Negative keywords should be an integral part of building your keyword list at the outset of campaign creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shared Negative Keywords Lists<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If negatives will be shared across several campaigns, you can save time by creating a Negative Keyword List in your Shared Library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To do so, navigate to Tools<\/strong> in the upper right-hand corner of your dashboard. Under Shared Library, click on Negative keyword lists<\/strong>. Click the blue\u00a0+<\/strong> sign to create a new list. Give it a name, add your keywords (using the appropriate negative keyword taxonomy) and save the list. You can then assign this negative keyword list to any current or future campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Common negative keyword scenarios to consider<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Below is a list of negative keywords to consider. As every ad campaign is different, they won’t all apply to your business. In fact, you may find that you explicitly wish to target some of these keywords. Take this as a list of idea starters, not gospel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n