What are negative keywords, and why do they save money?
Negative keywords are words you tell Google Ads to avoid, so your ad doesn't show when someone's search contains them. They save money because in pay-per-click you pay for every click, and they stop clicks from people who were never looking for what you sell.
ShoaibUpdated 3 min read
How do negative keywords work?
Google Ads Help puts it simply: negative keywords "let you exclude search terms from your campaigns". A furniture store selling new sofas might add used, second hand or free as negatives, for example.
Do negative match types work differently?
Yes — and this catches people out. Negative match types behave differently from normal ones. Using Google's own example word pair, running shoes:
| Negative match type | Ad is blocked when the search… | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Negative broad (default) | contains all the words, in any order | blue running shoes is blocked; running shoe is not |
| Negative phrase "..." | contains the words in the same order, extra words allowed | red running shoes is blocked; shoes running is not |
| Negative exact [...] | is exactly the keyword, nothing extra | only running shoes is blocked |
The big difference: Google says negatives "won't match to close variants or other expansions". Your normal keywords stretch to cover similar meanings; your negatives don't. So if you exclude cheap, also add cheapest and low cost if you want those blocked too.
How do I use them without hurting results?
- Review the search terms report weekly at first, then monthly.
- Add clearly irrelevant words (jobs, free, DIY, competitor names you don't want) as negatives.
- Don't over-block. A negative that is too broad can quietly stop good searches too.
Wasted clicks are one of the main reasons Google Ads costs climb. See how Google Ads works and what PPC means for the bigger picture.
Want your search terms checked and cleaned as part of your digital marketing? See our Google Ads service.