As Google Ads gets smarter, especially with AI-driven matching and automated campaign types, negative keywords remain more important than ever.
Done right, a negative keyword strategy can dramatically improve your ad relevance, reduce wasted spend, and help AI-powered bidding or targeting algorithms make better decisions.
In this post, we'll walk you through a modern, step-by-step approach to finding and managing negative keywords, explain the logic behind each step, and show you how to integrate this into your ongoing Google Ads (or PPC) workflow.
Why Negative Keywords Still Matter. Maybe More Than Before
Stop irrelevant clicks and wasted spend.
Negative keywords tell Google Ads not to show your ads for certain search terms like ones unlikely to convert. This helps avoid paying for clicks from people outside your target audience.
Improve conversion metrics and campaign efficiency.
By filtering out low-intent or irrelevant searches, you can raise your click-through rate (CTR), improve conversion rates, and give better "clean" data to Google's automated bidding or Smart-Bidding systems.
Prevent brand mismatch or "wrong intent" traffic.
As ad reach expands (especially with broad match, AI-powered matching, or automated campaigns), you're more likely to pick up off-target queries.
Negative keywords let you define what you don't want, helping maintain brand integrity and ad relevance.
In short, negative keywords are the guardrail between your ad budget and irrelevant clicks. As matching algorithms get broader or more fluid (especially with AI-driven expansion), guardrails are critical.
Step-by-Step: How to Find and Build Negative Keyword Lists
1. Start with a broad "universal" negative keyword list
Before even launching campaigns (or early in the process), build a baseline list of obviously irrelevant or never-convert search terms.
These terms apply to almost any business but are unlikely to drive conversions.
Common categories include:
"Free," "cheap," "discount," "coupon," "clearance," etc.
If you sell premium or mid-tier products/services, you likely don't want bargain hunters.
Informational or "how-to" search intent:
words like "how to," "tutorial," "DIY," "guide," "manual," "review," "vs," "pros cons," etc., if your goal is conversions (not information seekers).
Irrelevant job- or career-related terms:
e.g., "jobs," "careers," "resume," "recruiting," etc., unless you're hiring or offering job services.
Many advertisers inflate budgets by attracting job seekers when they expect customers.
Unrelated categories or industry-specific noise:
For example, if you sell high-end watches, you might exclude "free watch faces," "watch repair," "watch bands," "used watches," etc., depending on what you don't sell.
This "master exclusion list" becomes your foundational negative keyword list. Ideally, apply it at the account level so it applies across all campaigns.
2. Use your Search Term / Query Reports regularly and treat them as gold
Once your ads are running, the real power of negative keywords comes from actual user search data.
Periodically (e.g., weekly or monthly) review the Search Terms Report (sometimes called "Search Query Report") to see the real search queries triggering your ads.
Identify irrelevant queries, have poor intent, or are unlikely to convert these become strong negative keyword candidates. For example: "free tutorial," "used," "cheap," "how to start," "jobs," etc.
Add these negatives at the ad group level (for fine control) or the campaign level (for broader effect).
Tip: Don't overdo it too early. Especially for newer campaigns, start with the biggest, most obvious negatives — then expand as you gather data. Over-negating too soon can backfire and block potential customers.
3. Structure your negative keywords in a layered, shared-list + campaign/ad-group system
From top industry best practices (2025) comes a layered approach to negative keywords:
Account-level shared list:
For universal exclusions (e.g., free, cheap, jobs, irrelevant industries/categories).
Campaign-level negatives: For campaign-specific noise (e.g., if one campaign sells premium products, exclude "budget" / "sale"-type terms; another sells entry-level items, maybe you exclude "luxury," etc.).
Ad-group level negatives (if needed):
For fine-tuning at lower levels, it's helpful when you have broadly varied products or services under the same campaign umbrella.
Shared negative keyword lists wherever possible:
If you manage multiple campaigns/accounts, shared lists save time, improve consistency, and help make sure no campaign misses key exclusions.
This structured approach helps you balance control and efficiency, keeping your negative keyword management scalable as your account grows.
4. Stay on top of changes, especially with AI-driven matching expansions and new Google Ads behaviors
The rules for negative keywords are evolving. A few recent updates and considerations:
As of June 2024, negative keywords now block misspellings. This means that one negative keyword automatically covers many misspelled variants. This reduces the need to list every conceivable misspelling.
-With newer campaign types (like Performance Max ), negative keyword management has become even more critical. Because AI-driven matching tends to pull in a wide variety of search queries (some unexpected), having robust negative keyword coverage prevents wasted spend and ensures relevance.
Negative keyword lists and exclusions need regular maintenance. As search behavior, language usage, and even your business offerings evolve, your negatives should evolve too. This is ongoing, not a "set and forget."
In other words, the "set it once" mindset doesn't work anymore. Negative keyword strategy today is dynamic, iterative, and data-driven.
5. Build categories of negatives and think beyond just single words
Rather than just dumping random terms, many advertisers now build category-based negative lists that align with common irrelevant search themes.
Some of the most common are:
Job-related terms: "jobs", "careers", "hiring", "resume," etc. (unless hiring or recruiting)
Free/cheap/discount seekers: "free," "cheap," "discount," "coupon," "clearance," "budget," etc.
Review/comparison / informational intent: "review," "vs," "vs..," "comparison," "tutorial," "how to," "guide," etc.
Unrelated product or service categories: If you sell a specific product/service, exclude related but different products somebody might also search for (especially if they don't convert), e.g., if you sell "premium SEO software," exclude "free SEO tools," "tutorials," "SEO jobs," etc. (tailored to your business).
By thinking in categories (not just single words), you streamline negative keyword creation and ensure your lists cover multiple variations with fewer entries.
A Sample Workflow: Negative Keyword Discovery & Maintenance
Here's a repeatable process you can embed into your Google Ads management schedule:
Pre-launch
Build and apply an account-level negative keyword list of universal exclusions (free, jobs, irrelevant categories).
Launch campaign(s)
with broadly relevant keywords and ad copy.
After 7–14 days (or sooner, depending on volume)
pull the Search Terms Report. Look for irrelevant queries or low-intent searches.
Add identified irrelevant queries as negative keywords
to campaign or ad group levels, depending on scope.
Apply shared negative lists as needed
if you manage multiple campaigns that should exclude the same noise.
Repeat review (monthly or bi-weekly)
search terms, user behavior, and language evolve, so update your negatives accordingly.
Maintain structure at the account, campaign, and ad group levels to keep your negative keyword management organized.
Be mindful of match types when you add negatives (see below).
Match Types Matter. Negative Keyword Matching Rules to Know
Understanding how negative keyword matching works is critical. Negative match types don't behave the same as your "positive" (target) keywords.
Some key points:
Negative keywords can be broad, phrase, or exact match.
A negative broad match keyword will block any search query that contains all the negative keyword terms (in any order). This is flexible but can be overly broad if you're not careful.
A negative phrase match blocks queries containing the exact phrase (in the same order), but can still allow extra words before or after.
A negative exact match blocks only exact matches (the search query must exactly match your negative keyword list entry).
Because negative matching is literal (based on words/phrases), you cannot reliably exclude based on meaning or intent alone.
That is, negative keywords don't "understand" synonyms; they work on exact/phrase/broad lexical matching.
With recent updates (as of 2024), negative keywords now block misspellings and variant spellings automatically, meaning you don't need to list every possible typo manually.
Bottom line: use negative broad or phrase match carefully to block broad swaths of irrelevant queries, but don't rely on negatives to "understand" user intent beyond word-level matching. Regular search-term review remains essential.
Special Considerations for AI-Powered & Automated Campaigns (e.g., Performance Max)
With Google's increased focus on AI-driven campaign types and broad matching, there are a few extra wrinkles in negative keyword strategy in 2025:
For automated campaigns such as Performance Max, negative keywords are more vital than ever as AI may target broadly or pull in unexpected search queries, so negative keyword lists help preserve ad relevance.
Many advertisers report needing substantially longer negative keyword lists than in the past to keep up with broader match patterns and AI-driven expansions.
Because of that, managing negative keywords at scale (e.g., using shared lists, layered structures, and automation scripts for negative suggestions) becomes a best practice.
Some even use scripts to scan search-term reports and flag poor-performing queries for exclusion.
Thus, in 2025 and beyond, negative keyword management isn't just a "nice-to-have "; it's foundational to successful, efficient, and scalable campaigns.
Common Pitfalls & How to Avoid Them
Even experienced advertisers trip up sometimes. Here are the most common mistakes and how to avoid them.
Over-negating too early
Excluding too many terms before you've collected sufficient data can block valuable traffic.
Solution: start with a small, high-impact negative list (universal + obvious negatives), then expand gradually based on data.
Misunderstanding match behavior
Assuming negative keywords work like positive match keywords (by meaning), that leads to gaps or over-blocking.
Always remember: negative matching is lexical (words/phrases), not semantic.
Neglecting regular maintenance
Negative keyword lists are not "set and forget." Search behavior, language, product offerings, all change.
Periodic review & updates are essential.
Ignoring campaign & ad-group structure
Dumping all negative keywords at the account level may be overkill or misaligned with the campaign & ad-group structure.
Use a layered structure (account, campaign, ad group) for better control.
Blind reliance on AI or automation
While AI-powered campaigns offer automation, they don't replace human judgment.
Negative keyword strategy must still be informed, intentional, and actively managed.
Quick Negative Keyword Cheat-Sheet for Ads Managers
Category: Typical Exclusions / Example Keywords
Budget / Price-seekers
free, cheap, discount, bargain, clearance, budget, coupon, sale
Informational / Research Intent
how to, tutorial, guide, DIY, review, vs, vs.., comparison, news
Job-seekers / Career Intent
jobs, careers, hiring, resume, apply, job, recruiter
Irrelevant Product/Service Categories
your irrelevant product/service names, depending on what you don't sell (e.g., "used", "repair", "second-hand", "refurbished")
Unwanted variants/noise
misspellings (automatically blocked in 2024+), unrelated terms, region/language irrelevant terms, and synonyms if consistently irrelevantUse this as a baseline, but always validate it with real search-term data from your campaigns.
Conclusion
Finding and managing negative keywords remains one of the most powerful levers in your Google Ads toolbox, especially in 2026, when AI-driven matching and automated campaign types have dramatically expanded ad reach.
By building a structured, layered negative keyword strategy, regularly reviewing actual search data, and maintaining your lists over time, you can maximize ad relevance, reduce wasted spend, and provide automated bidding systems with clean, high-intent data.
If you treat negative keywords as a one-and-done checklist rather than a living, evolving strategy, you'll miss out on a significant opportunity to scale efficiently.
While algorithms and automation may get smarter, human-informed negative keyword management is more relevant and more essential than ever.
Maya W
Marketing, Local-SEM
