When running Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaigns, most marketers focus on choosing the right keywords to target their ideal audience. However, what often gets overlooked are negative keywords—a powerful tool that can help you refine your targeting, reduce wasted ad spend, and improve your campaign’s overall effectiveness.

In this beginner’s guide, we’ll explore what negative keywords are, why they’re important, and how you can use them to optimize your PPC campaigns.

What Are Negative Keywords?

Negative keywords are terms or phrases you specify to prevent your ads from showing up in searches that are irrelevant to your business. When you add a negative keyword to your campaign, Google Ads, Bing Ads, or other PPC platforms will avoid showing your ads for searches that include that word.

For example, if you sell premium leather shoes but don’t want to target people looking for “cheap leather shoes,” you can add “cheap” as a negative keyword to avoid your ads being shown for that search term.

Why Are Negative Keywords Important?

Negative keywords are important because they help you:

• Reduce Wasted Ad Spend: By excluding irrelevant searches, you ensure your budget is spent on users who are more likely to convert.
• Increase Relevance: Negative keywords help you ensure that your ads are only shown to people who are genuinely interested in your product or service.
• Improve Click-Through Rates (CTR): By eliminating irrelevant traffic, your CTR should improve because your ads are more relevant to users’ actual search queries.
• Boost Conversion Rates: With a more targeted audience, your chances of converting those users into customers increase.

How to Use Negative Keywords in Your PPC Campaigns

1. Identify Irrelevant Searches

The first step in adding negative keywords to your campaigns is identifying irrelevant search terms. These can often be found in your campaign’s search terms report, which shows you the exact queries users typed before clicking on your ad.

Look for terms that are clearly unrelated to what you offer or may attract the wrong audience. For example, if you’re advertising a high-end restaurant but see searches for “fast food restaurant,” this is a sign that you should add “fast food” as a negative keyword.

2. Match Negative Keywords Correctly

There are different match types for negative keywords, which affect how your ads are triggered. These include:

• Negative Broad Match: Your ad will not show for any search that contains the negative keyword or any variation of it. For example, adding “cheap shoes” as a negative broad match will prevent your ad from showing for “cheap leather shoes,” “affordable shoes,” or any other variations.
• Negative Phrase Match: Your ad will not show for searches that contain the exact phrase or close variations of it. For example, adding “leather shoes” as a negative phrase match will exclude searches like “buy leather shoes” or “leather shoes sale.”
• Negative Exact Match: Your ad will not show for the exact keyword you specify. For example, if you add “leather shoes” as a negative exact match, your ad won’t show for searches exactly matching that term, like “leather shoes near me.”

3. Consider Different Types of Negative Keywords

There are different types of negative keywords you may want to consider adding, depending on your business. Some common categories include:

• Product-related terms: If you sell a specific product but don’t want to attract searches for a different product category. For example, if you only sell men’s clothing, you might add “women’s clothing” as a negative keyword.
• Price-related terms: If your product or service is premium-priced, you may want to add terms like “cheap,” “discount,” or “bargain” to avoid budget-conscious shoppers who are unlikely to purchase from you.
• Location-related terms: If you only serve a specific geographic area, you might want to exclude locations that are outside your service area.
• Competitor names: If you don’t want your ads to appear when someone searches for your competitors, you can add their brand names as negative keywords.

4. Regularly Review Your Search Terms Report

Negative keyword management is not a one-time task. As you run your campaigns, it’s important to regularly review the search terms report to spot new irrelevant terms that are triggering your ads. Over time, you’ll gather more data and refine your negative keyword list to improve campaign performance.

5. Use Keyword Tools for Research

There are various keyword research tools, such as Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush, that can help you identify potential negative keywords. These tools provide data on common search queries, which can help you spot terms that might be too broad or unrelated to your offerings.

Best Practices for Using Negative Keywords

• Start with Broad Exclusions: If you’re new to negative keywords, begin with broad exclusions (like “cheap,” “free,” or “job”) to eliminate irrelevant traffic.
• Use Keyword Variations: Be sure to account for keyword variations, synonyms, and common misspellings to ensure your ads aren’t triggered by unintended searches.
• Segment Negative Keywords by Campaign: Consider adding negative keywords at the campaign level to prevent your ads from appearing for specific terms across all your ad groups. For more targeted results, you can also add negative keywords to individual ad groups.
• Avoid Overuse: Be cautious about adding too many negative keywords. If you exclude too many terms, you could unintentionally limit your audience and miss out on potential customers.

Conclusion

Negative keywords are an essential part of any successful PPC campaign. By strategically excluding irrelevant searches, you can improve your targeting, lower your costs, and enhance your return on investment (ROI). Start by regularly reviewing your search terms, and refine your negative keyword list to ensure you’re reaching the right audience. With the right approach, negative keywords can significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your paid search efforts.