Negative keywords: the 15-minute weekly Google Ads habit

When you add a keyword to Google Ads, you're not choosing exactly which searches trigger your ad. Depending on the match type, Google can show your ad for searches it considers related. Some of those are great. Some will never buy.

What a negative keyword does

A negative keyword tells Google not to show your ad when a search contains that term. If you're a plumber, "plumber jobs" and "plumbing courses" are searches from people who want work or training, not a plumber.

The 15-minute routine

1. Open the search terms report for the last 7 days.
2. Sort by cost, highest first.
3. For each term that clearly won't buy, add a negative keyword at the campaign level or to a shared list.
4. Look for good terms you haven't added as keywords, and consider adding them.
5. Note what you added so you can see the effect next week.

Starter negatives to consider

Every business is different, so only add terms that genuinely don't fit. Common candidates include:

• free, cheap, DIY, how to, tutorial (if you sell a paid service)
• jobs, careers, salary, hiring, course, training (if you're not hiring or teaching)
• competitor brand names you don't want to bid on
• locations you don't serve

Use match types to stay tight

When you start, phrase match and exact match keep your traffic closer to what you intended. You can expand later once you know which searches convert.

Keep a shared list

A shared negative keyword list can be applied to every campaign, so you don't have to re-add the same exclusions. Review it occasionally to make sure you haven't blocked anything useful.

The Google Search Blueprint in the Ad-Ready Playbook has space for 15 buyer keywords and 15 negatives to get you started.