Digital Marketing

Using Negative Keywords in Google Ads

Using Google Ads negative keywords is one way your ad campaigns can be successful. Because the words entered into the search engine affect the search results with a certain algorithm. It is one of the current requirements of digital marketing that you improve your company advertisements by using this effect.

Once you’ve define negative keywords for your ads, you should edit your text accordingly and then weed out those words that won’t trigger your campaign for search results. People searching for specific phrases won’t see your ads. This filtering prevents clicks that don’t work for you and therefore ad spending. The fact that it directly affects the advertising budget is a factor that expresses the importance of negative keywords.

What Are Negative Keywords?

It’s a strategy that prevents certain words or phrases from reaching your campaign in search results. After you run your campaigns, you’ll create a negative match by filtering out certain words. For example; If you add the word “Trial” as a negative keyword to your ad campaign, no one searching for that word will see your ad.

In this case, if you’re marketing a product that doesn’t have a trial, you won’t see customers requesting it. This is exactly what negative keywords mean, and we will recommend that you read the rest of our article to use this system to your advantage.

Therefore, when publishing your advertising campaigns, your primary step should be to research campaign level negative keywords. As a result of this research, if you have come across words that threaten the credibility of your company, creating a brand safety negative keyword list will benefit your campaign.

How Do Negative Keywords Work?

A properly created advertising campaign is one that includes what should not be targeted. Negative keywords aren’t just about your campaign budget or brand credibility. It also ensures that users reach the results they are looking for with the right level of relevance.

In other words, it does not make sense for a company that produces doors to match the customer who searches for the word “table” because it also has wooden doors. Having the word “table” blocked will keep the user searching for “wooden table” away from you. It is a waste of time for both parties and preventing this will be a mutually beneficial factor that will ensure that you get max performance from negative keywords, so it will be a quality campaign because it will work in harmony with Google algorithms.

Match Types for Negative Keywords

There are three types of methods for negative keywords in Google search ad campaigns. They are called broad, phrase, and exact matching. Basically, to explain the difference between these three methods; we can call it spelling. Because there are basic rules for adding negative keywords to your Google Ads account.

If you don’t include the plural or singular version of a word, synonyms, similar versions, and potentially misspelled, your campaign’s negative keyword matches won’t work the way you want. In addition, we should point out that this system does not work in the YouTube stream or the explore stream. Let’s open this up a little more…

1. Negative Broad Match

Negative broad matching is generally the most basic form of this system. It is a more undetailed and easy form, and you can use it directly in campaigns where the words about the advertised product do not create too much confusion. This type of filtering is done regardless of sorting. Let’s say our negative broad-matched keyword is: water thermoses

Illustrate it in the table below:

Match Types for Negative Keywords

2. Negative Phrase Match

In the negative phrase match type, the system proceeds through “sameness”. These types of negative keywords themselves should be the same in order. If the order and words are the same, other words can be added. Even though it is added, the system works. However, if even a single letter changes in the sorting or spelling, your filtering will not be successful. Let’s say our negative phrase matched keyword is: “water thermoses”

Illustrate it in the table below:

Negative keyword Phrase Match

3. Negative Exact Match

The working system of negative exact-match keywords is a sharp one. They are the same words and there should not even be a spelling error, and the order of the words should be the same. Our negative sequence match keyword: [water thermoses]

Let’s illustrate the following table:

Negative Keyword Exact Match

We’ve given you practical information for your campaigns by giving an negative keywords example above. In light of this information, it should also be noted that; Using keyword match types as well as negative match types, is a powerful strategy for discovering the best keywords.

How to Add New Negative Keywords?

Add New Negative Keywords

In this topic, we’ll explain how to add to the campaign using negative keywords to improve PPC success. We have explained many ways to add negative keywords in the article. This includes different tools and internal Google processes. In this section, we’ll explain how to add from the negative keywords section.

Note: Also you can use free keyword research tool for find keywords.

To add negative keywords to your Google Ads account, you’ll first need to go into the account admin. Then proceed by clicking on “Account Settings”. You’ll see the “Negative Keywords” section. Enter your keywords and phrases in the sections that open by clicking +, and then don’t forget to save. After this stage, all you need to do is determine the type of match. You’re already done!

How to Find Negative Keywords in Google Ads?

You can use a negative keyword tool in Google Ads and on other platforms to find lots of ideas and suggestions for negative keywords. This is one of the options. If you want to continue without a vehicle; The Search Terms Report will help you with ideas. You can use the Google Editor application and create a campaign by getting ideas in this way.

How to Build a Negative Keywords List?

If you have identified words by getting ideas about negative keywords, it is time to list these words. Later, we will add these words to our advertising campaigns together. We said that it would make sense to use the Search Terms Report to get ideas, especially when creating a B2B negative keyword list.

After completing the idea stage, it is important that you are informed about the listing part. The maximum number of words you can add to each list is 5,000 words. At the same time, you have the opportunity to make a maximum of 20 such lists. You may want to apply these lists to many campaigns, of course, it is possible to do so.

In Google Ads, go to the “Campaigns” section. You will then see a section called “Audiences, keywords, and content.” In this drop-down menu, find the “Negative Keywords” section and enter it. Select a campaign by clicking + to add negative words. You can then say “Save to new or existing list” to complete your process. Don’t forget to save it at the very end!

What Are The Benefits of Using Negative Keywords?

Benefits of Using Negative Keywords

Tips for evaluating negative keywords will show that these words have a significant impact on a PPC campaign. While providing optimization that provides advantages in the campaign process, it provides an increase by affecting the return on investment. At the same time, this is not the only direct impact on the budget. In terms of budget management, the system prevents investment in unprofitable places and therefore negative keywords make campaigns more efficient.

As for the more advantages to adding negative keywords; It gives you a way to improve the quality of your leads. This will be done by narrowing the search pool. In other words, you should act by thinking very detail about the words and choosing specific words. If you do not make moves that will contradict your brand goal and market competition, this method will bring you a lot of benefits. In short, an advertising campaign in which you add negative keywords is a strategy that will benefit you as long as you do not make a big mistake or disrupt optimizations.

WASK Smart Advices Banner

It is necessary to list the kind of words that are irrelevant to the advertising campaign and that will cause bad advertising. For example; If you have a brand that sells luxury goods, you can block words like “cheap,” and “poor quality,” or if you’re selling cars, adding words like “wheelbarrow,” “toy car,” etc. will benefit the campaign.

Some search terms can hurt the campaign, wasting the advertising budget. Adding negative words prevents this and increases the return on advertising.

The symbols in negative keywords are: & á * ” [ ] symbols. However! @ % ^ () = {}; ~ ` <> ?  | These symbols are not used, they are invalid. Let’s say what they mean: [ ] is used for this exact match, ” ” is used for this sequential match, the expression is not used for broad match.

Gizem Çelik

Gizem is a Content Writer at WASK; she loves to write and teach with her writings. Since meeting WASK, she has been so excited about writing on digital marketing and technology! Her passions other than writing are: acting, playing sports, singing, dancing and reading/learning new things!

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