Google Ads negative keywords: lists that stop wasted clicks

Negative keywords stop eligible ads from appearing for the searches you name. Build the list from the business's actual exclusions and the account's search term evidence. Choose the narrowest match type and scope that works, then test each entry against valuable searches before saving. Because no list is universally safe, our starter lists are candidates to assess, not a block to paste.

Three words get confused: the keyword you bid on, the search term a person typed and the negative. The negative is what stops the two meeting.

Our guide to Google Ads match types covers how positive keywords reach searches by meaning. This guide covers the exclusions. They work differently.

Find searches worth excluding

The search terms report is where the evidence lives. Google's search terms report page puts it under Campaigns, then Insights and reports, then Search terms. The Keyword column is hidden by default under the Attributes columns.

Set the date range, the campaign and the network before reading anything. Add cost, clicks, the conversion action the campaign bids on and whatever qualified outcome the business records. Then read the limit on the same page.

The report shows searches with enough query activity to meet Google's privacy standards. The search terms insights view groups the omitted low activity queries into subthemes without showing each one. The visible rows are not every click you paid for. A plan built on "every irrelevant row becomes a negative" starts with the wrong denominator.

Classify every candidate into one of three groups.

• Clearly outside the offer: the business doesn't sell it and never will. One example is an apprenticeship search that turns up in a plumber's repair campaign.

• Commercially relevant: a customer, even if the wording looks odd.

• Uncertain: could be either, and the evidence is thin.

The first group is excluded after a check of the actual services. After all, "we don't do that" is the owner's call, not the report's.

The second group is routed, not blocked. A relevant search landing in the wrong campaign is a structure problem. The fix is the right ad group or page, not an account wide negative.

The third group waits. Four clicks and no conversion is not evidence of irrelevant intent. That's especially true for a service with a quoting cycle.

Separate an obvious business mismatch from a performance hypothesis. Give the hypothesis time and sample before acting on it. Three examples show the difference.

Do not copy customer names or anything sensitive from the report into a screenshot or a shared document. The query text is enough.

Choose the negative match type

Negative matching is not the mirror of positive matching. Google's negative keywords page says negative keywords do not match to close variants or other expansions. Synonyms and singular or plural versions need their own entries if you want them blocked.

The same page says negatives automatically account for casing and misspellings. That means you don't need to add those.

So the common shorthand that negatives have "no close variants" is only half right. No synonyms, no plurals, no meaning based expansion, yes to casing and misspellings. Nobody needs to type every spelling.

The table describes one phrase across the three types. It answers one question: does this entry on its own exclude the query.

Negative broad blocks any search containing all the words in any order. Negative phrase blocks a search containing the words in that order, with other words allowed around them. Negative exact blocks only that search with nothing added.

"Does not block" is not a promise the ad will serve. Another entry, the budget, the targeting or the auction can still stop it. And the plural row is the one to remember. None of the three blocks "plumbing courses", because the plural is a separate entry.

That shows different coverage, not that exact is always better. Most unsuitable searches are best handled as phrase negatives. They catch the longer versions of the same request without reaching into unrelated word orders. Exact negatives suit a single known query you want gone and nothing else.

Broad negatives are for a word that is wrong in every combination. A single broad or phrase word is where the damage happens. A broad "free" removes "plumber free quote melbourne". A broad "course" removes "course of treatment" in a clinic campaign.

Type phrase entries with straight quotes and exact entries with square brackets, exactly as shown in the table. The account reads the symbols and not the formatting.

Put exclusions at the right level

Google gives four places to put a negative. They differ in reach, not in behaviour.

Google's account level negative keywords page says those negatives apply automatically. They cover all Search and Shopping inventory in relevant campaign types. The page lists those campaign types:

• Search

• Performance Max

• App

• Shopping

• Smart

• Local

The limit is 1,000 per account, added under Admin and Account settings. Account negatives don't cover Display or YouTube inventory. That inventory uses separate excluded content keywords.

For the ordinary shared list, Google's negative keyword lists page sets the limits. That's 20 lists per account and 5,000 keywords per list. The same page says a change to a list applies to all campaigns that share it.

A shared list must be attached to a campaign to do anything. Campaign negatives reach every ad group in that campaign. Ad group negatives reach one group. Excluding a search from one ad group does not guarantee it routes to another eligible group.

Reserve account exclusions for demand the business will never want, including in campaigns it hasn't built yet. The account list reaches those too.

The scope of an exclusion should follow the scope of the offer. Our guide to Google Ads account structure covers why. Prelaunch exclusions are part of the build when you set up Google Ads for a small business.

Performance Max needs its own sentence. Google's page on negatives in Performance Max says:

• Performance Max negative keywords apply to Search and Shopping inventory only.

• You can add keywords one per line or select an existing negative keyword list.

• Account level negatives automatically apply to Search and Shopping inventory in Performance Max as well.

Those negatives do not filter every video, Display or Discover impression. A negative list is not a Performance Max placement strategy.

Where Google's negative keyword impact prediction is offered, you can check up to 10 keywords at a time. It shows a projected percentage change to conversions or conversion value. Google's own example, a predicted 10% conversion loss, is a forecast, not an observed result. Our review of Performance Max for small businesses covers the broader format controls.

Brand exclusions are a different control again. Google's brand exclusion implementation page sets out where they apply. In Performance Max, that's Search, Shopping and YouTube search inventory. A checkbox allows Shopping ads on searches that mention excluded brands.

That page says Search campaign brand exclusions began moving into AI Max's settings panel from 27 May 2025. An existing Search campaign keeps its brand settings outside AI Max. But adding a new brand list needs AI Max turned on. Google's AI Max setup page says new Search campaigns have AI Max on by default. It says opting in switches on text customisation and final URL expansion.

Google's brand settings page explains the brand lists behind those exclusions. The lists match brand variants in multiple languages without separate spellings. Brand exclusions handle recognised brands and their variants.

They aren't a general keyword blocklist or a ban across all of YouTube. Turning on AI Max just to reach the brand panel brings those other settings with it. So review them first, as our guide to Google Ads settings that waste budget explains. Four controls get confused here. Only one of them is a negative keyword.

A negative city name is the classic mix up. It filters the word in a query, nothing more. A Sydney business adding "melbourne" as a negative stops people who typed that word.

But the word doesn't establish where the job is. The negative will also remove a Melbourne landlord with a Sydney property. Geography belongs to Google Ads location targeting. So don't globally exclude cities because the business is based somewhere else.

Adapt starter lists to your business

Every list below is an example, and each depends on the account. Each entry is a candidate to assess against the actual offer. It's typed with the match syntax it would use. There's no universally safe version of any of these lists. That's why each one also names the demand a careless version would kill.

Trades providing paid services

These suit a plumber, electrician, roofer or similar business running a customer campaign. Adapt them to the trade rather than pasting them as a set.

Candidate negative keywords for a trade service campaign:

Every entry is phrase match except tafe. It's a broad negative, because the word is wrong in every combination in a service campaign.

Job and training searches are not a rounding error. Our audit sample is 180 Google Ads account audits from August 2021 to September 2026. Take a typical trade account in that sample. Searches for jobs, apprenticeships, courses and DIY help took 5% to 10% of visible search term spend. That figure covers the 90 days before the audit.

Approved exclusion: "electrical apprenticeship", because the business is not hiring through its repair campaign. Tempting exclusion rejected: "hire", because "hire an electrician" is a customer. A broad "hire" would remove it along with the equipment hire searches it was aimed at.

Protect free quote searches, "hire an electrician" and material plus installation requests. The same goes for urgent repair wording and searches that ask for licensing evidence. All of these can be the best leads in the account. Google Ads for trades businesses shows where they fit in a trade campaign.

In this example case, the reviewed exclusion is the phrase negative "plumbing course" from the trade list. It removes "free plumbing course" and leaves "plumber free quote melbourne" alone. That shows the method, not a rule that every free related search should be blocked.

Professional services

These suit an accounting firm, a law firm or an agency. Check each entry against the service and the campaign. For example, an agency that sells SEO training would keep "seo certification".

Candidate negative keywords for a professional services campaign:

Approved exclusion: "accounting degree" for a tax advisory campaign. Tempting exclusion rejected: "calculator", because a mortgage broker's "mortgage calculator" searcher can be a borrower a few weeks early. A broad "calculator" removes them.

Free consultation, mortgage calculator, employment lawyer and software implementation searches are not unsuitable by default. "Free" needs the offer checked first, since many of these firms open with a free first consultation.

Health and clinics

These suit a dental, physiotherapy or allied health practice running a patient campaign. Use them only on patient campaigns, never at account level if the practice also recruits.

Candidate negative keywords for a patient campaign:

Approved exclusion: "physiotherapy degree" for a clinic with no teaching role. Tempting exclusion rejected: "medicare". That's because Medicare questions, bulk billing and symptom searches with treatment or appointment intent can all be patients. The eligibility and billing facts behind them need confirming before a single word is excluded or promised.

Nothing here decides who should receive treatment. It's about commercial search intent. Everything else comes down to the clinic's own rules. The compliance side is covered in Google Ads for healthcare practices.

Retail and ecommerce

These suit an online store, and only when the store does not serve those needs. A store that sells spares wants the repair searches.

Candidate negative keywords for an online store:

Approved exclusion: "dropshipping course" for a store that sells products, not training. Tempting exclusion rejected: "review", because "best work boots review" is a buyer comparing. A broad "review" removes them.

Free shipping, product reviews, "best" and comparisons can all match the business model. So can accessories, parts and used stock. The only way to know is to read them against what the store sells.

Add and verify your negatives

The functional route is the same whatever the interface labels say this quarter. These steps follow Google's guide to setting up and applying negative keyword lists:

• Open Keywords under Campaigns.

• Choose the Negative keywords tab.

• Select the plus button.

• Choose the campaign or ad group.

• Enter one negative per line with its match symbols.

• Save.

For account level entries, go to Admin, then Account settings, expand Negative keywords and add them there. To start a shared list, tick the box labelled Save to new or existing list before you save. Then apply the list to each campaign it should govern, from Exclusion lists in the Tools menu.

Before saving, export the current negatives as a baseline. Test the entry against the valuable searches named in the starter lists. After saving, open the entry and confirm three things:

• The text and match type as saved.

• The campaign or ad group that received it.

• The shared list attachments where a list was involved.

Then fill in the change record while the reason is still fresh.

The change record is not bureaucracy. It's the only way to answer "why did that search stop" six weeks later. And it's the only way to reverse that change with confidence.

Measure the effect without inventing savings

A percentage saved means nothing without its denominator. Use spend, not the count of queries. Then say what the report could not see. Here's an example campaign's visible query export, sorted into the three classes from the search terms section.

The visible queries total $3,000: $2,250 relevant, $450 clearly outside the offer and $300 that needs review. The campaign spent $3,600 in the same period. That means $600 sat in queries the report did not show.

Identified unsuitable spend is 15% of visible query spend and 12.5% of total campaign spend. The missing $600 is neither good nor bad traffic, because nobody can see it. State both percentages and the gap, every time.

In our audit sample, a typical self managed account's first classification covered 90 days of search terms. It put 10% to 20% of visible query spend clearly outside the offer. Broad match and loose structure tend to push that share up.

Here's a separate piece of arithmetic, with its assumptions stated. Say an account excludes searches that spent $600 last month and redirects that $600. At an assumed $15 a click, that buys 40 clicks. At an assumed 5% to 8% click to lead rate, that's roughly two or three leads, not 40.

The CPC, the lead rate and the reinvestment itself are assumptions. Excluding a query's historical spend does not guarantee that amount is saved next month. After all, the budget may simply spend on the next query down. The exclusion does not guarantee the reallocation is profitable either.

Then compare comparable periods on qualified leads, customers, the reach of useful queries and spend. Record the other changes in the account and allow for conversion lag.

A falling raw cost per lead or a lower click count proves nothing on its own. Fewer clicks with the same number of customers is a win. Fewer clicks with fewer customers is a blocked enquiry route. Our guide to a good cost per lead for Google Ads covers judging lead quality alongside cost.

A before and after comparison is observational unless the design supports a stronger conclusion. So report it that way. Wasted clicks matter most where the allowance is small. That's why exclusions are part of making a small budget work, not an optimisation for later. Our guide to the Google Ads minimum budget treats them that way.

Fix exclusions that block useful searches

An exclusion that removes good demand is quieter than one that lets bad demand through. That's because the enquiry that never arrived leaves no row. The diagnosis follows a fixed order. Google's negative keyword troubleshooting page supplies most of it.

Why does a blocked query still appear in an older report?

Because the report's date range reaches back before the negative was added. Google's page says to check the date range first. It also says to use the change history to find the date the negative was applied. A term that spent money before that date will stay in reports covering it. That is expected, not a failure.

Why is a shared list not blocking anything?

Because it is not attached. The page says lists need to be associated with specific campaigns to be active. It adds that a list that isn't applied could be the culprit. Check the Negative keywords tab for the campaign, not the list itself.

Why did a positive keyword not rescue the search?

Because an applicable negative wins. Google's page on adding negative keywords to campaigns carries a warning. A negative overlapping one of your keywords stops the ad showing. So adding an exact positive keyword can't override it.

The negative may sit at account level, in an attached list, on the campaign or ad group. Inspect all four together. Where a manager account shares a list, inspect that too.

Look for a list created but never attached, or an account level entry blocking a service term. One or the other turned up in about 1 in 5 accounts we audited.

Why did a very long search get past a negative?

Because negatives only look so far into a search. Google's troubleshooting page covers searches longer than 16 words. If the negative comes after the 16th word, an ad can still show. Searches that long are rare. So treat this as a footnote, not a routine.

Recover and record the fix

When the conflicting entry is found, remove it or narrow it. To narrow it, use phrase in place of broad, or exact in place of phrase. Record the change with its date, in a review record the next review can start from.

Then monitor the valuable demand for long enough to see it return. A query that vanished after it was blocked is not evidence that it was worthless.

Run a focused negative keyword review

Work down this list in order. The top rows decide whether the rest can be trusted.

Start at the top even if no negative keyword applies anywhere in the account. That was true of about 1 in 4 accounts we audited.

For the first month, our guide to the first 30 days of Google Ads sets the reading rhythm. After that, we read the search terms monthly in a stable account. The list itself needs a review whenever the offer changes, not only on a calendar. That's because each change can make yesterday's exclusion wrong. An edit to a shared list changes every campaign attached to it.

If someone else manages the account, owning this review is part of their job. See Google Ads account management for how we run that review.

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Written by Ajay K.Co-founder, Elev8d

Ajay is the co-founder of Elev8d and writes most of what you will read here. Psychology grad turned marketer, which is a fancy way of saying he cares about why people click, not just where things rank. Every guide is written in plain English for Australian businesses, tested on real campaigns before it earns a spot on this site.