Pro Tips For Managing Negative Keywords

Negative keywords are a cornerstone of effective search marketing. While much attention is given to selecting the right keywords to include in a campaign, negative keywords—terms that intentionally exclude your ads from specific search queries—are equally vital.

Why? They help refine campaign targeting, reduce irrelevant traffic, and focus your ad budget on high-value clicks.

Let’s dive into the goals of using negative keywords and some pro tips for managing them effectively.

Goal 1: Reduce Irrelevant Traffic

Negative keywords prevent your ads from appearing in search queries that are unlikely to convert. This minimizes wasted ad spend and ensures you’re attracting the right audience.

Example: The Plumbing Business

Consider a plumbing business in Las Vegas. Their campaign includes keywords like "plumber Las Vegas" and "plumbing Las Vegas" to attract local customers. Without negative keywords, their ads could also appear for queries like "plumber school Las Vegas" or "plumber certification Las Vegas." These clicks are irrelevant and unlikely to lead to conversions. Adding negative keywords like "school" and "certification" eliminates such traffic, saving the business money.

Pro Tip: Regularly review your search query reports to identify irrelevant terms that need to be added to your negative keyword list.

Goal 2: Focus on Higher-Value Results

Negative keywords also help you prioritize campaigns for products or services that offer the highest return on investment (ROI).

Example: Maximizing Profits

The Las Vegas plumber may occasionally take small repair jobs but makes higher profits from home remodeling projects, like installing copper pipes. Adding negative keywords such as "leak," "fix," and "repair" can help the plumber focus ad spend on high-value services.

Pro Tip: Use negative keywords to steer your campaigns toward higher-margin offerings by excluding terms associated with low-value or non-core services.

Pro Tips for Managing Negative Keywords

1. Review Search Terms Regularly

During the first few months of a campaign, review your search term reports weekly. Afterward, check them at least monthly. Sort by volume (clicks or cost) to identify irrelevant queries consuming your budget. Add these terms to your negative keyword list.

2. Use Google’s Suggested Searches

Type one of your keywords into Google and look at the suggested searches. These can reveal irrelevant terms you may not have considered. For example, a query for “plumbing” might show suggestions like “plumbing school” or “plumbing tools.” Add these as negative keywords if they don’t align with your business goals.

3. Don’t Forget Universal Negatives

Some terms are universally irrelevant for most campaigns. Examples include "free," "images," and "pictures." Adding these as negative keywords helps prevent unwanted clicks.

4. Eliminate Irrelevance with Close Variants

Google matches keywords to close variants (e.g., "vet services" might match both "veterinarians" and "veterans’ services"). Use negative keywords to filter out unrelated results. For example, a veterinary clinic should add “veteran” as a negative keyword.

5. Focus on Your Core Offerings

If you sell products, add service-related negatives, and vice versa. For instance, a landscaping equipment dealer should use negatives like "repair" and "fix," while a landscaping service should exclude terms like "buy" and "products."

6. Avoid Keyword Conflicts

Be cautious not to create conflicts within your campaign. For example, if "plumbing services" is a target keyword but you add "services" as a negative keyword, you’ll block valuable traffic.

7. Sort by Match Type

Organize ad groups by match types (Exact, Phrase, and Broad Match). Use negative keywords to prevent overlap between these groups. For instance:

• Add Exact Match keywords as negatives in Phrase Match and Broad Match groups.
• Add Phrase Match keywords as negatives in Broad Match groups. This structure improves quality scores and lowers cost per click (CPC).

Optimize Your Ad Campaigns with MatchCraft

Managing negative keywords is critical to the success of any search marketing campaign—but doing it efficiently and effectively can be a challenge, especially across multiple platforms. That’s where Vendasta’s advertising platform, MatchCraft, comes in. Here’s how MatchCraft helps with negative keyword management and beyond: 

• Streamlined Negative Keyword Management: MatchCraft’s platform allows you to easily identify and exclude irrelevant search terms, ensuring your ads only appear for high-value queries.
• Conflict Prevention: Avoid costly keyword conflicts with MatchCraft’s automated tools, which flag potential issues before they impact your campaigns.
• Data-Driven Insights: Access detailed reports and analytics that make refining your keyword strategy simple and effective.
• Seamless Integration: MatchCraft supports Google Ads, Bing, and other major platforms, making it easy to manage campaigns across channels from one centralized dashboard.
• Efficient Workflows: Save time by automating the tedious aspects of campaign optimization, including negative keyword updates and performance tracking.

With MatchCraft, you can ensure every dollar of your ad spend works harder, helping you achieve better ROI while simplifying the management of your clients' campaigns.

Why Negative Keywords Matter

Negative keywords are not just a secondary consideration—they’re a powerful tool for maximizing the efficiency of your campaigns. By reducing irrelevant traffic, focusing on higher-value results, and using thoughtful management strategies, you can ensure every dollar of your ad spend works harder for your business.

Discover how our advanced campaign management tools can simplify negative keyword management and drive better results for your clients.

Maximize your clients' ad budgets with Vendasta’s advertising platform, MatchCraft, and learn more about Vendasta’s other AI-powered marketing and customer engagement tools. Request a demo today!

This blog was originally published on MatchCraft.com and has been migrated to Vendasta.com as part of Vendasta's acquisition of MatchCraft. We’ve preserved the content to ensure you continue to have access to the valuable insights and information shared here.