In the competitive world of pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, “negative keywords” are a game-changer for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) looking to maximize their limited marketing budgets. The main reason for this is that every click counts—literally. Each click costs money. By strategically excluding irrelevant search terms or keywords that are out of your price range, negative keywords ensure your ads reach the right audience, driving higher click-through rates (CTR) and better conversion rates without wasting ad spend on unqualified traffic.
What are Negative Keywords?
Negative keywords are terms or phrases you add to your PPC campaigns to prevent your ads from appearing in searches that include them. Essentially, they act as a filter, telling the ad platform: “Don’t show my ad if the query contains this word.”
For example, if you’re selling high-end running shoes, you might add “free” as a negative keyword to avoid showing up for searches like “free running shoes.” This ensures your ads only reach users with genuine buying intent.
Negative keywords come in different match types, similar to regular keywords:
- Broad match: Blocks ads from showing for any queries containing the negative keyword in any order, even with variations: Ex. ‘used shoes’ would prevent ads from showing for “buy used running shoes”, as well as “sell used dress shoes”, so this should be used in very particular situations, as if they are not implemented correctly, you could be preventing relevant searches from showing up.
- Phrase match: Blocks ads for queries containing the exact phrase in order, or close variations. In order to add these, you use quotes when adding the keyword: “running shoes sale” would help prevent ads from showing for people who are just looking for a bargain.
- Exact match: Blocks ads only for the precise term or close variants. For example, [cheap coffee] will only show ads when the exact search put into the search engine is “cheap coffee”. This would prevent ads from showing up for “cheap cost coffee” or “coffee that is cheap”. This is very useful when you have very specific types of products or services that could be potentially confused with other competitors, or searches that are not related.
Understanding these helps you fine-tune your exclusions without over-restricting your reach.
Key Benefits of Using Negative Keywords for SMBs
CTR measures the percentage of people who click on your ad after seeing it, while conversion rates track how many of those clicks turn into desired actions (e.g., purchases, sign-ups). Negative keywords improve both by enhancing relevance:
Reducing Irrelevant Impressions: By excluding mismatched searches, your ads appear only to qualified audiences. This increases the likelihood of clicks, directly lifting CTR.
Cost Efficiency: Filter out low-intent searches to reduce wasted clicks by up to 20-30%. Money saved on irrelevant clicks can be reinvested into high-performing keywords, amplifying overall campaign efficiency.
Improving Ad Relevance and Quality Score: Search engines reward relevant ads with higher Quality Scores, which can lower your cost-per-click (CPC) and improve ad placement. Better placement means more visibility to the right users, leading to higher conversions.
Targeted Growth: Focus on high-value queries that align with your business goals.
Quick Implementation Tips
- Review your search terms report weekly.
- Start with broad match negatives for broad coverage.
- Test and refine based on performance data.
Understanding Negative Keywords: The Basics
Negative keywords are terms or phrases you add to your PPC campaigns—primarily in platforms like Google Ads—to prevent your ads from showing up for searches containing those words. For SMBs, this is crucial because every click counts, and irrelevant traffic can quickly drain your budget.
What Are Negative Keywords Exactly?
Think of negative keywords as the “do not disturb” sign for your ads. Instead of broadly casting your net, they refine it to catch only the fish you want. For instance, if you’re a boutique coffee shop advertising “organic coffee beans,” adding “free” as a negative keyword stops your ad from appearing in searches like “free organic coffee beans,” which are unlikely to convert.
This simple exclusion improves ad relevance, a key factor in Google’s Quality Score algorithm. Higher relevance means better ad positions and lower CPCs, directly benefiting cash-strapped SMBs.
How Negative Keywords Boost CTR for Your Business
Click-through rate (CTR) measures how often people click your ad after seeing it. A low CTR signals irrelevance, hurting your campaign’s health. Negative keywords tackle this head-on by eliminating unqualified impressions.
How Negative Keywords Enhance Ad Relevance
Irrelevant searches inflate impressions but deflate clicks. By adding negatives, you shrink the impression pool to high-intent users, naturally lifting CTR. Studies show campaigns with active negative keyword management see CTR improvements of 10-25%.
For a small e-commerce store selling handmade jewelry, searches like “jewelry wholesale” might trigger ads but attract bulk buyers who bounce. Negating “wholesale” keeps impressions focused, encouraging more clicks from individual shoppers.
Real-World CTR Gains
Consider a mid-sized local bakery running Google Ads for “fresh cakes.” Without negatives, “cake recipes” or “DIY cake” search terms will waste your budget. Adding these as negatives could boost CTR from 2% to 5%, per industry benchmarks, freeing up spend for better-targeted keywords.
Driving Higher Conversion Rates with Precision
Conversions—sales, sign-ups, or leads—are the ultimate PPC goal. Negative keywords don’t just get more clicks; they get *better* clicks from users primed to act.
Filtering for High-Intent Traffic
Low-quality clicks rarely convert. Negatives weed out tire-kickers, directing budget to searchers with purchase intent. For SMBs, this means more bang for your buck: a 15% conversion lift is common after optimization.
Take a service-based firm like a plumbing company. Negating “DIY plumbing” or “plumbing jobs” ensures ads show to urgent “emergency plumber” seekers, who convert at higher rates.
Do Negative Keywords Enable Better Targeting?
Absolutely—negative keywords are a cornerstone of refined PPC targeting. They act as exclusions in your audience net, ensuring ads align precisely with your ideal customer profile.
By blocking irrelevant queries, negatives sharpen focus on demographics, behaviors, and intents that match your SMB’s offerings. Google’s official guidance confirms this: negatives help “focus on only the keywords that matter to your customers,” enhancing overall campaign precision.
For a small retail chain, this means avoiding broad terms like “free shipping” if you don’t offer it, instead channeling traffic to loyal, ready-to-buy segments. The outcome? Not just better ROI but scalable growth as your ad data refines over time.
In essence, negatives transform scattershot spending into surgical strikes, empowering SMBs to compete with larger players through smarter, not bigger, budgets. For authoritative insights, learn more about negative keywords in Google Ads
Step-by-Step Guide: Implementing Negative Keywords
Ready to act? Here’s a practical roadmap tailored for SMBs using Google Ads.
Finding the Right Negative Keywords
There are specific steps to find good negative keywords that you should use:
- Analyze Search Terms Reports: In Google Ads, navigate to Keywords > Search Terms. Look for queries with high impressions but zero conversions—these are prime candidates.
- Leverage Keyword Tools: Use free tools like Google Keyword Planner to brainstorm exclusions based on your industry.
- Competitor and Seasonal Insights: Monitor what competitors bid on and add seasonal mismatches, like “Christmas” for a summer-focused business.
For SMBs, aim to review weekly; even 10-20 new negatives can make a difference, and can free up ad spend that might have been used on irrelevant search terms.
Adding Negative Keywords in Your Campaigns
Once you have found a list of keywords that you wish to add to the negative keywords list, you can add them to your campaigns with the following steps:
- Log in to Google Ads and select your campaign.
- Go to Keywords > Negative Keywords.
- Click the blue “+” to add at campaign or ad group level—campaign-level for broad efficiency.
- Enter terms, select match type, and save.
Pro tip: Create shared negative keyword lists under “Tools & Settings” for reuse across campaigns, saving time for busy owners.
Common Negative Keywords for SMBs
Here’s a curated table of negative keywords, categorized for easy adoption. These prevent common pitfalls like info-seekers or bargain hunters.
| Category | Examples | Why it helps SMB’s |
| Free/Discount | Free, cheap, discount, wholesale | Avoids Low-Intent bargain traffic |
| Educational | Tutorial, how to, guide, course | Filters Researchers, non-buyers |
| Job-Related | Jobs, hiring, career, intern | Blocks employment seekers |
| Media/Content | Image, video, book, download | Prevents content-downloaders |
| Material-specific | Plastic, used, vintage, repair | Targets new/premium product buyers |
Incorporate 5-10 from each category initially, then expand based on data.
Best Practices and Success Stories
To maximize impact:
-Conduct Regular Audits: Monthly reviews keep lists fresh amid evolving searches.
-Layer the Negatives with Positives: Balance negatives with strong positive keywords for comprehensive coverage.
-A/B Testing: Run split tests on ad groups with/without new negatives to quantify gains.
-Avoid Over-Negating: Too many can limit reach—monitor impression share.
Case in point: A small online bookstore added “free ebook” negatives, slashing wasted spend by 18% and lifting conversions 22% in three months. Another mid-sized apparel brand negated “plus size” (outside their niche), improving CTR by 14% and focusing on core customers.
For SMBs, these tweaks compound: what starts as budget savings evolves into data-driven scaling.
Ultimately, embracing negative keywords isn’t just optimization—it’s empowerment. By honing your PPC edge, you turn every dollar into directed fuel for business growth, outpacing competitors through relevance over volume. Start small, measure relentlessly, and watch your campaigns thrive.
When he’s not busy helping his clients’ increase revenue with online ads, you can find Tanner binge-watching true crime and war documentaries, listening to WW2 podcasts, doing epic 5000 piece puzzles, watching or reading anything Star Wars and Marvel-related, or spending time with his friends and family.
