Using Negative Keywords to Stop Wasted Ad Spend

A negative keyword tells Google not to show your ad for searches containing that term — directly preventing wasted spend on clicks that were never going to convert, rather than relying on landing page or ad copy to filter out the wrong audience after the (paid) click has already happened.

The search terms report is the primary source — it shows the actual searches that triggered your ads, which routinely surfaces irrelevant queries ("free," "jobs," "DIY," competitor brand names you don't want to bid on) that a keyword list alone doesn't anticipate. Review this report regularly, especially in the first few months of a new campaign when the keyword-to-search-term gap is typically widest.

Maintain a shared negative keyword list applied across all campaigns for universally irrelevant terms (jobs, free, DIY, career-related searches), plus campaign-specific negative lists for terms only irrelevant to that particular service or ad group.

Be careful with broad negative match types — an overly broad negative keyword can accidentally block genuinely relevant searches, so review the potential impact before adding especially broad terms.

New irrelevant search terms surface continuously as your campaigns run and as search behavior shifts — treat negative keyword review as a standing monthly task, not something to configure once at launch and never revisit.