If you’ve been running Google Ads for a while, you probably know about negative keywords. They’re those little hidden gems that help keep your ads from showing up for irrelevant searches. Sounds simple, right? Just add a few words you don’t want to target, and you’re good to go. But here’s the thing—negative keywords are a lot trickier than they seem. Many marketers make mistakes with them, and it can cost you a lot of time and money.
Let’s walk through some common negative keyword mistakes that I’ve seen over and over, and more importantly, how to avoid them.
1. Not Using Enough Negative Keywords
This is probably the most common mistake. Many marketers are so focused on targeting the right keywords that they forget the importance of excluding the wrong ones. If you’re not using negative keywords, you’re leaving your campaign wide open for irrelevant traffic.
Imagine you’re running a campaign to sell premium leather jackets. You want people who are looking for quality products. But guess what? Your ad might also pop up when someone searches for “cheap leather jackets” or “leather jacket repair.” That’s wasted clicks right there—clicks that won’t lead to conversions. Without adding “cheap” or “repair” as negative keywords, you’re throwing away money.
How to Avoid It: The key here is research. Go through your search query report (that’s the list of actual search terms people used to trigger your ads) and find any terms that don’t match your offering. Add those as negative keywords. This is something you should be doing regularly—it’s not a one-time task.
2. Being Too Broad with Negative Keywords
On the flip side, sometimes marketers swing too far in the other direction and end up adding broad negative keywords that hurt their campaigns. Here’s an example: Let’s say you sell athletic shoes. If you add “shoes” as a negative keyword because you don’t want your ad to appear for searches like “cheap shoes” or “shoe repair,” you might accidentally block legitimate searches like “best running shoes” or “high-performance shoes.”
Negative keywords are very specific, and if you’re not careful, you could be shutting down a whole avenue of potential traffic. You need to strike a balance between precision and exclusion.
How to Avoid It: Before adding a negative keyword, think carefully about how it might affect your campaign. Use phrase match or exact match negative keywords when necessary. This will give you more control over which searches are blocked and which ones aren’t. For example, instead of using “shoes” as a broad match negative keyword, use “cheap shoes” as a phrase match. That way, your ads won’t show up for people looking for cheap shoes but will still appear for those searching for premium shoes.
3. Ignoring Close Variants and Misspellings
Google’s algorithms are pretty smart, but they’re not perfect. One of the biggest mistakes marketers make is thinking that adding a single version of a negative keyword will cover all its variations. It won’t. Let’s say you add “free” as a negative keyword because you don’t want your ad to show up for people looking for free products. What about “fre”? Or “f.r.e.e”? Yeah, people actually search like that. If you’re not accounting for those variations, your ad could still be triggered by those searches.
How to Avoid It: When you add negative keywords, think about how users might misspell or alter the term. Add variations of the same keyword to ensure that all possible irrelevant queries are blocked. This is especially important if you notice weird variations showing up in your search query report.
4. Overlooking Negative Keywords in Display and Video Campaigns
A lot of people associate negative keywords strictly with search campaigns, but they’re just as important in display and video campaigns. Google’s Display Network and YouTube ads can appear in a ton of different places, and if you’re not using negative keywords to control where your ads show up, you’re leaving your campaign open to low-quality placements.
Imagine running a display ad for luxury watches. Without negative keywords, your ad could end up on a site promoting cheap knockoffs, which not only wastes your budget but also tarnishes your brand’s image.
How to Avoid It: For display and video campaigns, you can add negative keywords to exclude content categories or specific keywords. Regularly review where your ads are appearing, and tweak your negative keyword list accordingly.
5. Not Reviewing and Updating Negative Keywords Regularly
Negative keywords aren’t a “set it and forget it” strategy. Your industry, your products, and your audience are always evolving. That means your negative keyword list should evolve too. A keyword that was irrelevant a year ago might now be highly relevant, and vice versa.
How to Avoid It: Make it a habit to review your search query reports regularly—at least once a month, but preferably more often if you’re running a high-volume campaign. Check for any new irrelevant searches that have popped up and add them as negatives. Likewise, remove any negative keywords that might now be relevant to your offering.
6. Not Using Account-Level Negative Keywords
Some marketers forget that you can add negative keywords at the account level, not just the campaign or ad group level. This is particularly useful if there are certain terms that you never want any of your ads to show for, no matter the campaign.
For instance, if you sell high-end products, you might want to exclude words like “free,” “cheap,” or “bargain” at the account level. That way, you don’t have to add these terms to every single campaign—you’ll have a universal filter in place.
How to Avoid It: Think about keywords that universally don’t align with your business goals. Add these at the account level to save time and ensure consistency across all your campaigns.
Final Thoughts
Negative keywords are a powerful tool in any PPC campaign, but they require regular attention and thoughtful strategy. By avoiding these common mistakes and staying proactive, you’ll keep your ads focused on the right audience and avoid wasting money on irrelevant clicks. Remember, the key is balance—exclude the irrelevant without accidentally blocking potential customers.
Happy optimizing!
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