Definition
Negative keywords are terms you add to a Google Ads campaign to stop your ads showing on searches that contain them.
Negative keywords explained
Google describes negative keywords as a way to exclude search terms from your campaigns and focus on the keywords that matter to your customers. They are one of the most effective ways to cut wasted spend, especially with broad match.
Negative keywords have their own match types:
- Negative broad: your ad won't show if the search contains all the negative terms, in any order.
- Negative phrase: your ad won't show if the search contains the terms in the same order.
- Negative exact: your ad won't show only if the search is exactly those terms, with no extra words.
One important caveat from Google: negative keywords don't match close variants or other expansions. Excluding “free” won't automatically exclude “freebie”, so add the variants you see in your search terms report. Shared negative lists, applied across campaigns, make it easier to block common irrelevant themes such as jobs, training, free and DIY.
Example
Your ads for “CRM software” keep appearing for “CRM jobs” and “free CRM template”. Adding “jobs”, “careers”, “template” and “free” as negative keywords stops those clicks, so the same budget reaches more buyers.
Why it matters
Every irrelevant click you exclude is budget freed for searches that can convert.
Related service
Google Ads Maintenance
Ongoing search-term reviews, negative keywords, bid and budget checks for accounts that are already running.
Google Ads maintenance and optimizationSources
- Google Ads Help: About negative keywords (checked 30 Sep 2026)
Published by Vidern, founded and led by Malhar Shah. Updated .
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Related terms
- Search terms reportThe search terms report in Google Ads shows the actual searches that triggered your ads and led to clicks, as opposed to the keywords you bid on.
- Keyword match typesKeyword match types in Google Ads, broad, phrase and exact, control how closely a search must relate to your keyword for your ad to be eligible to show.
- CPA (Cost Per Acquisition)CPA (cost per acquisition) is the average advertising cost to win one conversion, such as a sale, sign-up or lead: total ad spend divided by conversions.
- PPC (Pay-Per-Click)PPC (pay-per-click) is online advertising where you pay each time someone clicks your ad, as in Google Ads search campaigns.