Understanding Negative Keywords and Getting the Most Out of Your Google Ads Budget

Dan Davidson • October 17, 2022

One of the most beneficial aspects of a Google Ads campaign is that you only have to pay if it works. But your definition of “work” may be different from Google’s. In the most literal sense of a pay-per-click campaign, you pay when someone clicks. Ideally, a searcher clicks because they found what they were looking for, your product or service. However, this isn’t always the case, and it can create a lot of waste and unnecessary spending from your digital advertising. Fortunately, with a little research and some simple steps, you can eliminate these wasteful clicks and put your money back into productive clicks. It all begins with negative keywords.


What Are Negative Keywords?

Simply put, negative keywords are keywords that you DON’T want your ads to be shown for when searched. For example, if you are running ads for a residential air conditioning company, you would want to include negative keywords for automobile air conditioning. This means that if someone needs the A/C in their Honda Accord fixed, they can’t click on your ad, asking for something that you don’t do, yet charging you in the process. But how do you know what people are searching for to see your ads?


How Do You Know What Search Terms Your Google Ads Are Being Shown For?

Another valuable aspect of Google Ads is that you can see search queries are generating impressions and clicks for your ad. In the Google Ads platform, select your account, then click on the “Keywords” option on the left-hand side. This will reveal a submenu that includes search keywords (the keywords you created for the campaign), negative keywords (keywords that won’t generate impressions), and search terms (queries that resulted in your ads being shown). 

When you access this list, you’ll likely be surprised by what you find. These terms can range from competitors’ names to irrelevant questions or needs, and you can also find out how much you’ve spent on these fruitless clicks.


How Do You Use Negative Keywords to Make Your Google Ads Budget More Efficient?

Negative keywords can be added manually or through your search terms data. When you select the “Negative Keywords” option you can add negative keywords directly. You can also use the “Search Terms” option and click every search term that is not useful for your campaign and add them to the negative keyword list at a campaign or ad group level. 


If you’ve never sifted through search terms, or if it’s been a while, this can seem like a daunting task to search through potentially thousands of queries to determine what needs to be eliminated. A great way to prioritize what to negate is by sorting your search terms by cost. This will show you what search terms are costing you the most in descending order. From here you can begin to streamline how frequently and for what reasons your ads are being shown, potentially costing you a lot of money.


Google Ads are a great way to get instant and successful results from search queries. However, without the correct strategies and due diligence, you can leave a lot of money on the table. BlinkJar Media is Google Partner that creates and manages Google Ad campaigns for businesses and organizations across the United States.


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