Negative keywords and how to use them correctly

kumartk · Post by **kumartk** » Sun Apr 06, 2025 5:24 am

Negative keywords are an important feature in Google Ads marketing , allowing you to present your advertising even more precisely to your specific target audience . By conducting negative keyword research , you can prevent ads from appearing for Google search queries that have nothing to do with you or your product.

The correct use of negative keywords aims to exclude keywords that are too general and inappropriate. Ignoring or failing to exclude negative keywords can lead to unwanted clicks from unqualified leads. These keywords may attract traffic, but not the traffic you desire. This will negatively impact the performance and quality of your Google Ads campaign paytm data and waste money on advertising that doesn't bring you any returns.

negative keywords

Negative keywords, also known as negative keywords , reduce wasted advertising, increase the relevance of your offer, and save money. To exclude keywords , you must enter a minus sign before the keyword or use it at the keyword level in the "negative keywords" section.

What should you consider when using negative keywords?
If you're already running a Google Ads campaign , it's worth taking a look at the search query report. This shows you which search queries triggered your ads . This allows you to see which search queries your ad was displayed for and, if there are any inappropriate keywords , exclude them. This can occur if the context is incorrect, high costs are incurred without conversion, or many impressions are generated without clicks. Therefore, these aspects should be taken into account and the negative keywords may need to be adjusted retrospectively.

Negative keywords also have keyword options. Depending on your needs, you can choose a corresponding negative keyword match type. With smaller budgets, it makes sense to have more control over when ads are displayed, but even here, you have to be careful not to exclude keywords that might actually be relevant later.

Reducing the spread by using more negative keywords ultimately results in fewer impressions and usually a higher click-through rate. Appropriate ad copy and relevant keywords also increase the CTR and thus the quality of the ad , which in turn improves the ad ranking.