What are negative keywords?

Negative keywords are a crucial component of a Google Ads campaign that help advertisers refine their targeting and avoid showing ads to irrelevant audiences. Here's a detailed explanation of what negative keywords are and how they are used:

### Definition:

Negative keywords are specific words or phrases that you designate within your Google Ads campaign settings to prevent your ads from being triggered by certain search terms. When you add negative keywords to your campaign or ad group, you're telling Google Ads not to show your ads to anyone who is searching for that phrase.

### Purpose:

The primary purpose of using negative keywords is to:

1. **Refine Targeting**: Prevent your ads from showing to users who are unlikely to be interested in your products or services. This helps in focusing your ad spend on more relevant searches.

2. **Reduce Irrelevant Clicks**: By excluding irrelevant search terms, you can potentially reduce the number of clicks that are unlikely to lead to conversions.

3. **Improve ROI**: Enhance the overall efficiency of your Google Ads campaigns by ensuring that your ads are shown to a more qualified audience, thereby improving your return on investment (ROI).

### Types of Negative Keywords:

1. **Broad Negative Keywords**: If you add a negative keyword without any punctuation (e.g., -free shipping), your ad won't show if the search includes that term in any order.

2. **Phrase Match Negative Keywords**: If you enclose a negative keyword in quotation marks (e.g., "-free shipping"), your ad won't show for searches that match that exact phrase.

3. **Exact Match Negative Keywords**: If you enclose a negative keyword in brackets (e.g., [-free shipping]), your ad won't show for searches that match that exact term or close variations of it.

### How to Use Negative Keywords:

1. **Identify Irrelevant Terms**: Review search terms reports within Google Ads to identify keywords that are triggering your ads but are irrelevant to your offerings.

2. **Add Negative Keywords**: Go to your Google Ads account, navigate to the "Keywords" tab, and click on "Negative keywords." From there, you can add negative keywords at the campaign or ad group level.

3. **Regular Review and Updates**: Continuously monitor your search terms reports and add new negative keywords as needed to refine your targeting and improve campaign performance.

### Examples:

- **Example 1**: If you sell high-end watches but don't sell cheap or knockoff watches, you might add "cheap" and "knockoff" as negative keywords.
 
- **Example 2**: If you provide paid services and don't want to attract users looking for free options, you could add "free" as a negative keyword.

### Benefits of Using Negative Keywords:

- **Improved Relevance**: Ensure your ads are shown to users who are more likely to convert.
 
- **Cost Savings**: Reduce spending on clicks that are unlikely to lead to valuable actions.
 
- **Higher CTR and Quality Score**: By focusing on relevant searches, you can potentially improve your click-through rate (CTR) and Quality Score.

In summary, negative keywords are a powerful tool in Google Ads that allows advertisers to control when and where their ads appear, ensuring they reach the most relevant audience and maximize the effectiveness of their advertising budget.