How do you add negative keywords to a campaign?

Adding negative keywords to a campaign in Google Ads is a straightforward process that involves navigating to your campaign settings and specifying the keywords or phrases you want to exclude from triggering your ads. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to add negative keywords to a campaign:

### Method 1: Adding Negative Keywords Directly

1. **Sign in to Google Ads:**
   - Access your Google Ads account at ads.google.com.

2. **Navigate to Campaign Settings:**
   - Click on "Campaigns" from the left-hand menu to view your list of campaigns.

3. **Select Campaign:**
   - Choose the specific campaign where you want to add negative keywords by clicking on its name.

4. **Go to Negative Keywords:**
   - Within the selected campaign, click on the "Keywords" tab, and then click on "Negative keywords."

5. **Add Negative Keywords:**
   - Click on the blue plus button (+) to add new negative keywords.

6. **Enter Negative Keywords:**
   - Enter the negative keywords you want to add. You can add negative keywords in the following formats:
     - **Broad Negative Keywords:** Simply enter the word or phrase without any brackets or quotation marks (e.g., free).
     - **Phrase Negative Keywords:** Enclose the phrase in quotation marks (e.g., "free shipping").
     - **Exact Negative Keywords:** Enclose the exact term in square brackets (e.g., [cheap watches]).

7. **Specify Match Types (Optional):**
   - By default, negative keywords are added as broad match. To specify a different match type (phrase or exact), use the appropriate punctuation as mentioned above.

8. **Save Changes:**
   - Click on "Save" or "Save and continue" to apply your changes. Google Ads will now exclude these negative keywords from triggering your ads for the selected campaign.

### Method 2: Adding Negative Keywords in Bulk

If you have a large list of negative keywords to add, you can use the bulk upload feature:

1. **Prepare Your List:**
   - Organize your list of negative keywords in a spreadsheet with one keyword per row under a column labeled "Negative keyword" and an optional column for match type.

2. **Navigate to Tools & Settings:**
   - Click on the wrench icon in the upper right corner of Google Ads and select "Bulk actions" under "Shared library."

3. **Select Negative Keywords:**
   - Choose "Negative keywords" from the drop-down menu.

4. **Upload Your File:**
   - Click on "Upload file" and select your prepared spreadsheet containing the negative keywords.

5. **Review and Confirm:**
   - Google Ads will display a preview of the negative keywords to be added. Review them to ensure accuracy and specify match types if necessary.

6. **Complete the Upload:**
   - Click on "Apply" or "Save" to finalize and upload your negative keywords. Google Ads will add them to your selected campaign accordingly.

### Tips for Adding Negative Keywords:

- **Regular Review:** Periodically review your search term reports to identify new search queries that may warrant adding as negative keywords.
 
- **Monitor Performance:** Analyze the impact of added negative keywords on campaign performance, adjusting as needed to optimize targeting and reduce irrelevant clicks.

By following these steps, you can effectively manage and optimize your Google Ads campaigns by adding negative keywords to exclude irrelevant searches and improve the overall efficiency and performance of your advertising efforts.