Search Terms and Negative Keywords in Google Ads

Search terms and keywords

Google's page about the search terms report draws the line clearly. "A search term is a word or set of words a person enters when searching on Google or one of our Search Network sites." A keyword is what you add to an ad group "so that your ads are targeting the right audience." Its example: someone types red roses, and an ad for a flower shop with the keyword roses may show.

How far a keyword stretches depends on its match type: broad, phrase or exact. Our Google Ads basics guide explains the three match types and how the auction works. This guide is about what happens after the ads start running.

Reading the search terms report

You find the report under Campaigns, then Insights and reports, then Search terms. Google says it shows "data on the search terms that were used by a significant number of people and have triggered impressions and clicks." Not every search appears: "Some search terms that don't have enough query activity are omitted from the search terms report in order to keep with our standards on data privacy."

Two columns do most of the work:

• Keyword: "which one of your keywords matched someone's search term and triggered your ad." Google notes this column "doesn't show by default", so add it through the columns menu.
• Match type: "how closely the search terms that triggered your ads on Google are related to the actual keywords in your account." Close variants are marked here; Google says they "can include singular and plural forms, acronyms, stem words (such as floor and flooring), abbreviations, accents, and variants of your keyword terms that have the same meaning."

Google's own example shows why this matters. A tulip seller finds that the broad match keyword flowers "triggers your ad to show when customers search for red roses and purple orchids—flowers you don't sell." The fix can be a more specific keyword, a negative keyword, or both.

Google also offers search terms insights, which group searches into themes. It notes that insights include low-volume queries the report leaves out, grouped into subthemes "without exposing the queries themselves", and that conversion numbers can differ slightly between the two.

Judge each search term on results, not only on whether it sounds right. A search with clicks and no enquiries over a reasonable period is a candidate for a negative; one that converts may deserve its own keyword. That requires conversion tracking; see our guide to conversion tracking in Google Ads.

How negative keywords work

Google's page about negative keywords says they "let you exclude search terms from your campaigns". Google advises looking "for search terms that are similar to your keywords, but might cater to customers searching for a different product." Its example is an optometrist who adds wine glasses and drinking glasses.

The key difference from normal keywords: "Negative keywords won't match to close variants or other expansions." Google's example: with the negative broad match keyword flowers, ads are not eligible for the search red flowers but can still show for red flower. So "you'll need to add synonyms and singular or plural versions if you want to exclude them." Google adds that negatives "automatically account for casing and misspellings".

Typical negatives for a service business include job-seeker terms (jobs, salary, apprenticeship), do-it-yourself terms (how to, DIY) if you only sell the service, locations you do not cover, and services you do not offer. Check each against your own report before adding it. Google warns: "If you use too many negative keywords, your ads might reach fewer customers."

Negative match types

For Search campaigns, negatives come in broad, phrase and exact match, but Google says they "work differently than their positive counterparts." Using Google's rules with the negative keyword running shoes:

• Negative broad match (the default): "your ad won't show if the search contains all your negative keyword terms, even if the terms are in a different order." It blocks blue running shoes and shoes running, but not running shoe or blue tennis shoes.
• Negative phrase match, written in quotes: "your ad won't show if the search contains the exact keyword terms in the same order." It blocks blue running shoes but not shoes running.
• Negative exact match, written in square brackets: "your ad won't show if the search contains the exact keyword terms, in the same order, without extra words." It blocks running shoes only.

Google's page on negative keyword ideas from the search terms report notes a default that catches people out: "negative keywords added to a Search campaign from the search terms report are added as negative exact match." If you want to block a word wherever it appears, change it to broad match before saving.

A practical rule: use broad match negatives for single words that are never relevant (jobs), phrase match for multi-word ideas where order matters, and exact match to block one specific search while keeping longer searches that contain it.

Negative keyword lists

If the same unwanted terms come up in several campaigns, Google's page about negative keyword lists suggests creating a list and applying it to those campaigns, so "you won't have to manually add the same negative keywords to individual campaigns". Later changes to the list apply to every campaign that shares it.

Google's limits: "You can add up to 5,000 negative keywords per list, and create up to 20 negative keyword lists in your account." It also suggests organising lists "by themes, such as the different products or services you offer." For a small business, two or three lists are often enough: one for job and training terms, one for services you do not offer, and one for areas you do not cover.

Account-level negative keywords

Some terms should never trigger any ad in the account. Google's page on account-level negative keywords describes a single list in Account settings that applies to "all search and shopping inventory in relevant campaign types". Google lists those as "Search, Performance Max, App, Shopping, Smart, and Local campaigns". Google states: "A limit of 1,000 negative keywords can be excluded for each account."

So the account-level list also reaches Performance Max. Performance Max has its own campaign-level negative keyword and brand exclusion settings too. Google notes that in Performance Max the search terms report "helps identify search terms that resulted in conversions". Our Performance Max guide covers the other controls that campaign type keeps.

Symbols, limits and edge cases

Google's negative keywords page lists a few rules worth knowing:

• You can use ampersands, accent marks and asterisks. Words with and without accents count as different negatives, as do "socks & shoes" and "socks and shoes".
• Periods are ignored, a site: operator is removed, and a minus sign in front of a word causes it to be ignored.
• For long searches, your ad "might still show when someone searches for a phrase that's longer than 16 words, and your negative keyword follows that 16th word."
• Negatives in Display and Video campaigns work differently, by topic, and Google says "a maximum of 1,000 negative keywords is considered at the account level" for Display and Video ads.

A weekly routine

• Open the search terms report for the last 7 or 14 days, with the Keyword and Match type columns on.
• Sort by cost. For each expensive term, ask whether it could bring a customer.
• Add clear mismatches as negatives, choosing the match type on purpose.
• Add terms that repeat across campaigns to a shared list, and never-relevant terms to the account-level list.
• Add searches that convert well as keywords, and check your ads mention them; our guide to responsive search ads covers the headlines.
• Check that new negatives have not blocked searches you want. Keep a short note of what you added and why.

FAQ

What is the difference between a search term and a keyword?

A search term is what a person types into Google. A keyword is what you add to an ad group to target searches. Depending on match type, one keyword can trigger many different search terms, which the search terms report shows.

Why do negative keywords not block plurals?

Google says negative keywords do not match close variants or other expansions. A negative for flowers does not block red flower, so add singular, plural and synonym versions yourself. Negatives do account for casing and misspellings.

What match type does a negative get when added from the search terms report?

Google says negatives added to a Search campaign from the search terms report are added as negative exact match by default. Change the match type with the right symbols if you want to block the word more widely.

How many negative keywords can I use?

Google says you can add up to 5,000 negative keywords per list and create up to 20 lists in an account. The account-level list in Account settings has a limit of 1,000 negative keywords.

Can I add negative keywords to Performance Max?

Google says account-level negative keywords apply to search and shopping inventory in relevant campaign types, including Performance Max. Performance Max also has its own campaign-level negative keyword and brand exclusion settings, covered in our Performance Max guide.

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