Do you know how much budget small and medium-sized businesses waste on Google Ads? It is a whopping 40% of the total ad spend. Here’s the breakdown on wasted budget.

• 25% wasted on ineffective practices, according to a 2013 WordStream study of 500 small and medium-sized businesses
• 15% wasted on irrelevant keywords, according to a 2019 analysis by Seer Interactive

If you add negative keywords to your list of targeted keywords, you can save your budget and even make a profit.

What are Negative Keywords?

These are terms you don’t want Google to show your ads on. They perform opposite functions. Google excludes negative keywords from the list of targeted words or phrases. They help improve accuracy.

In this blog, we will cover the following topics:

• Why negative keywords are important for PPC
• Checklist for negative keywords
• Signs of missing negative keywords

Note: Throughout the blog, our emphasis will be on the cost-saving benefits of incorporating negative keywords in Google Ads.

Why Negative Keywords Matter?

Simply put, negative keywords matter because they save budget. They block irrelevant clicks that bleed budget. Their role in boosting click-through rate and conversion is crucial. Without negative keywords, your Google Ad campaigns will continue to bleed, as evident in the above data. Small and medium-sized businesses are the worst affected because they often work on tight budgets.

Here’s how Negative Keywords affect PPC budget

1. Search intent mismatch wastes budget

• Ads don’t align with the search intent, leading to a low Quality Score for each Negative Keyword.
• A low Quality Score leads to high cost-per-click (CPC) for each Negative Keyword.
• Users find the ads irrelevant to their search queries and avoid clicking them.
• Viewers who accidentally click on mismatched ads click back instantly on finding the landing page irrelevant.
• Irrelevant clicks and a poor landing page experience reduce the conversion rates.
• The ads bleed but make no profit. The budget is spent on users who don’t convert. Sales figures drop, and opportunities are missed.

2. Broad-Match Targeting without Negative Keyword

• Broad-match keywords cover a wide range of keywords, but over-reliance could cost you dearly. The ads would appear for searches irrelevant to your campaigns.
• Excluding negative keywords from your broad-match list would increase the possibilities of the ads showing for irrelevant search queries, and you won't get clicks or conversions.
• Search term reports show what works for your ads. Periodic review of the reports gives crucial data on negative keywords. Ignoring the reports could be a significant error.
• Ignoring long-tail keywords is equivalent to missing the audience with strong possibilities for conversion. Longer keywords include more specific terms that help target audiences.

3. How Google charges for every click, not every sale

• Google follows a bidding system where advertisers bid for keywords on which they want Google to show their ads. However, Google’s algorithm determines the placement of ads on top, middle, or bottom of pages according to bids.
• Google’s second-price auction model allows top bidders to pay just enough to outbid second-best bidders. You set a maximum bid for a specific keyword, but pay a little more than the second bidder.
• Google charges only for clicks and not impressions. Your ad may appear without costing for any number of times. However, a click even at first impression will cost you a price.
• The average CPC in Google Ads is $5.26 (https://www.wordstream.com/blog/google-ads-cost).
• The average CPC on the Display Network is typically under $1 (https://www.wordstream.com/blog/google-ads-cost).

The Ultimate Negative Keyword Checklist

Do you know how to find the right set of negative keywords for your Google Ads campaigns? Here’s a checklist of factors to consider while identifying irrelevant keywords for your campaigns. We’ve covered all the important factors, from industry-specific keywords to misleading synonyms, in the checklist. It is available for free downloading for your convenience.

1. Common Negative Keywords by Industry

Some keywords are common to all industries. These are classified into different categories exhibiting the search intent of users.

• Luxury retailers: “cheap” and “free”
• Dentists: “free dental clinic” and “dental nurse career”
• Fashion eyeglasses: “drinking glasses” and “wine glasses”
• Plumbing services: “DIY plumbing guide”
• Personal trainer: “DIY”, “at home”, “free trial”, and “cheap”
• High-end club: “budget”, “cheap”, and “discount”
• Boutique: “wholesale”, “chain”, and “big box”
• Accountancy service: “bookkeeping”, “tax preparation”, and “do it yourself”
• Software: “free download”, “cracked”, “open source”, and “pirated”

2. Match Types: Broad vs. Phrase vs. Exact

Keyword match types are broadly defined into three categories, with each category having its pros and cons. However, their performance depends on negative keywords.

Broad Match:

• The keywords are loosely related to the main keyword.
• They provide a wider reach and could even become the main keywords.
• They could lead to irrelevant clicks in the absence of negative keywords.

Phrase Match:

• The keywords have a similar meaning to your main keyword.
• They maintain a balance between volume and relevance.
• Results could be irrelevant without the negative keywords.

Exact Match:

• The keywords match the business, products, or services.
• These highly relevant keywords give excellent results.
• However, closely matching provides limited reach.

3. Search Terms Report Audit

It is a detailed report on the actual user search queries your ads showed for. It helps identify whether the ads are displayed for relevant searches.

• See all search queries that triggered your ads and check what is relevant and what isn’t.
• If you sell premium goods, and you find searches for “cheap goods” in your report. It is a negative keyword.
• Add negative keywords to your ads to prevent irrelevant queries from eating your budget.
• Regularly audit the report to add new negative keywords.

4. Competitor Brand Terms

Do you want your ad to show up for competitor brands, such as “Nike”, “L’Oreal Paris”, and “Fabindia”? People searching for information about specific brands may not be interested in alternatives. It is better to keep your competitor brands in the negative list for the following benefits.

• Users may accidentally click on your ads while searching for brands, but they won’t convert.
• Keeping competitor brands in the negative list improves efficiency by targeting relevant queries.

5. Irrelevant Locations or Languages

Where do you want your ads to show? What language would you use to write ad copy? Location and language targeting are crucial to generate genuine clicks and leads. Showing ads to locations or languages that you don’t serve will waste your budget.

• Google’s geo-targeting feature allows advertisers to specify the locations where they want to run their ads.
• Research the primary language used by the targeted audience and create localized ads and landing pages for language-specific targeting.

6. Job Seekers & Researchers

Businesses should block users looking for jobs, opportunities, salary hikes, or tutorials. They will consume your budget, but give nothing in return.

If you sell products or offer services, but are not actively looking for employers, use the following keywords:

• Jobs
• Careers
• Employment
• Salary
• Recruiter
• Resume
• Freelance
• Work from home

If you are looking for B2B dealings, you should block researchers with the following keywords:

• How to
• Guide
• Tutorial
• What is
• Reviews
• Testimonials
• Case study
• White Paper

7. Misleading Synonyms

Search terms that give the impression of synonyms for the seed keywords but provide deceptive impressions are called misleading synonyms.

Examples of misleading synonyms:

• “Free”: An advertisement for “free shoes” has a significant shipping fee attached to the shoes, or the free items are added to premium products.
• “Limited”: A regular discount but “limited time offer”, or a “limited stock” despite an abundance of products.
• “Best”: A “best kitchen appliance” turns out to be an average product in terms of quality, usability, and price.
• “Affordable”: A high-priced luxury item is advertised as an “affordable item”.
• “All-Inclusive”: An “all-inclusive” vacation package with charges for important amenities.

8. Negative Keyword Lists

Share your list of negative keywords across Google channels to prevent your ads from being triggered for irrelevant search queries. Shared negative keywords will make your job a lot easier.

• Use one negative keyword list for all campaigns.
• Avoid updating new negative keywords in individual lists. The updates will be automatic for all lists.
• Maintain consistency in negative keywords across all campaigns.

Download the Negative Keyword Checklist today to boost your ad performance, improve targeting, and maximize ROI. The checklist is perfect for both beginners and pros alike. Don’t let the irrelevant clicks drain your budget.

Red Flags: Signs You’re Missing Negative Keywords

It is also important to learn about the signs that you’re missing negative keywords in your campaigns.

1. High CTR, Low Conversion

A high CTR shows that the ads are actively receiving clicks from targeted customers; however, they aren’t targeting the right audience. The low conversion indicates irrelevance. You have visitors, but they aren’t those whom you want to target. They land on your website only to click back and cost you a price.

2. Bounce Rates Above 80%

A bounce is when a visitor clicks back from a site without taking any action. It happens when visitors find the content irrelevant to their search queries. Missing negative keywords is a reason for a high bounce rate. Your ads are displayed for search queries unrelated to your business.

3. “Free,” “cheap,” or “jobs” showing up in search terms

Do you have “free”, “cheap”, or “jobs” in your keywords? If yes, then add them to the negative keywords list. They can attract customers seeking free services, affordable deals, or job opportunities. They will cost you a price, but you won’t make any profit. Missing negative keywords are the reason behind irrelevant and unwanted visitors.

4. Repeated irrelevant queries in the report

Repeated irrelevant queries in the PPC report are an indication of the need for more comprehensive negative keywords management in campaigns. Negative keywords will prevent your ads from showing to irrelevant queries and save your ad spend. Including negative keywords also improves the overall performance of ads.

5. Strange locations or times with high spend

High budget spend in specific times or strange locations indicates missing negative keywords. Your campaigns are being run at locations you don’t serve. Similarly, the ads are shown to customers you don’t target. It demands quick action on your part.

Mini Case Example

Client: A mid-sized home renovation service company in the US

Problem: The company ran a Google Ads campaign with a sizeable monthly budget of $10,000. They put their best efforts, and their efforts bore fruit in the form of impressions. The ads generated thousands of impressions and leads, but the leads were of quite low quality. The company made little profit, but paid a high price for those leads. Their ad spend was higher than their profit.

The Audit: The company was paying for irrelevant broad search keywords, such as “affordable home painting,” without using any negative keywords to prevent the ads from showing for irrelevant ads.

Remedy Suggested: An experienced PPC manager immediately prepared a detailed negative keyword strategy and implemented it in the campaign setting. The strategy was to filter out the unqualified traffic from targeted searches.

The addition of negative keywords gave striking results within a month.

Results Comparison

Conclusion

The company saw a reduction of over 60% in the waste spent and a jump of over 150% in conversions. The campaign started making a profit for the company. The case study emphasizes the value of negative keywords in the success of PPC campaigns.

Book a free 15 minute PPC consultation to know whether your ad campaigns are performing at their optimum level. It is especially important for those struggling with their PPC campaigns. Missing negative keywords could cost you dearly in the long run. Remember that every dollar you spend without negative keywords is a dollar you could be saving.

Did you check the search query report for your PPC campaigns? The report sheds light on the real-time performance of your ads. Repeated queries in the report demand attention and action. We strongly recommend you check the report at least weekly to ensure optimal performance of your ads and maximum revenue for your business.