hi, i’m amr. negative keywords are the first fix people reach for when a search terms report looks messy. google ads help says they differ from regular keywords in one way that catches b2b accounts out.
what google ads help says
- “Negative keywords let you exclude search terms from your campaigns”
- broad match negative: “your ad won’t show if the search contains all your negative keyword terms, even if the terms are in a different order”
- phrase match negative: “your ad won’t show if the search contains the exact keyword terms in the same order”
- exact match negative: the exact keyword terms, in the same order, “without extra words”
- “Negative keywords won’t match to close variants or other expansions.” the page says you need to add synonyms and singular or plural versions yourself
- “If you use too many negative keywords, your ads might reach fewer customers.”
- a search longer than 16 words can still show your ad if the negative keyword comes after the 16th word
- for display and video, the page says negative keywords work differently, with a maximum of 1,000 considered at account level
my reading, not google’s wording: a negative broad match keyword is not the mirror image of a broad match keyword. it needs every one of its terms in the search, and it doesn’t catch plurals on its own.
what to check this week
- export your search terms report and list which exclusions you already added
- for each negative, check whether you also need the plural, the singular and the synonyms you want blocked
- check match types. as an illustration, a broad negative “free template” blocks “template free”, but per the page it will not block “free templates” unless you add that too
- before adding a long list, check that none of the terms appear in searches from real buyers. google warns too many can cut reach
- if you run broad match, read the pairing rules in an earlier post first, since negatives are how you steer it
where this stops applying
the page doesn’t cover performance max, which it lists only as a related article. it gives no recommended number of negative keywords for search campaigns and no performance figures. the free template example is mine, not google’s. i haven’t seen your account.
start scaling — if your search terms report keeps showing the same irrelevant queries after you added exclusions, a short account review will show which match types are letting them through. let’s connect.
Sources: Google Ads Help, “About negative keywords” (support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2453972). Figures are published product documentation, not verified results from Amr’s own client accounts.