Negative keywords
Negative keywords stop your ads from showing on searches that contain them. They are the most direct way to cut spend on irrelevant queries.
In the platformSearch
Negative keywords
Negative keywords stop your ads from showing on searches that contain them. They are the most direct way to cut spend on irrelevant queries.
They work at the ad group, campaign or account level, and shared lists apply them to many campaigns at once. Negatives use match types too, but they don't match close variants, synonyms or misspellings, so add plurals and other spellings yourself. That matters a lot in Hebrew, where prefixes such as ה, ב, ל and ו create many forms of the same word.
Where you'll see it
In Google Ads go to Campaigns > Audiences, keywords and content > Search keywords > Negative search keywords. Shared lists are under Tools > Shared library > Negative keyword lists; account-level negatives are in Account settings. Performance Max accepts campaign-level negatives and shared lists. Meta has no search keywords; the nearest controls are audience exclusions and brand safety block lists. TikTok supports negative keywords for search ads.
Worked exampleA furniture store's month
| Search term | Spend | Conversions |
|---|---|---|
| free furniture pickup | $240 | 0 |
| furniture store jobs | $180 | 0 |
| ikea hack furniture | $130 | 0 |
Phrase-match negatives for "free", "jobs" and "ikea" would have blocked $550 that month. If the pattern repeats, that is the estimated monthly saving, not a measured one.
Do
- Add plurals and Hebrew prefix forms
- Check the same term isn’t still spending in another campaign
- Review old negatives when products or services change
Don't
- Add broad negatives that block profitable searches, such as “cheap” for a discount retailer