Negative Keywords in Google Ads: The Wasted Spend Eliminator
Your Google Ads budget has a silent killer: wasted spend on clicks that will never convert.
Someone searches “Google Ads jobs Australia.” Your ad appears (because you bid on “Google Ads” as a keyword). They click. You pay AUD $2.00. They never convert because they were looking for employment, not Google Ads management services.
That’s wasted spend.
Most Australian businesses waste 30–50% of their Google Ads budget on irrelevant searches. They don’t realise it because they’re not looking.
Negative keywords are the fix. A negative keyword tells Google not to show your ads for certain searches.
Add “-jobs” as a negative keyword, and your ads won’t show for “Google Ads jobs” anymore. Simple. But most businesses never do it.
This guide covers negative keywords, how to find them, and how to build a systematic negative list.
What Negative Keywords Are
A negative keyword is a word or phrase that prevents your ad from showing.
Example:
Positive keyword (you want to bid on this): “Google Ads” Negative keyword (you don’t want to show for this): “-free”
When someone searches “free Google Ads,” your ad doesn’t show. You save the click cost.
The value: You’re not paying for irrelevant clicks. Your budget goes only to relevant searches.
Negative Keyword Match Types
Just like positive keywords, negative keywords have match types.
Broad Match Negative
A broad match negative prevents your ads from showing if the search includes any of the negative keyword words (in any order).
Negative keyword: -software
Prevents ads for:
- “Google Ads software”
- “software for Google Ads”
- “software marketing”
- Any search containing “software”
Use when: You want to exclude a broad concept (e.g., if you only offer services, add “-app” or “-software”)
Phrase Match Negative
The phrase match negative prevents ads if the search includes the exact phrase (in that order).
Negative keyword: -“free trial”
Prevents ads for:
- “free trial Google Ads”
- “how to get a free trial”
- Any search with the phrase “free trial” in sequence
Prevents ads for: Does NOT prevent “trial free” or “free for trial”
Use when: You want to exclude specific phrases (e.g., “-DIY,” “-how to,” “-tutorial”)
Exact Match Negative
The exact match negative prevents ads only if the search is exactly that phrase.
Negative keyword: -[Google Ads free]
Prevents ads for:
- “Google Ads free”
Does NOT prevent:
- “Google Ads free trial”
- “free Google Ads”
- “Google Ads free version”
Use when: You want to exclude very specific searches (e.g., competitor names, specific job titles)
Finding Negative Keywords: The Search Terms Report
Your Search Terms Report shows exactly what people searched for that triggered your ads. This is where you find wasted spend.
How to Access It
- Go to Google Ads > Keywords
- Click the “Search Terms” tab
- You’ll see:
- Actual search query (what they searched)
- # Clicks
- # Conversions
- Avg. CPC
- Conversion rate
How to Identify Wasteful Searches
Look for searches that have:
- High click count
- Zero conversions
- Low conversion rate (0–0.5%)
These are your waste signals.
Example search terms to exclude:
| Search | Why Exclude | Negative Keyword |
|---|---|---|
| “Google Ads jobs” | Looking for employment, not your service | -jobs |
| “Google Ads salary” | Looking for pay info, not your service | -salary |
| “free Google Ads” | Not willing to pay, wrong audience | -free |
| “DIY Google Ads” | Want to do it themselves, won’t hire | -DIY |
| “Google Ads tutorial” | Learning, not buying | -tutorial |
| “Google Ads certification” | Looking for courses, not services | -certification |
Quantifying Waste
Search Terms report shows you exactly how much waste.
If “Google Ads jobs” got 50 clicks at AUD $2.00 CPC with zero conversions:
Wasted spend = 50 clicks × AUD $2.00 = AUD $100
That’s AUD $100 you could have spent on relevant searches.
If you identify 10 wasteful search terms like this, you could save AUD $500–$1,000/month by adding them as negatives.
Building Your Negative Keyword List
Tier 1: Essential Negatives (Month 1)
These apply to almost any business and should be added immediately:
“-free” — People looking for free options “-cheap” — People looking for discounted services “-DIY” — People wanting to do it themselves “-tutorial” — People wanting to learn (not buy) “-course” — People looking for training “-job” — People looking for employment “-salary” — People researching pay “-how to” — Informational intent (might convert eventually, but low priority) “-vs” — Comparison searches (useful for research but mixed intent)
Negative match type: Broad match (most aggressive, catches all variations)
Rationale: These searches are fundamentally misaligned with purchase intent.
Tier 2: Industry-Specific Negatives (Month 2)
Add negatives specific to your industry.
For a Google Ads agency: “-certification” — People seeking training, not services “-course” — Same “-academy” — Learning platform interest “-tool” — People looking for DIY tools “-plugin” — People looking for WordPress plugins
For an ecommerce store (shoes): “-men’s” or “-women’s” (if you only sell one gender) “-vintage” — You only sell new shoes “-fake” — You don’t sell counterfeit “-review” — People reading reviews, not buying
Negative match type: Phrase match (more targeted)
Tier 3: Competitor Negatives (Month 3)
Decide: Do you want to bid on competitor keywords?
Option A: Exclude competitors Add your competitor names as negatives (exact match): -[Competitor A] -[Competitor B]
Rationale: You’re not trying to steal their traffic. You’re competing on your own merit.
Option B: Bid on competitors (if they’re not already massive) Skip competitor negatives. Bid on competitor keywords if you can afford it and it’s profitable.
Recommendation: Exclude direct competitors (exact match), but bid on comparison searches (“Google Ads vs Facebook Ads”).
Tier 4: Brand Safety Negatives
Prevent your ads from appearing alongside controversial content.
Add negatives related to topics you don’t want to associate with: “-political” (if you’re a corporate brand) “-adult” “-violence” “-gambling”
Shared Negative Lists
Create negative keyword lists once, reuse across multiple campaigns.
Setup:
- Go to Google Ads > Shared Library > Negative Keywords
- Create a list called “Core Negatives 2026”
- Add your Tier 1 & 2 negatives
- Apply the list to all campaigns
Benefit: Update once, applies everywhere. No duplicate work.
The Negative Keyword Audit Process
Run this monthly (or quarterly for small budgets).
Step 1: Pull Search Terms Data
Google Ads > Keywords > Search Terms Date range: Last 30 days Filter: Conversions = 0 (or very low conversion rate <0.5%) Sort by: Clicks (highest first)
Step 2: Identify Patterns
Look for common themes in wasted searches:
- Jobs/employment searches
- Learning/tutorial searches
- Free/cheap searches
- Competitor brand searches
- Geographic mismatches
Step 3: Batch Add Negatives
Don’t add negatives one at a time. Collect 20–30 wasted searches, then add them as a batch.
Example batch to add:
- -jobs
- -employment
- -careers
- -tutorial
- -free
- -cheap
- -diy
Add these at the campaign or shared list level (depending on whether they apply to all campaigns).
Step 4: Monitor Impact
After 1–2 weeks:
- Check search volume in your campaigns (should decline slightly as irrelevant searches are excluded)
- Monitor conversion rate (should improve as a % of remaining clicks)
- Monitor CPA (should decrease or stay flat as you remove waste)
Step 5: Repeat Monthly
This is an ongoing process. As your campaigns run, new wasteful search patterns emerge.
Spend 30 minutes/month on the Search Terms report. It’s the highest ROI activity in Google Ads.
Advanced Negative Keyword Strategies
Negative Keywords by Ad Group
Sometimes you want different negatives in different ad groups.
Example:
Campaign: “Google Ads”
Ad Group 1: “Google Ads Cost”
- Negatives: -free, -salary, -jobs, -tutorial (general)
- Plus: -“features” (not relevant to cost questions)
Ad Group 2: “Google Ads Setup”
- Negatives: -free, -salary, -jobs, -tutorial (general)
- Plus: -“help” (they want help, not to do it themselves)
Ad Group 3: “Google Ads Management”
- Negatives: -free, -salary, -jobs, -tutorial (general)
- Plus: -DIY, -courses (they’re learning, not outsourcing)
This allows you to fine-tune which searches each ad group should exclude.
Negative Keyword Bid Adjustments
You can’t pause searches directly, but you can add them as negatives with strategic bid adjustments on related positive keywords.
Example:
You notice “Google Ads jobs” gets lots of clicks but no conversions. Instead of a broad negative, you:
- Keep “jobs” as a positive keyword (low bid)
- Add “-jobs” as a negative at campaign level
- Monitor: Does “jobs” disappear? If yes, the negative worked. If searches still appear, Google’s deduping prevents the negative from applying (because you’re bidding on it directly).
This is advanced and usually unnecessary. Stick with simple negatives.
Common Negative Keyword Mistakes
1. Not checking the Search Terms report
You assume you know what searches trigger your ads. You don’t. Check the data.
2. Using broad match negatives too aggressively
Broad match negative “-software” excludes “software engineer jobs,” “software company,” “project management software.”
That last one might be relevant. Use phrase match or exact match for precision.
3. Negative keyword overlap with positive keywords
You bid on “free Google Ads trial” (positive keyword) but add “-free” (negative). Google gets confused. You may or may not show for that search.
Solution: If you’re bidding on free/trial keywords, don’t add “-free” as a negative at the campaign level. Add it to specific ad groups only.
4. Ignoring competitor negatives
You’re bidding heavily on your competitor’s name. Wasted budget (they rank higher organically). Add competitor names as negatives and reallocate budget.
5. Not updating negatives seasonally
In summer, add “-winter,” “-snow,” “-cold.” In winter, add “-summer,” “-beach,” “-heat.”
Seasonal negatives prevent waste on off-season searches.
6. Adding conversional searches as negatives
A search “Google Ads pricing” has zero conversions in your data. You add “-pricing” as a negative.
But people searching pricing ARE considering you. Don’t exclude them. They convert lower in the funnel.
Only add negatives for searches that are fundamentally misaligned (jobs, tutorials, free options).
Measuring the Impact of Negatives
After 30 days of implementing your negative list, measure impact:
Metric 1: Click reduction
- Expect 10–30% fewer clicks (depending on how aggressive your negatives are)
- This is good — you’re filtering waste
Metric 2: Conversion rate improvement
- Expect 10–20% improvement as a % of remaining clicks
- Fewer irrelevant clicks = higher conversion rate
Metric 3: CPA impact
- CPA might stay flat or decrease slightly
- You’re spending the same but on better-qualified traffic
Metric 4: Overall ROAS
- Should improve 5–15% as waste is eliminated
Example:
Before negative keywords:
- 1,000 clicks
- 50 conversions
- Conversion rate: 5%
- CPA: AUD $100
After negative keywords (1 month):
- 800 clicks (20% reduction)
- 60 conversions (20% increase)
- Conversion rate: 7.5% (50% improvement)
- CPA: AUD $80 (20% improvement)
You’re getting MORE conversions with FEWER clicks and LOWER CPA.
That’s the power of negative keywords.
Systematic Negative Keyword Management
Week 1: Identify Tier 1 negatives. Create a shared negative list. Apply to all campaigns.
Week 2: Pull search terms data. Identify Tier 2 (industry-specific) negatives. Add to shared list.
Week 3–4: Monitor. Adjust bid levels if needed. Check conversion rate improvements.
Monthly (ongoing): Spend 30 minutes in Search Terms report. Identify new wasteful patterns. Add 5–10 new negatives. Repeat.
This systematic approach compounds. Every month, your waste decreases slightly, and your profitability improves.
The Bottom Line on Negatives
Negative keywords are one of the highest-ROI activities in Google Ads.
Time investment: 2–3 hours setup, then 30 minutes/month. Return: 5–15% improvement in ROAS and 10–30% reduction in wasted spend.
On a AUD $10,000/month budget, that’s AUD $500–$1,500 in recovered spend per month.
And it keeps compounding as you add more negatives.
Wasted spend is the most common issue Anitech finds in Google Ads audits. We pull the Search Terms data, build systematic negative lists, and stop the waste. Get your account audited
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