Topics: Meta & Google ads
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Quick answer: Negative keywords tell Google not to show your ads for searches you don't want, such as job hunts, DIY tutorials, courses, freebies and places you don't serve. Find them in the search terms report, add them at the right match type, and review new searches weekly for the first month, then every fortnight.
Every Google Ads account keeps a receipt. It's called the search terms report, and it lists the words people actually typed before they clicked your ad and cost you money. The first time many owners open it, they find "electrician apprenticeship Brisbane" or "AC repair course Pune" sitting on their bill. This is the routine for stopping that: what to block, how to block it precisely and how to avoid blocking customers by accident.
What are negative keywords and why do service businesses need them?
A negative keyword stops your ad appearing for any search that contains it. Your normal keywords match a range of searches, and broad match in particular reaches well beyond the exact words you entered. Negatives draw the boundary.
Service businesses need them more than most, because the words that describe the service also attract people who will never hire you:
- Job seekers looking for work in your trade.
- DIY-ers wanting to fix it themselves.
- Students searching for courses and certificates.
- People in towns you don't serve.
Each of those clicks costs the same as a customer's. They also pollute your data: automated bidding learns from who clicks and converts, so junk traffic teaches it the wrong lessons. On a tight budget, the damage is proportionally bigger; our guide to Google Ads on a small budget explains why focus matters so much there.
How do you find wasted searches in the search terms report?
Sort the report by cost, look for irrelevant searches with spend and no conversions, and add them as negatives.
- Open the search terms report (under Insights and reports in the current Google Ads interface).
- Set the date range to the last 30 days, or since launch for a new campaign.
- Sort by cost, highest first.
- Add the conversions and cost per conversion columns. This only works if conversion tracking is set up for forms, calls and messages.
- Tick the irrelevant terms and choose to add them as negative keywords, at ad group, campaign or shared-list level.
- Look for patterns, not single queries. If "salary" appears once, it will reappear in a dozen other forms.
The report won't show everything. Google hides searches with very low volume, so the visible terms rarely add up to your total spend. That gap is exactly why sensible starter lists matter: they block whole categories of waste before you ever see them.
Which negative keyword lists should every service business start with?
Start with six lists: jobs, DIY, courses, freebies, wrong locations and services you don't offer. Adapt each one to your trade before applying it.
| List | Example negatives | Searches it blocks in Australia | Searches it blocks in India |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jobs and careers | jobs, job, vacancy, vacancies, salary, hiring, apprenticeship | "electrician jobs Brisbane" | "AC technician vacancy Pune" |
| DIY and how-to | how to, DIY, yourself, tutorial, youtube | "how to unblock a drain yourself" | "washing machine repair tutorial" |
| Courses and training | course, courses, training, certificate, institute, TAFE | "plumbing course TAFE" | "AC repair course Hyderabad" |
| Freebies | "free download", "free template", pdf | "free bathroom design template" | "free invoice format pdf" |
| Wrong locations | Suburbs, cities and regions you don't serve | A Brisbane north-side plumber blocking "Gold Coast" | A Gurugram clinic blocking "Noida" |
| Services you don't offer | commercial, industrial, wholesale, second hand, parts | "commercial kitchen fit out" for a residential renovator | "car AC repair" for a home AC service |
Notice that the freebies row uses phrases rather than the single word "free". The reason is in the section on over-blocking below.
How do negative match types differ from normal keywords?
Negative keywords don't stretch to close variants, so they block only what you literally tell them to. Positive keywords match plurals, misspellings and similar meanings. Negatives don't, which makes them precise but easy to leave gaps in.
| Negative match type | Entered as | Blocks | Doesn't block |
|---|---|---|---|
| Negative broad | plumber jobs | "jobs for a plumber Sydney" (all the words, any order) | "plumber job" or "plumbing jobs" |
| Negative phrase | "plumber jobs" | "plumber jobs Sydney" (those words in that order) | "jobs plumber" |
| Negative exact | [plumber jobs] | Only the search "plumber jobs" | "plumber jobs Sydney" |
So add singular and plural forms separately (job and jobs, course and courses), plus the misspellings your customers commonly use. A negative broad keyword of "plumber jobs" will not stop "plumber job", however obvious the connection looks to a human.
How often should you review search terms, and what about hidden terms?
Weekly for the first month, then fortnightly once the waste has settled. Review again after any big change, such as switching to broad match, raising the budget or turning on AI features.
Keep your starter lists as shared negative keyword lists in the shared library, then apply them to every relevant campaign. One list to maintain beats the same 80 words copied into six campaigns and quietly drifting apart.
A ten-minute weekly routine:
- [ ] Sort the last seven days of search terms by cost.
- [ ] Add irrelevant terms as negatives at the right level.
- [ ] Add the singular or plural of each new negative.
- [ ] Note good new searches worth adding as keywords.
- [ ] Check that no new negative conflicts with a keyword you're bidding on.
For terms you can't see, rely on the starter lists and watch the themes Google does show. If several visible searches point at job seekers, assume more of them are hidden.
Can negative keywords block good traffic by mistake?
Yes, and single-word negatives are the usual culprit. A few common traps:
- "free" blocks "free quote electrician", one of the best searches a tradie can get.
- "cheap" blocks "cheap but reliable movers", which may be a perfectly good customer.
- "at home" in India blocks "washing machine repair at home", which is how many people ask for a doorstep service.
- "price" blocks "AC service price Pune", a buyer comparing options.
Before adding a negative, search for the word in your search terms report over the longest date range available and check whether it ever led to an enquiry. Prefer phrase or exact negatives over single words, keep a short log of what you added and why, and act on any conflict warning Google shows when a negative blocks one of your own keywords.
How do negatives work with Performance Max and AI Max?
Both widen the searches your ads can match, so negatives matter more than they used to, not less. Performance Max gained campaign-level negative keywords for all advertisers in 2025, applying to its Search and Shopping inventory, and trade press reported Google raising the limit to 10,000 per campaign. Negative keyword lists can now be attached to Performance Max as well.
AI Max for Search, which Google launched in 2025, is an optional setting for Search campaigns that uses your landing pages and assets to match searches beyond your keyword list. That extra reach is the point of the feature, and it's also where unwanted queries creep in. If you turn it on, attach your shared lists first and check search terms weekly again for a while. Our breakdown of Performance Max pros and cons covers when the automated route is worth it.
Frequently asked questions
How many negative keywords should a campaign have?
There's no right number. A new service campaign often starts with a few dozen from shared lists and grows each week as the search terms report reveals more. The real test is whether most of the searches you pay for are relevant.
Should I add competitor names as negative keywords?
If your keywords are matching searches for a competitor's brand and those clicks don't convert, yes. Some businesses target competitor names on purpose in a separate campaign; that's a strategy choice, should be measured on its own and must still follow Google's trademark policies.
Can I add negative keywords to Performance Max?
Yes. Performance Max now accepts campaign-level negative keywords and negative keyword lists, which apply to its Search and Shopping inventory. They don't control where your video or display ads appear.
What is the difference between negative broad and negative exact match?
Negative broad blocks any search containing all your negative words in any order. Negative exact blocks only that exact search with no extra words, so it's useful for removing one specific query without touching longer, valuable variations.
How often should I check the search terms report?
Weekly for the first month of a campaign, then every fortnight. Check again after any major change, such as broadening match types, raising the budget or turning on AI Max.
Stop paying for searches you'd never want
Negative keywords are unglamorous, and they're often the fastest saving in a Google Ads account. If you're still setting a budget, start with our guide to the Google Ads budget in India. If you'd rather hand over the weekly routine, our Google Ads management includes it in every account. Book a free call and we'll look at your search terms report with you.