What Are Negative Keywords?

What are negative keywords in terms of search engine optimization? In a short answer, these are keywords that you can choose to not allow them to lead back to your website. So, when somebody searches for that word or words, your advertisement or website will not appear in the search results. Essentially, negative keywords further filter who will be seeing what you put out on the internet. 

What is SEO?

First off, we need to understand what search engine optimization, or SEO, means. This is the process in which you give your website the best chance of being found on the internet. When people search for products or services your company provides, you want your website to be one of the first ones to pop up.

This is achieved by making sure your website is optimized for those search results. Some of the ways to accomplish search engine optimization are to focus on keywords for your website that people will search for when they want to find your type of product or service. Another method is to have the correct headings and page length for your web pages. All of these methods and more will increase the visibility of your website, and bring it more web traffic. 

What are Keywords?

Next, we want to clearly define what keywords are. These are words you want to focus on using repeatedly on your website, so when people search for them, your website will pop up. Say for example you run a dog grooming service. Some keywords you may want to focus on on your website would be dog, grooming, bath, salon, and other words associated with dogs and grooming.

By having those words used throughout the pages on your website, people will be more likely to have your website pop up when searching for a dog grooming service. It is important to understand keywords, because we are going to be discussing the opposite of them throughout this article. 

Negative Keywords

As we have previously discussed, keywords that are negative are the opposite of regular keywords. A keyword that is negative means that when that word is typed into a search bar, your website and web pages will not appear when it is searched for. Using these keywords are important, as you can filter out who can view your website for the incorrect purpose. 

Negative keywords can be beneficial in making sure your advertisements do not pop up everywhere and annoy or bore people. By making sure your advertisements and website appear only in relevant situations, you can make sure people who are actually interested in your products and services are the ones seeing your company. For instance, if you make the keyword free into a negative one, then when people type in the word free as an adjective, then nothing from your company will appear in the search results. Choosing which keywords you want to be negative is important for building a negative keyword list, which will be discussed later on in this article.  

How to Find Negative Keywords

So how do you choose which keywords you will make negative? You can start by using Google’s Keyword Planner. Normally, this planner helps you choose which keywords to use, and which ones to exclude. But by typing in keywords that can be related to your website, you can use that list to find out which keywords should be negative. From that list, you can decide which keywords should not be directed to your website, thus making them negative keywords.

Another method for finding any potential negative keywords is by using the Google Ads search term report, or just simply using the search bar. Both of these options show you what people are searching for the most, and what keywords they are using in those searches. The Google ads search term can let you see the conversion rate for keywords.

This makes it easier to choose which to exclude. And by simply typing keywords into a Google search, you can see what pops up that is informational and not a sales opportunity, allowing you to avoid those words that lead to informative websites. This can allow you to focus only on words that people use when trying to buy a product or service. Finding out which keywords to make negative is an important part in learning what exactly are negative keywords.

Negative Keywords List

So now that you have found some negative keywords, you would now want to make a comprehensive list of your negative keywords. After compiling a list of any keyword you may want to be negative, you can then go through that list and try to build off of it. Be creative in thinking of what other keywords would not relate to your website. This can mean considering all of the possibilities of people searching for anything remotely related to your goods and services.

Going back to the dog grooming service example, even though showers, razors, and tweezers are all a part of grooming, you would not want your website appearing when those topics are searched for. This is because your company does not sell or manufacture any of them, you may just use them in your work. This would be the start of building a negative keywords list. 

After initially getting a list of words that you want your website to avoid, then break that list down even more. This is a great way to think of any words that may somehow relate to your website or advertisements, even though they are not what you do. For instance, if you run a tire company, even though tires and cars are closely related, you would not want somebody who is searching for cars to find your website.

This is a great way to save money. It means you will not waste clicks on advertisements for people looking for the wrong thing. Or, not clicking on your ad or website because it is irrelevant, harming your conversion rate. Negative keywords are also cheaper to bid on then regular ones, meaning having a large negative keywords list can save you money in the long run. 

Match Types

As for what are negative keywords, we now need to focus on the match types. Knowing which match types do what is important for building a negative keywords list. The three match types are exact match, phrase match, and broad match. An exact match means that the keyword that is negative will not lead to your website or advertisement only if it is typed in exactly as is.

This means if razor is searched, it will not lead back to your website. A phrase match means that the razor will not show up in a situation such as where can I buy a razor. It may lead to the dog grooming website if one asks how to use a razor or another sentence along those lines, but for any transactional questions, it will not. Broad match means that any instance of the word razor in any sentence will insure your dog grooming website will not appear. Learning how to use these match types is essential in building a negative keywords list. 

Negative Keyword Generator

Learning how to utilize a keyword generator is an important step in understanding what negative keywords are. A negative keyword generator is a great tool in determining which keywords you should make negative. You can see what words your competitors are using as keywords that are negative. This is a great starting point in formulating your own strategy for keywords and negative keywords. Most of these negative keyword generator services cost money, but it will be money well spent for your company.

This software will do a lot of the work for you. It determines for you what your negative keywords are. By gaining access to your competitor’s strategies, you are essentially building up a list of negative keywords. 

A negative keyword generator may cost a decent amount of money. However, it will also save you a ton from people unnecessarily clicking on your advertisements and website. In the long run, it could prove to be a very cost effective strategy for your business. It will also save you lots of time doing the research yourself. It will not require you to constantly ensure your research is up to date. The generator will do it for you. A negative keyword generator is a great way to create a large negative keyword list. Then, you can easily apply that list to your website and advertisements. 

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How many negative keywords should I add to my campaigns?

There’s no strict limit, but start with 50-100 essential negative keywords and gradually expand your list. Google Ads allows up to 5,000 negative keywords per campaign and 20,000 per shared negative keyword list. Focus on quality over quantity—prioritize negative keywords that prevent irrelevant clicks and protect your budget. Regularly review your search terms report to identify new negative keywords to add. A well-maintained negative keyword list typically contains 200-500 keywords for most businesses, but this varies significantly by industry and campaign scope.

2. When should I use broad match vs. phrase match vs. exact match for negative keywords?

Use exact match when you want to block only the specific keyword phrase (e.g., -[free dog grooming] blocks only that exact phrase). Use phrase match to block searches containing your negative keyword phrase in the same order (e.g., -“free dog” blocks “free dog grooming” and “best free dog services”). Use broad match to block any searches containing your negative keyword in any order (e.g., -free blocks “grooming free,” “free pets,” etc.). Start with phrase match for most negative keywords, then use exact match for very specific exclusions and broad match sparingly to avoid over-filtering.

3. Can negative keywords hurt my campaign performance if I use too many?

Yes, overly aggressive negative keyword lists can limit your reach and prevent you from discovering valuable search terms. Be cautious with broad match negative keywords, as they can block relevant variations you haven’t considered. Regularly audit your negative keyword list by reviewing missed opportunities in your search terms report. If you notice declining impressions or traffic without corresponding improvements in quality, you may be over-filtering. Balance is key—block irrelevant traffic while preserving opportunities for relevant searches you may not have anticipated.

4. How often should I review and update my negative keywords list?

Review your negative keywords monthly at minimum, or weekly for high-volume campaigns. Check your search terms report every 1-2 weeks to identify new irrelevant queries triggering your ads. After major campaign changes, product launches, or seasonal shifts, review more frequently. Set up automated alerts for unusual keyword performance and schedule quarterly comprehensive audits of your entire negative keyword strategy. The digital landscape changes rapidly, so staying proactive with negative keyword management is essential for maintaining campaign efficiency.

5. Should I use the same negative keywords across all my campaigns?

Not necessarily. While some universal negative keywords (like “free,” “cheap,” or “jobs”) might apply across campaigns, tailor your negative keyword lists to each campaign’s specific goals and target audience. Create shared negative keyword lists for common exclusions, then add campaign-specific negative keywords based on each campaign’s products, services, or objectives. For example, a luxury brand campaign would have different negative keywords than a budget-focused campaign. Campaign-specific negative keywords ensure more precise targeting while shared lists provide efficient management of universal exclusions.

6. What’s the difference between using negative keywords in Google Ads vs. organic SEO?

Negative keywords primarily apply to paid advertising (Google Ads, Bing Ads) where you can explicitly prevent your ads from showing for specific searches. In organic SEO, there’s no direct equivalent to negative keywords—you can’t prevent your website from ranking for certain terms. However, you can influence this through strategic content optimization, avoiding certain keywords in your content, and using semantic SEO to clarify your content’s intent. For organic SEO, focus on targeting the right keywords rather than excluding wrong ones, though you can de-optimize for unwanted terms by removing them from key on-page elements.

7. How do negative keywords affect my Quality Score and ad performance?

Negative keywords can significantly improve your Quality Score by increasing ad relevance and click-through rates. By filtering out irrelevant searches, negative keywords ensure your ads are shown to users more likely to engage, which improves CTR—a key Quality Score factor. Higher Quality Scores lead to lower costs-per-click and better ad positions. Well-implemented negative keywords also improve conversion rates by attracting more qualified traffic, making your campaigns more cost-effective overall. However, overly restrictive negative keywords can reduce impression volume, so monitor the balance between relevance and reach.

8. What are some common mistakes to avoid when implementing negative keywords?

Common mistakes include: using broad match negative keywords too aggressively (blocking relevant variations), not regularly updating negative keyword lists, applying the same negatives across all campaigns without customization, blocking keywords that could indicate purchase intent (like “review” or “comparison”), and not using different match types strategically. Also avoid blocking brand-related terms unless necessary, neglecting to check for conflicts between positive and negative keywords, and failing to test the impact of negative keywords on performance. Always monitor campaign metrics after adding negative keywords to ensure they’re helping, not hindering, your goals.

Get Help with SEO at SEO Design Chicago

So now we have an answer to what negative keywords are in a search engine optimization sense. Learning how to utilize keywords that are negative is just as important as learning about regular keywords. They both are incredibly cost effective ways at maximizing your online campaigns and website. Do you still have questions? For more help with keywords and search engine optimization, contact us at SEO Design Chicago. We provide a variety of SEO and keyword research services.