How to Add Negative Keywords in Google Ads

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNg-619sNj8

If you're paying for clicks from people searching 'plumber salary' or 'DIY plumbing,' you're wasting money. Negative keywords fix this. Let me show you how.

I'm Kelsey with KaeRae Marketing. Negative keywords are one of the most powerful tools in Google Ads — and one of the most ignored.

Here's what they are, why you need them, and exactly how to add them.

Negative keywords tell Google: 'Don't show my ad when someone searches for this.'

So if you're a plumber and you add 'jobs' as a negative keyword, your ad won't show up when someone searches 'plumber jobs' or 'plumbing jobs near me.'

This saves you money because you're not paying for clicks from people who are never going to hire you.

Here's what happens without negative keywords:

You're a plumber. You bid on the keyword 'plumber.' Sounds reasonable, right?

But Google might show your ad for:

'plumber salary'

'how to become a plumber'

'plumber supplies wholesale'

'plumber crack meme'

Yes, that last one is real. I've seen it in search term reports.

Every one of those clicks costs you money. And none of them are going to turn into a customer.

Before you add negative keywords, you need to know what junk searches you're showing up for. That's in your Search Terms Report — I have a separate video on that.

But common ones for home service businesses include:

'jobs,' 'career,' 'salary,' 'hiring'

'DIY,' 'how to,' 'tutorial'

'free,' 'cheap' (depending on your business)

'wholesale,' 'supplies,' 'parts'

Names of competitors (unless you want to bid on those)

Here's how to add them:

Step 1: Go to your Google Ads account.

Step 2: Click on 'Keywords' in the left menu, then 'Negative keywords.'

Step 3: Click the blue plus button.

Step 4: You can add them to a specific campaign, or create a negative keyword list that applies to your whole account. I recommend creating a list — that way you only have to add each word once.

Step 5: Type in your negative keywords, one per line. Hit save.

That's it. Those searches are now blocked.

Quick note on match types — this trips people up.

If you add 'jobs' as a broad match negative, it blocks any search containing the word 'jobs.'

If you add it as phrase match (with quotes), it only blocks searches where 'jobs' appears as a phrase.

If you add it as exact match (with brackets), it only blocks that exact search.

For most negative keywords, broad match works fine. You want to block anything containing that word.

Here's the thing — adding negative keywords isn't a one-time thing.

You should check your Search Terms Report at least once a week when you're starting out, then at least monthly once things are stable.

Every time you see a garbage search that got a click, add it as a negative keyword. Over time, your campaigns get cleaner and more efficient.

To add negative keywords:

Go to Keywords > Negative Keywords. Create a negative keyword list for your account. Add words like 'jobs,' 'DIY,' 'salary,' 'free,' and anything else that's wasting your budget. Check your search terms report regularly and keep adding.

This is one of the easiest ways to stop wasting money on Google Ads.