Negative Keywords by Industry: Hundreds of Examples to Boost Your Campaigns

Why negative keywords examples Matter for Your Ad Budget

Negative keywords examples are critical for blocking irrelevant searches and preventing wasted ad spend in PPC campaigns. Here are the most common categories you should add immediately:

Universal Negative Keywords (Apply to Most Campaigns):

• Free, Cheap, Discount – filters price-seeking browsers
• Jobs, Salary, Hiring – blocks employment searches
• YouTube, Torrent, Download – excludes piracy and free content seekers
• DIY, How to, Tutorial – removes do-it-yourselfers

B2B/SaaS Negative Keywords:

• Training, Course, Class, Internship
• Case study, White paper, Research
• Resume, Career, Employment

E-commerce/Luxury Negative Keywords:

• Used, Second hand, Repair
• eBay, Craigslist, Wholesale
• Bargain, Clearance, Outlet

Most advertisers waste 20-30% of their ad budget on clicks that never convert. You’re paying for searches like “marketing agency jobs” when you sell marketing software, or “cheap replica watches” when you sell luxury timepieces. Negative keywords are the fastest way to plug those leaks.

Since Google introduced negative keywords in 2002, they’ve been one of the most powerful—yet underutilized—tools in the $300+ billion paid search industry. Unlike positive keywords, negatives don’t match close variants or plurals automatically, which means you need to add them strategically to avoid blocking valuable traffic while filtering out waste.

I’m Lior Krolewicz, and over 15 years managing Google Ads campaigns, I’ve seen accounts cut wasted spend by 40%+ simply by implementing structured negative keywords examples across campaigns. My team has developed proprietary systems that identify these opportunities in days instead of weeks, helping businesses redirect budget toward searches that actually convert.

Handy negative keywords examples terms:

• account level negative keywords google ads
• example of negative keywords

How Negative Keywords Work to Improve PPC ROI

To understand why we obsess over negative keywords examples, you first have to understand the nature of search. Paid search is a “pull” medium. Unlike social media ads that “push” content in front of users, search marketing requires a user to trigger an ad based on their intent. In this $300+ billion industry, precision is everything.

When you add a negative keyword, you are essentially “blacklisting” that term. According to Search Engine Land 2024, these exclusions are the gatekeepers of your account. They protect your Click-Through Rate (CTR) signals, which in turn boosts your Quality Score.

Think of it this way: if 1,000 people search for “free leather couches” and your ad for $2,000 designer sofas appears, your CTR will plummet. Google sees this low CTR and assumes your ad is irrelevant, raising your Cost Per Click (CPC). By using negative keywords, you ensure your ads only show to people with the intent to buy, directly improving your ROI and conversion rate.

As seen in the image above, negative keywords act as a filter. If an optometrist sells eyeglasses but doesn’t sell wine glasses, adding “wine” as a negative prevents them from paying for clicks from thirsty shoppers. It’s a simple fix that saves thousands of dollars in “garbage clicks.”

Negative Keyword Match Types and Implementation Levels

One of the biggest mistakes we see in PPC audits is the misunderstanding of match types. Negative keywords do not behave like positive keywords. Specifically, they do not account for close variants. If you negate “shoe,” your ad might still show for “shoes.” This is why understanding how to add negative keywords in Google Ads the right way is vital.

Match Type	Symbol	How it Works	Example (Negative: running shoes)
Broad	None	Blocks if the query contains all terms in any order.	Blocks “shoes running” but allows “blue tennis shoes.”
Phrase	” “	Blocks if the query contains the exact phrase in order.	Blocks “best running shoes” but allows “running blue shoes.”
Exact	[ ]	Blocks only if the query is the exact term, no extras.	Blocks “running shoes” but allows “cheap running shoes.”

When using these special symbols, Google ignores most characters like periods or plus signs, but it respects ampersands (&) and accent marks (á).

Where to Apply Your Negatives

To keep your account organized, we apply negatives at different “food chain” levels:

1. Account Level: These apply to all Search and Shopping campaigns. Use these for “universal” negatives like “porn” or “torrent.” Learn more about what are account-level negative keywords in google ads and how do they work.
2. Campaign Level: Use these to separate distinct product lines. If you have a campaign for “Men’s Boots,” you might negate “Women” at the campaign level.
3. Ad Group Level: The most granular level. Use these to prevent “internal competition” between similar ad groups.
4. Shared Lists: Google allows you to create up to 20 lists with 5,000 keywords each in the Shared Library. This is the most efficient way to manage negatives across multiple campaigns.

Master List: Universal and Industry-Specific negative keywords examples

Before diving into specifics, every account should start with a “Universal” list. These are terms that almost never lead to a sale for a standard business. You can find an even more exhaustive example of negative keywords in our master guide.

The “Big Five” Universal Negatives:

• Free: Unless you are a charity or have a “freemium” model, this is the #1 budget killer.
• Cheap: If you provide a quality service, you don’t want the “bottom-dollar” hunters who will churn immediately.
• Jobs: People searching for “marketing jobs” are looking for a paycheck, not to give you one.
• YouTube/Craigslist/eBay: Users searching for specific sites are usually “site-blind”—they want that specific platform and will ignore your ad or click it by mistake.
• DIY/How to: These users want to fix the problem themselves for free. They aren’t looking to hire a pro.

negative keywords examples for B2B and SaaS

In the B2B world, the goal is to find decision-makers, not students or employees. We use expert tips for adding negative keywords to filter out non-buyers.

• Employment Terms: salary, resume, internship, career, hiring, interview questions.
• Educational Terms: training, course, class, university, degree, certification.
• Research Terms: white paper, case study, statistics, research, journal, templates.
• Tech/Dev Terms: open source, api, documentation, github, developer, code.

negative keywords examples for E-commerce and Luxury Brands

For e-commerce, especially luxury retailers, the Google Keyword Planner often suggests high-volume terms that are actually low-intent.

• Bargain Hunters: discount, clearance, outlet, sale, coupon, promo code, wholesale, liquidator.
• Second-Hand: used, ebay, craigslist, refurbished, rental, pawn, thrift.
• Service/Parts: repair, parts, manual, spare, installation, assembly.
• Irrelevant Materials: If you sell leather, negate faux, synthetic, plastic, fabric.

Best Practices for Discovery, AI, and Multi-Platform Management

Finding negative keywords examples isn’t a one-time task; it’s a weekly hygiene habit. The most powerful tool at your disposal is the Search Terms Report. This report shows you exactly what people typed before clicking your ad.

At Yael Consulting, we use several ways ppc consultants look for negative keywords:

• Search Term Mining: Look for terms with high spend but zero conversions.
• Competitor Analysis: If people are searching for a competitor’s “customer support” or “login” page, negate those terms so you don’t pay for their existing customers’ clicks.
• Google Suggest: Type your main keyword into Google and see what “garbage” autocomplete suggests.

AI and Performance Max (PMax)

In the age of AI, negative keywords have changed. Performance Max campaigns find relevant queries automatically, but they can go off the rails. Google now allows Brand Exclusions in PMax. This is better than standard negatives because it automatically covers misspellings and foreign language variants of your brand name. However, be careful—over-negating in AI campaigns can “starve” the algorithm. Use negatives only for essential brand safety or completely irrelevant themes.

Microsoft Advertising (Bing Ads)

Don’t forget Microsoft! While similar, Microsoft Advertising has its own quirks. For instance, it does not support keyword-level negatives. You must apply them at the ad group or campaign level. Also, Microsoft account-level lists are capped at 1,000 keywords, so you must be more selective than in Google.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

When managing your lists, try to avoid google adwords negative keyword mistakes:

• Over-blocking: If you negate “men” in a broad match, you might accidentally block “men’s luxury watches.”
• Ignoring Plurals: Negatives don’t match variants! If you negate “manual,” you must also negate “manuals.”
• Conflicting Keywords: Sometimes you accidentally negate a keyword you are actually bidding on. Google will usually show a “Negative keyword conflict” warning—pay attention to it!

Do negative keywords match close variants?

No. This is the most critical technical detail to remember. Unlike positive keywords, which Google “expands” to include misspellings and synonyms, negative keywords are literal. If you want to block “free,” you must manually add “fre,” “freee,” and “freely” if they appear in your search terms.

How many negative keywords can I add to a Google Ads account?

• Negative Keyword Lists: Up to 20 lists per account.
• Keywords per List: Up to 5,000 keywords.
• Campaign Level: Up to 10,000 negative keywords per campaign.
• Display/Video: A maximum of 1,000 negative keywords are considered for these campaign types.

What is the difference between account-level and campaign-level negatives?

Account-level negatives are “global.” They apply to every search, shopping, and PMax campaign in your account. They are best for universal “junk” terms. Campaign-level negatives are specific to a product line or goal, allowing you to funnel traffic to the most relevant ad group without blocking it account-wide.

Conclusion

Mastering negative keywords examples is the difference between a campaign that just “spends money” and one that “generates profit.” By systematically filtering out job seekers, researchers, and bargain hunters, you leave more budget for the customers who are ready to pull out their credit cards.

At Yael Consulting, we don’t believe in “set it and forget it” advertising. As a boutique agency with over 15 years of expertise, we provide direct CEO involvement and proprietary technology to ensure your budget is never wasted on “garbage clicks.” We specialize in high-growth e-commerce and lead generation, offering one-client-per-market exclusivity to ensure we are never competing against ourselves.

If you’re tired of seeing your budget disappear into the void of irrelevant searches, we can help. We offer a free, actionable 15-minute Google Ads analysis where we will personally look at your google-ads-negative-keywords and identify exactly where your budget is leaking. No fluff, just guaranteed value. Let us help you turn your PPC account into a precision-tuned sales engine.