Negative Keywords in Google Ads: How to Find, Add and Manage Them Without Blocking Good Traffic | Synter

For a B2B SaaS campaign targeting "project management software",

compare queries such as "project management jobs", "free project plan

template" and "project management software free trial". A jobs query

may be irrelevant to the offer; a trial query may fit it. Blocking

"free" without checking the full queries can exclude both.

This guide covers how negative keywords match in Google Ads, where to

add them (Performance Max included), and how to review search terms

without blocking good traffic.

What are negative keywords in Google Ads?

A negative keyword [excludes searches according to the match type you

choose](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2453972).

For example, adding "free" as a negative to a Search campaign or ad

group blocks searches containing that word. For a SaaS campaign,

consider "jobs", "salary", "template," and "course" only when

those queries do not fit your offer.

Why negative keywords matter

Irrelevant clicks consume budget. Excluding queries that do not fit your

offer is one way to [cut wasted spend and lower your

CPA](https://synterai.com/blog/reduce-cpa-google-ads). It

also changes which searches contribute impressions, clicks and

conversions:

• Conversion data. Excluding job searches keeps that traffic out of a

campaign selling software.

• Click-through rate and conversion rate. Removing irrelevant

impressions and clicks can change these rates; evaluate them alongside

conversion volume.

• Traffic sculpting. Exclude brand terms from a non-brand campaign

when you want a separate brand campaign to handle them.

Use Quality Score to diagnose relevance issues, rather than as a bidding

target: it [does not enter the ad

auction](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6167118).

Negative keyword match types: broad, phrase, and exact

Negative match types differ from [positive keyword

matching](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2497836).

Broad is the default for negatives and blocks queries containing all the

terms in any order. Phrase blocks the terms in sequence, even with words

before or after them. Exact blocks that sequence only when the query has

no extra words. Enter phrase negatives in quotes, exact negatives in

square brackets, and broad negatives as plain text.

For the negative "running shoes", the table shows which queries remain

eligible. "Yes" means the ad could still show:

Search query Negative broad: Negative phrase: Negative exact:

running shoes "running shoes" \[running shoes\]

• ----------------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------

blue tennis shoes Yes Yes Yes

running shoe Yes Yes Yes

blue running No No Yes

shoes

shoes running No Yes Yes

running shoes No No No

A negative "flowers" blocks "red flowers" but leaves "red flower"

eligible. Add singular, plural and synonym exclusions separately; casing

and misspellings are handled automatically. Positive keywords can

[match close variants across all match

types](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/9342105),

including synonyms and searches with the same intent, with no opt-out.

Review the report for variants your negative list does not cover.

Also account for symbol handling and long queries:

• Ampersands, accents, and asterisks are recognized; "sidewalk cafe"

and "sidewalk café" are two different negatives.

• Periods are ignored, "site:" is removed, "OR" is ignored, and a

leading minus makes that word ignored ("dark -chocolate" acts as

"dark").

• A negative that sits after the 16th word of a long search might not

block it.

Where to add negative keywords: ad group, campaign, list, or account

**Add each negative keyword at the narrowest level that solves the

problem.** The scope and [account

limits](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6372658)

below determine which campaigns an exclusion can affect:

Level What it blocks Limit Use it for

• ----------------- ----------------- ------------------- -----------------

Ad group Searches for that No Traffic sculpting

ad group only negative-specific between ad groups

cap on Google's

limits page

Campaign Searches for 10,000 per campaign Exclusions

every ad group in specific to one

the campaign campaign's offer

Negative keyword Every campaign 5,000 per list, 20 Shared themes:

list the list is lists per account jobs, education,

applied to competitor brands

Account level Search and 1,000 per account Terms you never

shopping want on any

inventory in search inventory

Search,

Performance Max,

App, Shopping,

Smart and Local

campaigns

Display and Video Placements; Max 1,000 Light filtering;

negatives act as considered use content

broad match, and exclusions for

Display excludes control

the related topic

A shared list can contain [up to 5,000 negatives, with up to 20 lists

per

account](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2453983).

[Account-level negatives cover eligible search and shopping

inventory](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/11396330).

The [5,000-per-list cap can

change](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7102995),

and you can apply a list to up to 1,000 campaigns at once.

**Alt text: Google Ads negative keyword levels: account level covers

search and shopping inventory in Search, Performance Max, Shopping, App,

Smart and Local campaigns; lists cover the campaigns they are applied

to; campaign and ad group negatives stay inside one campaign; Display

and Video treat negatives as broad and topic-based.**

Negative keywords in Performance Max

You can add [campaign-level

negatives](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/15726455)

to all campaigns or a specific Performance Max campaign, including

through an existing negative keyword list. They affect Search and

Shopping inventory only. Account-level negatives also apply to

Performance Max.

Before saving a broad exclusion in Performance Max, [preview its

estimated effect on conversions or conversion

value](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16973204).

The preview supports up to 10 negatives at a time and is available only

for Performance Max. To exclude a brand, use [brand

exclusions](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/13721847),

which cover misspellings and variants on Search and Shopping inventory.

For Display and Video inventory, use [excluded content

keywords](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16327396).

How to find negative keywords

Start with the search terms report

Open the [search terms

report](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7102466)

under Campaigns, then Insights and reports, then Search terms. Pick a

30-day range, filter to terms with cost and zero conversions, and sort

by cost. Enable the Keyword column to trace each query back to the

keyword that triggered it; that column is hidden by default.

[Some low-volume queries are omitted for

privacy](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2472708),

so the report is not a complete list of searches. Our [search terms

report

template](https://synterai.com/templates/audit/search-terms-report)

uses read-only access to recommend negatives by intent pattern.

Group search terms into word patterns

**Group search queries by shared words (n-grams) instead of reviewing

them one at a time.** Split each search term into single words and

two-word pairs, then total cost and conversions per word. In an

illustrative B2B account, "pm software jobs", "project manager jobs

remote" and "jobs using jira" share "jobs" and have no conversions,

so one negative "jobs" covers all three and any future search

containing that word, because negative broad match blocks any search

containing all of its terms. Add "job" separately, since negatives

skip plurals.

Use Keyword Planner and a manual Google search before launch

Before launch, use Keyword Planner to [find related keywords and search

estimates](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7337243),

then scan the ideas for queries unrelated to your offer. Search your top

keywords yourself too: if a software query such as "data pipeline"

returns plumbing suppliers or university courses, inspect those specific

terms before deciding what to exclude.

Search terms for Performance Max

Performance Max has its own view of the report: open Campaigns, then

Insights and reports, then Search terms, and choose "Search terms and

landing pages for Performance Max" (data from March 2023 onward).

[Search terms

insights](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/11386930),

under Insights, groups terms into categories, including low-volume terms

the report hides. Check both weekly.

Decide what is really negative

Not every non-converting search query deserves a negative keyword. Sort

candidates into three buckets:

1. Irrelevant. Wrong product or wrong meaning, like Google's own

"wine glasses" example for an eyeglasses seller. Block it.

1. Relevant but low intent. "What is a data warehouse" is your

topic but not today's buyer. Block it in conversion campaigns.

1. Grey zone. "Free trial", "pricing", "alternative to", and

"vs" queries may fit your offer. Consider a separate ad group and

ad, then review their conversion data before excluding them.

For relevant queries, check whether the bid, ad, and landing page fit

the intent before deciding to block the search.

How to add negative keywords in Google Ads

Menu labels below come from Google Ads Help as of October 2026; where

Google's articles disagree, we show both.

From the search terms report

1. Open Campaigns, then Insights and reports, then Search terms.

1. Tick the terms to exclude and click Add as negative keyword.

1. Choose an ad group or campaign, an existing negative keyword list or

a new list, then save.

Check the match type first. Negative keywords added from the report

go in as negative exact match by default, so the same waste returns as

soon as someone adds a word. Retype the term in quotes or as plain text

if you meant phrase or broad.

To a campaign or ad group

1. [Go to Keywords within the Campaigns menu and open the Negative

keywords

tab](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7449003).

Google also documents an alternate path: Audiences, keywords, and

content, then Search keywords, then "Negative search keywords".

1. Click the plus button, choose the campaign or ad group, and add one

negative per line.

1. Optionally tick Save to new or existing list, then save.

Create and apply a negative keyword list

1. Add negatives to a campaign as above and tick **Save to new or

existing list** with a new list name.

1. Go to Tools, then Shared library, then Exclusion lists, open the

"Negative keyword lists" tab, select the list, and click **Apply

to campaigns**.

1. Tick the campaigns that should use it. For App campaigns, Google

says to contact your Google representative.

At account level

1. In your Google Ads account, click the Admin icon, then Account

settings, and expand "Negative keywords". Google's [alternate

documented path starts with Settings instead of

Admin](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7102298).

1. Click the plus button, enter one word or phrase per line, and save.

1. Change match types in the "Match type" column.

Building a negative keyword list: starter categories

Use these B2B and SaaS examples as candidates to check against your own

search terms, not a universal exclusion list. Each category can also

contain queries that fit your offer.

Category Example terms When NOT to exclude

• ----------------------- ----------------------- -----------------------

Jobs and careers jobs, careers, hiring, You recruit through

salary, internship ads, or sell HR

software

Free and cheap free download, cheap, You offer a free plan

crack, torrent or trial; keep "free

trial"

DIY and how-to how to make, diy, Developer tools, where

tutorial tutorials convert to

sign-ups

Training and courses course, certification, You sell training, or

training, bootcamp certification drives

purchase

Definitions and what is, definition, Top-of-funnel campaigns

research meaning, examples, pdf with their own budget

Wrong product or the other meaning of Buyers use the same

industry your keyword word for your product

("pipeline" plumbing)

Competitor brands rival product names Your competitor

campaign; keep them in

a separate list

Your own brand company and product Your brand campaigns

names, in non-brand

campaigns

Locations you don't countries and cities Location targeting

serve outside your market already covers it

Keep each category in its own named list, so you can remove one list

when it stops being true.

Common negative keyword mistakes that block good traffic

• Single-word negatives that are too wide. A broad or phrase

negative "free" also blocks "free trial", since a one-word

negative of either type blocks any search containing that word. For

words with a valuable sibling, negate the longer phrase ("free

download") or use negative exact match.

• Negatives that overlap your own keywords. An overlapping negative

can prevent your ad from showing. For example, a campaign-level

"software" negative can exclude queries containing the product

category you sell.

• Excluding a term that converted. Check a longer date range before

excluding a term with ad spend. A query with no recent conversions may

have produced conversions earlier.

• Forgetting plurals and synonyms. Because negatives skip close

variants, "template" does not block "templates".

• Keeping the report's default exact match. It blocks one query,

which looks like progress until the next variation arrives.

• Never review old lists. Recheck them when you launch a product,

plan, or market.

• Using account level for a campaign problem. Account-level

negatives also reach Performance Max, Shopping, App, Smart, and Local

campaigns.

All of these are easier to undo with [a log of every negative the agent

added](https://synterai.com/blog/ai-agent-audit-trails-ad-spend),

or a person added, with the reason and date.

Mining negative keywords at scale with an AI agent

Searches can consume budget between weekly reviews. Choose a review

frequency that fits the account, and use the Google Ads UI for a manual

pass. Google Ads scripts can [add negatives to shared lists

programmatically](https://developers.google.com/google-ads/scripts/docs/reference/adsapp/adsapp_negativekeywordlist);

rules-based tools such as Optmyzr can automate parts of the routine.

For a daily agent workflow, separate discovery, authorization and

recovery:

1. Pull search terms daily, with cost and conversions.

1. Group them by shared words.

1. Propose each negative with a match type, a level, and a reason.

1. Wait for approval, or apply within rules you set.

1. Log the change with before and after values.

1. Allow rollback when a negative blocks good traffic.

Our [Google Ads agent mines search terms

daily](https://synterai.com/google-ads-ai-agent), flags

irrelevant search queries, and adds negative keywords at campaign or ad

group level with a rationale for each. Our PPC workflow lets you

[approve suggested negatives in one

click](https://synterai.com/for/ppc-managers), but the

enforced policy depends on how the agent runs.

Background autonomous agents and interactive calls use [different

approval

policies](https://docs.synterai.com/mcp/approval-model).

Background agents default to "Ask before acting", which holds

ad-account changes for approval. Calls over MCP, REST or the CLI follow

the workspace autonomy level (Off, Suggest, Auto (safe) or Auto (full));

under Suggest, routine keyword changes run immediately. Do not assume a

negative-keyword addition waits for approval: that action is not

explicitly classified in the current policy. Every decision enters the

workspace audit log. Our [change

journal](https://synterai.com/security-governance) records

old and new values and the agent's reason, with rollback for the last 10

changes per entity, negatives included.

If you run Google Ads from Claude or another MCP client, [connect

Synter's MCP

server](https://synterai.com/installation-instructions) and

try this:

Pull the last 30 days of search terms for campaign "SaaS - Generic"

with cost over \$50 and zero conversions. Group them by shared words and

propose negatives with match type, level (ad group, campaign, or shared

list), and a one-line reason for each. Do not apply anything until I

approve.

The prompt's final line asks the model to wait; it does not enforce a

write restriction. Your MCP client's confirmation prompt runs locally,

outside Synter. For a proposal-only pass, set the autonomy level to Off,

which blocks live changes, and restore write access only when you are

ready to authorize it. We also support [explicit negative-keyword match

types for Microsoft Ads](https://synterai.com/changelog).

Check defaults when copying lists: [Microsoft defaults to phrase

negatives](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/advertising/guides/negative-keywords?view=bingads-13),

while Google defaults to broad.

Review search terms on a schedule, add each negative at the narrowest

level that works, and record a reason for each exclusion. To try the

workflow, run the prompt above, or start on [Solo, our developer plan

for connecting agents over

MCP](https://synterai.com/pricing) (\$20 a month with \$20

in claimable monthly usage credits).

FAQ

How do you find negative keywords in Google Ads?

Open Campaigns, then Insights and reports, then Search terms, filter to

terms with cost and no conversions, sort by cost, and group the results

by shared words so one negative covers a cluster.

What are examples of negative keywords?

For B2B and SaaS advertisers: jobs, salary, course, definition, free

download, and your own brand in non-brand campaigns. Check each against

your search terms first, because "free" can block "free trial".

How do you add account-level negative keywords in Google Ads?

Click the Admin icon, then Account settings, expand "Negative

keywords", click the plus button, and add one term per line, up to

1,000 terms.

What's the benefit of negative keywords?

They exclude searches that match your negative terms. Use them to avoid

queries unrelated to your offer and to keep brand terms out of non-brand

campaigns. Check the match type and scope so you do not exclude

potential buyers.

Can you add negative keywords to Performance Max?

Yes, to all campaigns or a specific Performance Max campaign, or through

an existing list, for Search and Shopping inventory only.

How many negative keywords can you add?

Up to 10,000 per campaign, 5,000 per list with 20 lists per account, and

1,000 at account level. Display and Video campaigns have a maximum of

1,000.

Should negative keywords be exact match?

Not by default. Negative exact match blocks one search query and leaves

longer variations alone, so use it to remove a single search. Use phrase

for a word sequence you never want, and broad when the words together

signal the wrong intent in any order.