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The Ultimate Negative Keyword List (400+ Keywords to Use Now)

Negative Keyword List

[This post was originally published on July 20, 2022 and updated on November 20, 2023]

Negative keywords are an extremely important part of pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns.

By adding negative keywords to your ad campaign, you ensure that your ads are only shown to people who are actually interested in what you’re selling. You can effectively filter out irrelevant traffic and see an almost immediate improvement in your Quality Score, ad performance and ROAS.

But finding the right negative keywords can be a challenge. That’s why we’ve put together this list of 400 negative keywords that you can add to your campaigns today.

Just copy and paste the list into your Google Ads account and you’ll instantly improve your campaign’s performance.

Also, definitely take a look at our list of 280+ spammy made-for-advertising websites, if you haven’t already. You can add these to your site exclusion list in Google Ads to ensure your banner ads don’t run on any of them and kill your performance.

What are negative keywords?

Negative keywords are words or phrases that you add to your advertising campaigns so that your ad won’t appear when people include those terms in their search. That way, you avoid paying for clicks from users who aren’t interested in what you’re selling.

For example, let’s say you sell video games. You would want to reach users that search for “play video games” and similar search phrases such as “play video games online now” but you probably want to exclude “play video games for free” or “get a job in video games.” In this case “free” and “job” (phrase match) are great terms to add to your negative keyword list since the users don’t intend to spend any money with you.

For more advanced marketers, you can also add negative keywords at the ad group level too. Ad groups are a way to organize your keywords into small, more manageable groups. So if you have an ad group for “role playing” video games, you should then add the negative keyword “fighting” video games to that entire ad group. That way, your ads don’t have a chance to overlap ad groups and complicate your performance data.

The benefits of adding negative keywords to your campaigns

Adding negative keywords is an essential part of any pay-per-click campaign and there are several key benefits:

  1. The keywords you’re buying are often too broad; adding negative keywords ensures your ads are only shown to people who are actually interested in what you’re selling.
  2. It helps you filter out unqualified clicks and impressions such as those not looking to buy anything.
  3. It can help you improve your campaign’s overall performance. Every click matters as keywords can be very expensive (Read more: The most expensive Google Ads keywords)

So if you’re not already using negative keywords, be sure to add the list below to your campaigns today.

The ultimate list of 400 negative keywords

To help you get started, we’ve put together a list of 400 negative keywords grouped into categories. Just add these to your Google Ads account as phrase match types (using quotes), and you’ll instantly improve your campaign’s performance.

The list is organized into categories to make it easier for you to find the right keywords for your campaign.

👉  Download list of 400 negative keywords (.csv file)

This list includes all of these keywords (in phrase match):

Deals
Bargain hunters can ruin your return-on-investment (ROI) by avoiding your regular priced products.

bargain
cheap
cheapest
clearance
close out
close outs
closeout
closeouts
discount
discounted
free
freemium
hack
hacks
inexpensive
liquidation
low cost
odd lots
overstock
remainder
remainders
short cut
short cuts
shortcut
shortcuts

Job-Related
Unless you’re actively running ads to hire for job roles, avoid having your ads appear for job seekers.

career
careers
curriculum vitae
CV
employer
employers
employment
full time
hire
hiring
intern
interns
internship
internships
job
job opening
job openings
jobs
looking for work
new hires
occupation
occupations
opening
openings
opportunities
opportunity
part time
recruiter
recruiters
recruiting
recruitment
resume
resumes
salaries
salary
salary
work

DIY
These users are often more thrifty with their budgets and would rather make them at home for cheap than buy them online.

craft
crafts
create
creating
DIY
do it yourself
hand made
handmade
home
homemade
how can
how can I
how do I
how does
how to make
making

Researchers
Users searching for these terms are often too high in your purchase funnel and can require high touch before converting.

about
article
articles
book
books
calculator
case studies
case study
data
define
definition
diagram
example
examples
forum
forums
guide
guides
history
journal
journals
learn about
magazine
magazines
map
maps
metrics
news
report
reports
research
resource
resources
review
reviews
sample
samples
statistics
stats
success stories
success story
tutorial
tutorials
what are
what i
white paper
white papers

Used Products
Consumers searching for used and second-hand items are typically bargain/coupon shoppers.

rent
fix
old
refurbished
rental
repair
repairs
secondhand
used
vintage

Academic, Certification, Training, Education, Schools & University
These users are looking for learning materials rather than shopping. Naturally if you sell books or education guides, then you should leave these out of your negative keyword list.

about
admission
admissions
article
articles
association
associations
book
books
calculator
certification
certifications
class
classes
club
clubs
college
colleges
conference
conferences
council
councils
course
courses
degree
degrees
education
exam
exams
guide
guidebook
guidebooks
guides
institute
institutes
instruction
instructions
instructor
instructors
journal
journals
learn
learning
lesson
lessons
libraries
library
manual
manuals
program
programs
scholarship
school
schools
seminar
seminars
studies
study
teacher
teachers
test
tests
textbook
textbooks
train
trainee
trainer
training
tutor
tutorial
tutorials
tutors
universities
university
white paper
white papers
workshop
workshops

Price & Quotes
If your product pricing is cheaper than your competitors, then go ahead and target these keywords, otherwise add them to your negative keyword list.

price
prices
pricing
quote
quotes
sample
samples

Computer
This category is a bit challenging. Developers are often looking for free code libraries on the web or tools to help them build software. But this may be a good target for enterprise software companies so be sure to review these carefully before adding.

burn
burner
cd
code
community
desktop
developer
developers
disk
dvd
error
file
files
forum
freeware
gnu
hack
hacks
libraries
library
microsoft
open source
public domain
retailer
retailers
shareware
shortcut
shortcuts
template
templates
tip
tips
torrent
torrents
video
windows
wordpress

Manufacturers & Industrial

antique
consumer
export
exporter
exporters
hobby
import
importer
importers
measurement
metrics
model
models
regulations
rent
rental
repair
repairs
retail
retailer
retailers
rules
safety
specifications
specs
standards

Materials
This is often related to “DIY” in that the consumers are thrifty and would prefer to make items themselves.

aluminum
ceramic
cotton
fabric
glass
gold
iron
leather
metal
paper
plastic
rubber
silver
stainless steel
steel
stone
vinyl
wood

Informational
Similar to “Researchers,” these users are soft shoppers that are very early in the purchase process.

blog
blogs
book
books
bulletin
bulletins
channel
diagram
definition
FAQ
info
information
library
meaning of
news
newsletter
newsletters
newspaper
newspapers
police
theories
theory
weather
what are
what is
when can
when i
where can
wiki
wikipedia

Media
Consumers looking for specific file types aren’t great shoppers either, unless your business offers stock photography and the like.

film
films
graphic
graphics
icon
icons
image
images
j-peg
j-pegs
jpeg
jpegs
jpg
jpg’s
logo
logos
lyric
lyrics
music
music video
pdf
pdfs
photo
photograph
photographs
photos
pics
picture
pictures
pix
ringtones
movie
movies
mp3
msnbc
mtv
music
video
videos

Advertising
Users looking for advertising programs aren’t looking to buy your products, but will instead click on your ads looking to promote your products.

adsense
advertisement
advertising
advice
affiliate
affiliates

Legal
As a rule of thumb, targeting users searching for lawsuits or regulatory issues around your product keywords isn’t a good idea.

act
law
laws
lawsuit
lawyer
lawyers
lease
legal
legislation
legislations
regulation
regulations

Sites
Often users searching on these sites are looking for second-hand products or simply socializing online.

craigslist
craigs list
ebay
facebook
face book
pinterest
snapchat
twitter
tiktok
tik tok
youtube
you tube
utube

If you’re looking for more negative keyword lists that are customized to your current campaign performance, there are services such as Wordstream and Karooya that can help (no affiliation with us!)

How to add negative keywords to Google Ads

Adding negative keywords to your campaign is a great way to improve its overall performance. Here’s how to add this list to your Google Ads campaigns:

STEP 1:

Next, create a list by selecting the icon shown,. Then paste these keywords into the area shown, title the list (such as “General Keyword List”) and save it.

STEP 2:

Lastly, you’ll want to assign the list you just created to each campaign. To do this, select “All Campaigns” and then “Negative Keywords” (inside the “Keywords” tab) and follow the instructions noted on page.

STEP 3:

By following these steps, you can add negative keywords to your campaign and see an immediate improvement in its performance. 

Other free ways to optimize your ad campaigns

Here’s several other resources from our editors that are free and can help you reduce your ad waste and improve your campaign results:

Conclusion

Negative keywords are a powerful tool for all PPC advertisers. The ultimate goal is not just to increase traffic, but to attract the right kind of traffic that’s most likely to convert. With these 400 negative keywords, you can significantly improve your ad performance, reduce wasteful spend and increase your ROI.

Remember to regularly review and update your negative keywords list to ensure that your Google Ads campaigns remain effective and relevant. Happy optimizing!

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