Add negative keywords Google Ads can apply, step by step

Decide what to exclude before opening the editor

Start with the business reason. A retailer selling new office desks may reject used office desk pickup, while a store offering refurbished furniture may welcome it. A query with no conversion is not automatically irrelevant. Confirm what the business sells, what the campaign promotes and whether conversion reporting has had time to mature.

Check the account and campaign identity before editing. Agency managers can move between similar account names and accidentally apply a correct rule to the wrong advertiser. Keep the source query, reason, destination and match type together in the change record so another reviewer can understand the intended action.

Google negative keywords use broad, phrase and exact matching. Broad requires all negative terms in any order. Phrase requires the same sequence. Exact requires the complete query without extra words. They do not expand to close variants, so plurals and alternative wording need separate review.

The negative keyword match types guide explains these mechanics. For the steps below, consider an office furniture retailer that sells new desks without used inventory. The query used office desk pickup is outside that offer. Free office desk delivery could still describe a valid purchase.

Add exclusions from the search terms report

Open the relevant account, select the campaigns you want to inspect and open the search terms report. Google changes navigation groupings, so use the report's function rather than relying on a fixed sidebar location. Confirm the date range and keep campaign and ad group context visible while reviewing rows.

Sort by cost and inspect the actual query text. Select the irrelevant search or searches and choose the action for adding them as negatives. Review the proposed entries individually. A row selection is convenient input, but it does not settle which match type or level fits the business reason.

For used office desk pickup, exact [used office desk pickup] blocks that complete query while leaving longer or different searches eligible. Phrase "used office desk" extends the block to searches containing that sequence. Choose the broader option only after checking that the same intent is unsuitable throughout the destination.

Choose the supported campaign, ad group or list destination offered by the workflow. Confirm the intended campaign explicitly rather than trusting the selection inherited from a filtered report. If the correct shared list is not offered there, save the reviewed candidate and use the dedicated list workflow.

Save the change and reopen the destination's negatives to confirm its wording and match type. Keep a record of the source query and review date. The search terms report guide explains why hidden queries and conversion delay limit what you can conclude from the visible rows.

Open Keywords then Negative keywords

For direct additions, open Keywords, then Negative keywords in the relevant account or campaign context. Start an addition and select the supported level. For Search campaigns, ad group scope fits local routing decisions, while campaign scope affects the campaign's relevant ad groups.

Enter one exclusion per line using the format supported by the screen. In text entry surfaces that accept match notation, plain words represent negative broad, quotation marks represent phrase and square brackets represent exact. Where the interface provides a separate match type selector, inspect that field as well.

Do not paste a mixed spreadsheet and assume Google infers the intended columns. Preview the parsed entries and ensure punctuation creates matching behavior rather than becoming unintended text. Check singular and plural entries separately. Do not add variants unless they represent searches the business actually rejects.

Before saving a campaign negative, inspect whether another ad group in that campaign needs the search. If a desks ad group should reject office chair, but a chairs ad group should receive it, an account or campaign exclusion can block both. Use ad group scope where supported and verify the receiving group's eligibility.

After saving, review the negatives table with the level and match type visible. A positive keyword cannot override an applicable negative. If the new rule conflicts with valuable demand, change its wording, narrow its reach or remove it. Adding another positive keyword does not repair that conflict.

Create shared negative keyword lists in Shared library

Open the account's shared assets area and find negative keyword lists in Shared library. Navigation can place that area within a tools section. Create a list with a name that describes its business purpose, then add the reviewed exclusions and their intended match types.

A list named employment intent for retail campaigns communicates more than general negatives. Keep universal exclusions separate from product routing and temporary tests. Mixing them makes later attachments risky because a manager cannot tell whether every rule applies to the campaign being added.

Attach the list to the intended supported campaigns and inspect the associations after saving. A list with no attachments does not affect campaign eligibility. Conversely, adding a term to an attached list affects every campaign using it, including campaigns outside the report that triggered the change.

Suppose a retailer also runs recruitment advertising. An employment list may fit retail acquisition campaigns but conflict with recruitment. The right implementation is selective attachments, not an account wide jobs rule. Read the negative keywords list guide when organizing categories and exceptions.

A native list is not automatically distributed to every advertiser account an agency manages. Reuse across accounts needs an explicit supported process and a conflict review for each destination. Similar business names or industry categories do not establish that catalogs, services and exceptions match.

Add account level negatives only after a wider review

Open account settings and locate the account level negative keyword controls. Review their stated coverage and existing entries before adding new ones. These exclusions apply across eligible search and shopping inventory in supported campaign types, rather than acting as a universal placement exclusion across Google.

Choose account scope only for a durable rule shared by the entire business. If the store never sells used products, a carefully worded condition exclusion may fit. If a separate campaign sells refurbished stock, keep the used inventory decision local and review the wording more closely.

Add the reviewed entries, confirm match types and save. Inspect the account level list afterward and check affected campaign types. Avoid duplicating the same new rule in every campaign without a reason, since duplicate layers make it harder to locate and reverse a block.

Performance Max supports account level negatives and campaign level negative keyword lists where the platform allows. Verify the actual account controls rather than treating its asset groups as Search ad groups. Standard Shopping supports campaign and ad group negatives and shared lists. Check the destination for the specific campaign type.

Match the destination to the business decision

Use the campaign versus account level guide if the same phrase appears in several campaigns. Repeated appearance does not by itself justify account scope. The reason must remain true for all the products and services affected by the wider rule.

Use Google Ads Editor for reviewed bulk additions

Open Google Ads Editor and download recent changes for the correct account. Working from an old local view can hide a newly added campaign or existing exclusion. Select the negative keyword entity for the supported level rather than the positive keyword table, then prepare the bulk addition.

Build the import using the Editor's current field mapping or a compatible exported template. Include the negative text, explicit match type and the destination identifiers or names the import requires. Campaign and ad group fields must resolve to the intended entities. Avoid relying on positional columns without inspecting the mapping.

Use the bulk entry or CSV import workflow and review the parsed result before applying it locally. Inspect duplicate entries, unrecognized destinations and match type errors. A negative phrase should appear as phrase after parsing, not as broad text with stray quotation marks or a positive keyword.

Review the pending local changes and run the Editor's checks before posting. Filter the pending set to confirm it contains the intended negatives. Downloading an account does not authorize unrelated local edits, so inspect the full pending change set if the account has been edited by another manager.

Post the approved changes and read the result. Resolve rejected entries and verify the accepted exclusions in the account. Saving a CSV or applying changes locally does not publish them. For shared list associations or campaign controls outside the supported bulk surface, use the appropriate live account workflow and verify separately.

NegativeKeywords exports Google Ads Editor CSV with proposed exclusions. Treat the export as a reviewable change set: confirm the account, destination and match types, inspect conflicts and read import results. The file helps transfer decisions, but successful publication still depends on accepted platform entries.

Test coverage and conflicts after adding negatives

Use actual queries to test the intended rule. Phrase "used office desk" blocks cheap used office desk pickup because the sequence appears. It does not block used office desks pickup automatically, because negatives do not expand to close variants. Review the plural explicitly instead of assuming it is covered.

Exact [used office desk pickup] leaves used office desk pickup near me eligible because it adds words. Broad used desk blocks a query containing both words in either order, potentially reaching more intent than the original row. Test that wider coverage before using broad merely to reduce list length.

Check active keywords, product names and converting queries against each proposed exclusion. Inspect applicable account negatives, campaign negatives, ad group negatives and attached lists. If a useful query remains blocked after a reversal, another layer may contain the same or a broader rule.

Review reporting dates after the addition and allow for reporting delays. Historical query rows remain in earlier date ranges after a negative is added. Their continued appearance in an old report does not mean the new rule failed. Examine fresh eligible traffic and the precise matching behavior.

Also verify useful demand. Watch the relevant purchase queries and product eligibility without attributing every performance movement to negatives. Budget changes, bidding, promotions and conversion lag can affect the same period. Maintain an audit record so an unwanted effect can be traced to the actual entry and scope.