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Every click costs money. However, not every click comes from someone who wants to make a purchase.
A user may search for the exact name of your product without actually wanting to buy it. They may be looking for a guide, a repair, a used item, or a free alternative. The query looks relevant, but it lacks purchase intent.
This is where negative keywords help. These are terms for which you do not want your ad to appear. Their purpose is to reduce unnecessary clicks and focus your budget on people who are more likely to make a purchase.
Almost-right searches are often the most expensive
Terms such as “free,” “part-time job,” or “second-hand” are easy to identify. A bigger problem is queries that are related to the offer, but the user is looking for something else.
An electronics e-shop may pay for clicks from people looking for repair services. A seller of new furniture may pay for visits from people interested in used furniture. A company offering a paid service may reach people who want a free guide. The ad receives clicks, but no orders follow.
*Generated by AI
Negative keywords are therefore not just a simple filter. They help define the boundaries of a campaign and determine which searches have real value for the company. This is also why they are an important part of a successful PPC campaign.
However, do not block everything that does not lead to an order
The opposite mistake is excluding terms too quickly.
Two clicks without an order may not mean anything yet. It is a different situation when a query continues to spend the budget over time without producing any result.
Before excluding a term, check:
- whether it truly does not match your offer,
- how many clicks it generated and how much it cost,
- what the user was probably looking for,
- whether the ad is sending users to the wrong page.
Sometimes the problem is not the search query itself. A person may be looking for the right product, but after clicking, they are taken to a general page instead of a specific offer. In that case, adding a negative keyword would not solve the actual problem.
Create a simple system
Instead of one endless list, create thematic lists of negative keywords.
For example, you can manage job-related queries, guides, repairs, used products, or brands you do not sell separately. You can then use each list only in the campaigns where it makes sense.
Also review older exclusions, because a term that was irrelevant a year ago may now be part of your offer. An old negative keyword may therefore be quietly blocking potential customers.
*Generated by AI
Automation Still Requires Oversight
Regular monitoring is also important for Performance Max campaigns. This is an automated campaign type in which Google largely decides where and to whom the ad is shown.
However, the control options are expanding. You can read more about them in the article about the higher limit for negative keywords in Performance Max.
A good strategy is not based on blocking as many terms as possible. The goal is to remove searches that waste the budget while still giving the campaign room to acquire new customers.
It is not enough to tell Google whom you want to reach. It is equally important to determine for which searches you no longer want your ads to appear.
With BlueWinston, you can gain a better overview of product campaign performance, automate selected tasks, and focus your budget on customers who are more likely to make a purchase.
We are currently launching a tool in BlueWinston for removing underperforming search terms in Performance Max campaigns for Microsoft Ads. The tool automatically identifies underperforming terms and simplifies their
If you want to find out where your campaigns are unnecessarily wasting budget and how to work more effectively with negative keywords, contact us at [email protected]
