Negative Keywords

[webgeek]

The below is something I've borrowed / compiled from several sources, but feel free to use as you see fit - just sharing it in case anyone has wondered what negative keywords to use in their pay per click campaigns.

Generally speaking, the idea is to remove words which signal intent of someone looking for information, navigation or purchase that is not related to what you have on offer. As such, review these words and remove any which you believe would be legitimately used for whatever you're selling.

Note: I have a list of adult/banned words you might want to include, but I'm not publishing them here, as I'd hate to offend anyone's modesty.

Section 1: Discount Terms
bargain
bargains
blowout
cheap
cheapest
clearance
close out
close outs
closeouts
coupon
coupons
deal
deals
discount
discount code
discount codes
discounted
discounts
half off
half price
half priced
inexpensive
internet special
liquidation
low cost
low price
lowest cost
lowest price
odd lots
online special
outlet
outlets
overstock
promo code
promo codes
promotional code
promotional codes
rebate
rebates
remainder
remainders
sale
sales
surplus
warehouse
warehouses
wholesale
wholesales


Section 2: Generic
antique
antiques
association
associations
attorney
auction
auctions
auto
automobile
autos
book
books
car
cars
civil suit
classical
classifieds
club
clubs
collectible
collectibles
council
councils
courts
craigslist
download
ebay
facebook
flight
flights
free
gamble
gambling
game
games
government
grant
hand made
handmade
history
home
homemade
how do I
how to
illegal
institute
institutes
investigate
itunes
jackpot
kijiji
law
law firm
laws
lawyer
lawyers
learn about
legal
legislation
loan
loans
lottery
lotto
lyrics
mega millions
movie
movies
mp3
mtv
myspace
naked
nude
paralegal
paralegals
porn
porno
powerball
real estate
recipe
refinance
refinancing
regulation
regulations
repo
repossessed
repossession
ringtone
rules
safety
scam
scams
second hand
seized
sex
sexy
stock
stocks
theories
theory
torrent
torrents
toy
toys
travel
traveling
used
utube
vehicle
vehicles
you tube
youtube


Section 3: Job Related
career
careers
employer
employers
employment
full time
hire
hiring
intern
job
jobs
occupation
occupations
part time
pay
recruiter
recruiters
recruitment
resume
resumes
salaries
salary
work
direct hire
direct placement
freelance
freelancer
freelancers
freelancing
full-time
head hunter
independent contractors
interns
internship
internships
part-time
position
positions
recruiting
staffing
temp
temporary


Section 4: Education
book
books
class
classes
college
course
courses
learn
school
schools
textbook
textbooks
training
tutorial
tutorials
university


Section 4: Research & Media
photo
photos
pics
picture
pictures
statistics
stats
image
vid
video
videos
mp3
mp4


Section 5: Hacks and Cracks
activation key
bittorrent
broken
burn
burner
cd
cd key
code
crack
cracked
cracks
crackz
easyshare
faulty
hac
hack
hacked
hacks
key gen
key generator
key gens
keygen
keygens
keygenz
keymaker
license key
licensekey
password
patch
patches
pirate
pirate key
pirated
rapid share
rapidshare
reg key
registration
registration codes
registration key
regkey
serial
serial key
serial number
serials
serialz
shortcut
shortcuts
torrent
torrents
torrentz
unlock
unlocking
validation
wares
warez


If you're the source of any of this, then thanks for your contribution - I've just collated, added and deleted a few and done my bit to make it logical and all in one place.

Good luck and happy bidding!

 

[WHUK]

So you mean to say we should use this in PPC campaigns so that your clicks do not go waste right?

 

[webgeek]

That's how I use them - in the Negative Keywords section.

My goal is to stop people from clicking on search results which are unlikely to result in purchases. By adding negative keywords, people who search for 'free widgets' or 'videos of widgets' won't see my ads which are trying to sell 'widgets'.

 

[alanc]

Excellent post! Negative keywords are extremely important and can also be applied to a Google Products campaign.

 

[PugDigitalUK]

Helpful.

Negative keywords from experience are essential and key to the success of any paid search campaign. Although, I'm surprised how often they are overlooked.

If you ever speak with AdWords support they'll never highlight the importance of negative keywords, while they want to help small businesses, they still want them to pay for as many clicks as possible regardless of how relevant they are to the business. Unfortunately, this more than often results in wasted clicks and spend, I've seen it all too often.

 

[SEO Lady]

Thanks Robb I have stolen them and will pass them on to my clients as if I had already thought of them, you don't mind do you?

 

[webgeek]

Feel free to use and share. There's nothing wrong with businesses focusing their efforts on targets that matter. Google has enough cash without us wasting any on their behalf.

 

[Alan]

Thanks for the list - out of interest do you tend you use them 'negative phrase' or 'negative broad'

 

[webgeek]

I'd go negative phrase since some of the 2 word phrases on those lists, if broken into individual words, would have some single words of interest (potentially).

Cost and Price are two of the words I'd particularly find of interest, since they indicate a buying intention. If we were to go negative broad, we'd potentially be eliminating some cost phrases that we might find interesting like:
- low temp threshold sensor cost

If we're selling temp sensors for frozen foods we would want that phrase but possibly not the following, unless we were bidding on being the low price leader:
- low cost temp threshold sensors

 

[aflat9]

Super useful! Thanks!

 

[StevePoster]

Thumbs up @webgeek for his competitive selections of negative keywords and the importance of negative phrase. This is why I'm so interested to learn Adwords because its not just an ads but you must go in-depth to convert well and save your fund for upcoming strategic ads.

 

[Dmitri Fantastic]

Excellent post! Thank you!

 

[Mrvm]

A great post and replies
Thank you
Mac

 

[MASSEY]

can you just copy and paste that into your list, what if you already have one of those words in the list? Do you just end up with two of the same negative ?

 

[Mrvm]

Hi
Yes , easy to paste into your campaign, just go to your keywords tab, select negative keywords and past them in. If you end up with 2 thats no problem. Ensure you have the correct match type for the negative , i generally use phrase match negatives.
All th best
Mac

 

[webgeek]

I would suggest you check the list before pasting. Some people depend on searches for FREE or BOOKS, because of what they sell and who they sell it to!