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Paid Advertising

What Is a Negative Keyword in Google Ads?

A negative keyword tells an advertising platform to prevent an ad from showing for searches with unwanted terms or meanings.

Negative Keyword Meaning in Plain English

Negative keywords help separate relevant customer intent from searches the business cannot serve. They work alongside normal keyword targeting and search-term review.

Match behavior matters. A broad exclusion can accidentally block useful searches, while an exclusion that is too narrow may leave obvious waste.

Example

A company that only services commercial refrigeration may exclude searches clearly seeking residential refrigerator repair.

Why It Matters

Thoughtful exclusions can reduce irrelevant clicks and make campaign data more useful without pretending every search can be predicted in advance.

Put the Definition to Work

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