Rich Bruns Guide℠ & Coaching for Google™ Search Ads

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How To Set Up Negative Keywords in Google Search Ads

Rich Bruns

Google has started running ads for search words that are only loosely-related to your carefully-chosen PHRASE MATCH KEYWORDS. 

  • These unchosen search words can waste a lot of money 

  • Because they run ads to the wrong people.

You need to set up these search words as NEGATIVE KEYWORDS

Here’s How to FIND NEGATIVE KEYWORDS

Go to Your Search Campaign > Keywords > Search Terms

SEARCH TERMS are the actual words that people put into Google Search.

  • Set the Calendar Time Range in the upper right of page

    • Click Custom

    • Then, Select the last several months until today

IMPRESSIONS are the number of times that Google ran your ad for the SEARCH TERMS that are shown on each row.

  • Click Impr. at the top of the Impressions Column to sort that column – Click again to reverse the sort order.

    • Sort to show the SEARCH TERMS with the MOST Impressions going down the list to the SEARCH TERMS with the FEWEST Impressions.

    • Work down the list, so you work on the most important SEARCH TERMS first.

    • And you can remember where you left off, if you are interrupted.

Look for single search words that you never want to pay to run ads for.

  • Put those single words on a list so you can set them up as NEGATIVE KEYWORDS in the next step.

    • Don’t select the boxes to the left side of individual SEARCH TERMS.

    • Don’t select multiple words - Multiple words might not stop running ads for single words – Multiple words might stop running ads for your chosen words.

  • There may be multiple pages of SEARCH TERMS

    • At the bottom of the SEARCH TERMS page

    • Select 500 to show 500 SEARCH TERMS on each page.

Here’s How to SET UP NEGATIVE KEYWORDS

Go to Your Search Campaign > Keywords > Negative Keywords

  • Select CAMPAIGN LEVEL.

  • Click the BLUE + CIRCLE to add NEGATIVE KEYWORDS.

  • Add only one word on each line with double quotes, for example  “word”

  • Click ENTER/RETURN to enter the next line.

  • Click SAVE at the bottom of the page.

  • The list should have only one word per line labeled as a PHRASE MATCH.

    Google will not run ads in Your Search Campaign, if that single word occurs anywhere in the Google Search box.

Every NEGATIVE KEYWORD can save you money.

For more information, go to www.RichBruns.com