Negative keywords have been an inseparable part of search engine marketing for a very long time. Many people are still unfamiliar with their current use, or the different types that could be used in a SEO or PPC campaign.

These keywords stop an ad copy from displaying or trending on a website, when it otherwise would have due to another relevant keyword present in the ad group. To make it simple, if the keyword “blue pants” were present in an ad group, and any user searched for the “blue jeans pant”, the ad would likely appear on the website they are browsing. Similarly, if “jeans” were categorized as negative keywords, the ad would not be displayed for the search term “blue jeans pant”.

One of the quickest methods to improve click-through rate (CTR) of ads is through the best use of negative keywords which helps the ad to limit itself to irrelevant search queries. Additionally, this will improve the conversion rate of the ad group by increasing relevancy. Most importantly, this will also help lower a company’s marketing costs PPC campaigns.

How should negative keywords be used?

Negative keywords should be included at the ad group level, if not a marketer could implement it at the campaign level. Google permits numerous different types of keywords, which are also known as negative keyword match types. Unlike regular keyword match types, negative keywords can be used in ad groups to regulate when an ad will be displayed.

When utilizing negative keywords to control the display of ads, one of the issues that marketers might come across is regulating their search visibility for comparison terms. For instance, if a user search for pants, jeans and trousers, regulating these keywords in different ad groups will stop the ad from displaying comparison searches. Establishing distinct comparison search ad groups will control this effect.

Negative keywords are specifically used to select inconvertible or irrelevant search terms, and mark them out so that ad copy does not display, induce clicks, and cost the firm its money. Although not every irrelevant click can be avoided, a huge number of irrelevant search displays can be controlled through the use of negative keywords.