Search Terms and Negative Keywords in 2026
How to find the searches wasting your budget and block them without blocking good traffic.
Key Takeaways
- The search terms report shows what people typed before they clicked your ads, so review it every one to two weeks.
- Negative keywords stop your ads from showing for searches you never want to pay for.
- Negative keywords don't expand to close variants the way positive keywords do, so add plurals and misspellings yourself.
- Shared negative lists save time across campaigns, and Performance Max now accepts campaign-level negatives.
On This Page
Review your search terms report every one to two weeks and add negative keywords for any search that will never become a customer. Keep the most common exclusions in shared lists applied across campaigns. With broad match, AI Max and Performance Max all reaching beyond your keyword list, this routine is your main protection against wasted spend. Take care with negative match types, since one careless broad negative can block valuable searches.
Reading the Search Terms Report
In Google Ads, open Insights and reports, then Search terms. Sort by cost over the last 30 days and ask two questions about each term: would I want a customer who searched this, and did it produce a lead? Keep the good terms, consider adding the strong ones as keywords and add the irrelevant ones as negatives. Some low-volume terms are hidden for privacy, so the report never shows you every search.
Common Negatives by Type
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Job seekers | jobs, hiring, salary, careers, training, course, certification |
| Do it yourself | how to, diy, yourself, tutorial |
| Free or cheap | free, cheap (if you do not compete on price) |
| Wrong service | services you do not offer |
| Wrong place | towns or regions you do not serve |
| Research only | definition, meaning, history |
Tailor the list to your business. "Cheap" might be a good search for a budget mover and a bad one for a high-end remodeler.
How Negative Match Types Work
- Negative broad match blocks searches containing all the words in any order.
- Negative phrase match blocks searches containing the words in that order.
- Negative exact match blocks only that exact search.
Negatives don't cover close variants such as plurals and misspellings, so add those yourself. Google explains this in its negative keywords documentation.
Keyword: emergency plumber. Pick a match type to see which real searches could trigger the ad.
- emergency plumber
- emergency plumber near me
- 24 hour emergency plumbing service
- plumber for burst pipe tonight
- plumbing courses
- emergency electrician
- how to fix a leaking tap
Broad match can reach related searches, including some you would never want to pay for. Negative keywords are how you keep it in check.
Shared Lists
Create negative keyword lists in the Shared library for exclusions that apply everywhere, such as job and training terms, and apply them to every Search and Performance Max campaign. Negatives that only apply to one campaign stay in that campaign.
AI Max and Performance Max
AI Max for Search can match searches a long way from your keywords, so review its search terms weekly at first. Google's AI Max guidance recommends using negatives sparingly, since too many can limit what the system finds. For lead generation, block the clearly irrelevant searches and leave the borderline ones alone until the data shows a pattern.
Performance Max now supports campaign-level negative keyword lists for its Search and Shopping inventory.
Mistakes That Block Good Traffic
- Adding a single broad word such as "cost", which also blocks valuable searches like "roof replacement cost"
- Adding your own service names as negatives in one campaign that then block them account-wide through a shared list
- Excluding competitor names you actually want to bid on
- Never rechecking old negatives as your services change
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should I add negative keywords?
Review search terms every one to two weeks, and weekly for new campaigns or after you turn on AI Max.
Can negative keywords hurt performance?
Yes, if they block searches that would have produced customers. Use phrase or exact negatives for words that cut both ways.
Do negatives work in Performance Max?
Yes. Campaign-level negative keyword lists apply to Performance Max's Search and Shopping inventory.
Sources
- We're upgrading Dynamic Search Ads to AI Max, Google Ads and Commerce Blog blog.google
- Optimize Google Ads with AI Max for Search campaigns, Google Ads Help support.google.com
- Google Ads Help support.google.com
- Google Ads Help, negative keywords support.google.com
- AI Max for Search can match searches blog.google
Stop Paying for the Wrong Searches
Request a free proposal and we'll review your search terms with you.