Keyword Match Types and Negative Keywords
How Google decides which searches your ads appear for, and how to stop paying for the wrong ones.
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Keywords Tell Google Your Intent
A keyword tells Google what kinds of searches you want your ad to appear for. The match type tells Google how loosely to interpret it. Broad match lets Google show your ad for anything it considers related, which can include searches you'd never choose. Phrase match requires the meaning of your phrase. Exact match stays closest to the keyword itself, although Google still allows close variations.
Match Types and Your Budget
A dentist bidding on the broad match keyword dental implants might appear for dental implant jobs, how much do dentists earn or implant courses. Each of those clicks costs money and produces nothing, and yes, this happens more than you'd think. Phrase and exact match limit this, at the cost of some reach. Many accounts combine phrase match for control with a small broad match test guided by conversion data.
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.
Negative Keywords
Negative keywords are the words and phrases you never want to pay for, such as free, jobs, salary, DIY and the names of cities you don't serve. You add them at the campaign or account level. A short negative list applied on day one, and a weekly habit of adding more from the search terms report, is one of the highest-return tasks in any account.
A Weekly Routine
Open the search terms report, sort by spend and ask two questions about each entry. Would I want a customer who searched this? Did it produce a call or form? Add the losers as negatives and consider promoting the winners to their own keywords.
Putting This to Work
Ask whoever manages your account to show you the last month of search terms. If they can't, or if the list is full of irrelevant searches, your budget is leaking.
In Practice
Picture a landscaping company that finds one in five of its clicks coming from searches like landscaping jobs and landscaping courses. Adding a handful of negative keywords stops that spend without costing a single real lead.
Sources
- About keyword matching options, Google Ads Help support.google.com
- About negative keywords, Google Ads Help support.google.com
Have Our Team Handle This
Our team runs this every day. Request a free proposal and we will plan it for your business, or see the Google Ads service.