Get negative keyword ideas using the search terms report

The search terms report can help you gather ideas for terms to add as negative keywords. The report shows actual terms that a significant number of people searched for which triggered your ad. As you browse the report, you may spot some search terms that are related to, but aren’t exactly, what you sell.

This article shows you how to use the search terms report for negative keyword ideas that help you better target customers interested in your product or service.

Note: By default, negative keywords added to a Search campaign from the search terms report are added as negative exact match. To change the match type, use the appropriate symbols.

Before you begin

Keep in mind that negative keyword match types work differently than their positive counterparts and don’t match to variants. If you’re new to negative keywords, learn more about negative keywords and keyword matching options.

Instructions

In your Google Ads account, click the Campaigns icon .
Click the Insights and reports drop down in the section menu.
Click Search terms.
To see search terms for all keywords, click Search terms at the top. To see search terms for only a select group of keywords, check the boxes next to the keywords you’d like to see search terms for. Then click Search terms in the menu that appears above the table.
Check the boxes next to the search terms that you'd like to add as negative keywords, then click Add as negative keyword.

From here, you can add negative keywords to an ad group or campaign, an existing negative keyword list, or a new negative keyword list.

Add negative keywords to an ad group or campaign

Select Ad group or Campaign. Each negative keyword will be added to the ad group or campaign associated with the corresponding search terms.
Click Save.

Add negative keywords to an existing negative keyword list

Select Negative keyword list.
Choose an existing negative keyword list from the drop down.
Optional: Apply the negative keyword list to all of the campaigns associated with the corresponding search terms by checking Add to campaigns.
Click Save.

Add negative keywords to a new negative keyword list

Select Negative keyword list.
Select Save as new list and apply negative keywords. The list will be applied to all campaigns associated with the corresponding search terms.
Click Save.

Note: Negative keywords can be exact match, phrase match, or broad match. Make sure you’re using the right match type that doesn’t prevent your ads from showing to users searching for your keywords.

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