---
title: "Google Ads Negative Keywords: Match Types and a Profit Test"
description: "Google Ads negative keywords block searches but never their close variants. How each match type works, where lists belong and how to test a batch on profit."
canonical: "https://www.productmetrics.io/blog/google-ads-negative-keywords"
pageType: article
language: en
publisher: "Product Metrics"
author: "Berend Vrakking"
datePublished: 2026-10-29
dateModified: 2026-10-29
image: "https://www.productmetrics.io/og/blog/google-ads-negative-keywords.png"
---

> Content index: https://www.productmetrics.io/llms.txt

# Google Ads Negative Keywords: Match Types and a Profit Test

## Key takeaways

- Negatives never match close variants: excluding flowers still lets red flower trigger your ad, so add plurals and synonyms as separate lines.
- Google caps the account list at 1,000 negatives, each shared list at 5,000 (20 lists per account) and a Performance Max campaign at 10,000.
- Block a search only when its conversion value times your margin stays below its cost; a converting search that loses money usually needs a product fix instead.

A negative keyword is a word or phrase that stops your ad from showing on searches that contain it. In Google Ads, it is the control that removes a search before you pay for the click.

Negatives never stretch to close variants, though, and a long list can block searches that still sell.

I took the rules below from Google Ads Help (checked 29 October 2026) and ran the profit test on an illustrative bike shop.

## How do negative keyword match types work?

Negative keyword match types set how closely a search must match the excluded term before Google Ads blocks the ad.

Broad blocks a search containing all the terms in any order, phrase the terms in that order, and exact only that search with nothing added.

Broad is the default. Per [Google's negative keyword guidance](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2453972?hl=en), negatives don't expand to synonyms, stemmed forms or singular and plural versions the way positive keywords do.

They only account for casing and for misspellings Google already corrects in the results.

| Match type | Blocks when | Still serves | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broad (default) | Every term is in the search, in any order | A search missing one term | flowers blocks red flowers, not red flower |
| Phrase | The terms appear in that order, words around them allowed | The same words reordered | running shoes blocks buy running shoes online, not shoes for running |
| Exact | The search is exactly the term, nothing added | Any search with an extra word | \[free shipping] blocks only free shipping |
| Close variants | Never expanded | Plurals, synonyms, stemmed forms | Excluding shoe doesn't exclude shoes |
| Long searches | The term sits in the first 16 words | A term after the 16th word | A 20-word how-to search can still trigger the ad |

### Pick the row before you type

A florist who excludes **flowers** on broad match blocks **red flowers**, because every negative term is present. **Red flower** still buys the click, because the singular is a different word to a negative.

That one search shows the whole close-variant gap: add **flower** as a second line, or leave the leak open.

Google's own example, the negative keyword running shoes in each match type, shows where each one stops:

| Search | Broad | Phrase | Exact |
|---|---|---|---|
| running shoes | Blocked | Blocked | Blocked |
| blue running shoes | Blocked | Blocked | Shows |
| shoes running | Blocked | Shows | Shows |
| running shoe | Shows | Shows | Shows |
| blue tennis shoes | Shows | Shows | Shows |

Phrase match is strict about order and loose about neighbours. **Running shoes** as a phrase negative blocks **buy running shoes online** but not **shoes for running**, where the words are there and the order isn't.

Exact match blocks one search only. **\[free shipping]** stops **free shipping** and lets **free shipping code** and **shoes free shipping** through. Use it when the unwanted term sits next to a product name you still want.

> **Rule of thumb:** exact for a term that sits near a product name, phrase for a fixed unwanted phrase, broad only for a word that never comes with a purchase.

## Where should each negative keyword live?

Each negative keyword belongs at the narrowest level that still catches the waste.

That means an ad group for one product set, a campaign for a theme it never sells, and the account list or a shared list for terms no campaign should ever buy.

| Level | Limit | Applies to | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ad group | Not listed by Google | That ad group | One product set, such as kids off an adult range |
| Campaign | Not listed by Google | That campaign | A theme it never sells, such as repair |
| Account list | 1,000 | Search and Shopping inventory, [Performance Max](https://www.productmetrics.io/glossary/performance-max "Performance Max is a goal-based Google Ads campaign type that uses automation to reach customers across Google advertising channels.") included | Universal non-buying terms |
| Shared list | 5,000 per list, 20 lists | Only the campaigns it is attached to | A policy several campaigns share |
| Performance Max campaign | 10,000 | Search and Shopping inventory of that campaign | Tested waste terms |

The list limits come from [About negative keyword lists](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2453983) in Google Ads Help. The Performance Max cap rose from 100 to 10,000 per campaign in March 2025, per [Google's Performance Max update](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16127398?hl=en).

**Figure: How many negative keywords each Google Ads level holds.** Performance Max went from the tightest cap to the largest: 100 negatives per campaign at launch, 10,000 since March 2025, against 1,000 for the account list.

![Bar chart of Google Ads negative keyword limits: account list 1,000, each shared list 5,000, Performance Max campaign 100 at launch and 10,000 now.](https://www.productmetrics.io/images/blog/google-ads-negative-keywords/negative-keyword-limits.webp)

| Level | Negative keywords allowed |
| --- | --- |
| Account list | 1,000 |
| Shared list (each, max 20) | 5,000 |
| Performance Max campaign, at launch | 100 |
| Performance Max campaign, now | 10,000 |

_Source: Google Ads Help: About negative keyword lists and the Performance Max negative keyword update, checked 29 October 2026_

### Match the scope to the waste

Ad group negatives fit one product set. Block **kids** on an adult sneaker ad group so it stops competing for children's sizes, and leave the kids campaign free to buy that demand.

Put **kids** on the account list and you have switched off a product line.

Campaign negatives fit a theme that campaign never sells: a new-bikes campaign excludes **jobs** and **repair** without touching the careers or service campaigns.

Spend the account list's 1,000 slots on universal non-buying intent such as **free**, **DIY**, **salary**, **login** and **PDF**.

Attach a shared list only to campaigns that share its policy, because a list attached everywhere is an account negative with extra steps.

[Google's negative keyword help](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/12437241) adds a length edge: an ad can still show when the negative term comes after the 16th word of a search.

So write down what each term is meant to block, and before you add it, ask one question: would this negative have blocked a search that already converted?

### Why a longer list isn't safer

Deduplicate before you add, and refuse any broad negative that overlaps a product name, a brand or a modifier such as **pro** or **mini**, because those words often sit inside the product you want to scale.

Work in this order: brand-safety terms, then product mismatches, then low-value intent after a spend check. For how search evidence connects to product economics, see [PPC research and the break-even CPC](https://www.productmetrics.io/blog/ppc-research).

## How do you find negative keywords in the search terms report?

You find negative keywords in the search terms report, which lists the actual searches that triggered your ads. The costly ones with no [conversion value](https://www.productmetrics.io/glossary/conversion-value "Conversion value is the amount you tell Google Ads a conversion is worth, such as sales revenue or profit margin.") are the candidates.

Google's [guide to negative keywords from search terms](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7102466?hl=en) shows how to add them straight from the report to an ad group, a campaign or a list.

**Review search terms for negative keywords each week**

1. **Open the search terms report.** In Google Ads, go to Insights and reports, then Search terms, and pick a range with enough clicks to judge, such as the last 14 or 30 days.
2. **Sort by cost.** Read conversions and conversion value next to cost. Impressions alone don't show whether a search wastes money.
3. **Classify each costly search.** Wrong intent, wrong product, wrong place or useful discovery. If the data can't decide, leave the search running.
4. **Check what the click sold.** A search with no sale of the clicked product can still lead to a sale of another one. Look before you block it.
5. **Draft a small batch.** Note each search, its cost and value, the products it touches and the match type you intend. Add each at the narrowest level that fits.
6. **Run the pre-add check.** Search your history for converting searches the new negative would block, including plurals and reordered words. If one turns up, narrow the match type.

Search terms you add from the report in a Search campaign go in as exact match unless you add the phrase or broad symbols yourself.

That default is safe, but it blocks one search at a time, so group the recurring pattern into a phrase negative once you have seen it three or four times.

Keep each weekly batch small enough to read its effect on product revenue and margin. For the campaign-structure side, see how to [optimise ecommerce PPC campaigns](https://www.productmetrics.io/blog/how-to-optimize-ppc-campaigns).

## Which negative keywords should an ecommerce shop add?

An ecommerce shop adds negatives for five reasons: the searcher isn't buying, wants a business model you don't offer, wants a product another campaign sells, is somewhere you don't ship to, or searches a rival brand you chose not to buy.

Take a shop that sells new road bikes at retail, ships in one country and runs separate kids' and electric bike campaigns.

| Reason | Example terms | Match type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not buying | free, pdf, diy, how to, jobs, salary, login | Phrase | Account or shared list |
| Different business model | used, second hand, repair, rental | Phrase | Shared list |
| Product sold elsewhere | mountain, kids, electric | Phrase | Road bike campaign only |
| Can't ship there | the country name | Phrase | Campaigns that can't serve it |
| Rival brand | \[rival bikes] | Exact | Campaign |

**Wholesale** belongs on the not-buying list only when the shop has no trade offer. If a trade campaign exists, keep the word off the account list and put it on the consumer campaigns alone.

On the road bike campaign, a phrase negative on **electric** blocks **electric road bike** wherever the word appears.

An exact negative **\[electric]** blocks only the one-word search, so the longer search gets through: check the match type against a real search before you upload.

A rival brand goes in as exact match so you don't swallow the generic words around it. **\[rival bikes]** blocks that search but not **road bikes like rival bikes**, which may still be a buyer comparing options.

> A broad negative on pro, mini, black or any word in a product title will suppress the product you meant to scale.

When a term is on the list in the singular only, add the plural as its own line: **shoe** does not stand in for **shoes**.

One shared non-buying list plus campaign-level product mismatches beats filling the shared-list cap with unscoped terms.

For starter groupings to edit rather than copy, [seven negative keyword templates from Rebus](https://rebusadvertising.com/blogs/negative-keyword-list/) are a reasonable shelf; cut anything that appears in a title you still want to sell.

## Can negative keywords hurt performance?

Yes, negative keywords hurt performance when they block searches that still sell, and Google Ads Help itself warns that too many negatives can make your ads reach fewer customers.

Too few cost money as well. WordStream's 2025 study of 15,666 accounts found that **25%** had never added a single negative keyword, as [Rankite's summary of that benchmark](https://rankite.com/blog/negative-keywords-google-ads) reports.

WordStream's 2025 search benchmarks put the average cost per click at **$5.26** across more than 16,000 US campaigns, so ten wasted clicks a day on one search, for example, come to about $1,578 a month.

### Test each search on profit, not conversions

A search earns a negative when the contribution it brings, its conversion value times your [contribution margin](https://www.productmetrics.io/glossary/contribution-margin "Contribution margin is the revenue from a sale minus its variable costs, such as product cost, shipping, payment fees and returns."), stays below its cost.

At a 30% margin, the [break-even ROAS](https://www.productmetrics.io/break-even-roas-calculator) is 1 ÷ 0.30 = 3.33; in POAS terms that is a break-even of 1.0, as [POAS vs ROAS](https://www.productmetrics.io/blog/poas-vs-roas) explains.

| Search term | Cost | Conversion value | Profit after ad cost | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| road bike repair | €84 | €0 | −€84 | Phrase negative: repair |
| road bike size chart | €46 | €0 | −€46 | Hold: check later purchases |
| cheap road bike | €120 | €360 | −€12 | Keep: fix the product's priority |
| carbon road bike | €150 | €1,200 | €210 | Keep |

**Figure: Profit after ad cost per search term, at a 30% margin.** Two of the four searches lose money, but only one is a negative: the cheap road bike search converts, so blocking it would cut €360 of revenue to save €12.

![Bar chart of profit after ad cost per search term, illustrative data: repair −€84, size chart −€46, cheap road bike −€12, carbon road bike +€210 at a 30% margin.](https://www.productmetrics.io/images/blog/google-ads-negative-keywords/search-term-profit.webp)

| Search term | Profit after ad cost |
| --- | --- |
| road bike repair | -€84 |
| road bike size chart | -€46 |
| cheap road bike | -€12 |
| carbon road bike | €210 |

_Source: Illustrative data: four search terms over 30 days, 30% contribution margin. Calculated as conversion value × margin − cost_

The size chart search converts nothing directly, but a shopper checking sizes can buy days later, or buy a different frame.

The cheap road bike search is the trap: its [ROAS](https://www.productmetrics.io/glossary/roas "Return on ad spend (ROAS) is the revenue your ads generate for every euro you spend on them.") of 3 sits just below break-even, yet blocking it deletes the revenue along with the small loss.

Fix the product's margin or priority instead.

### Performance Max: a 10,000 cap makes over-blocking easy

[Google's Performance Max negative keyword documentation](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/13607727?hl=en) limits campaign negatives to **Search and Shopping inventory**, not every placement Performance Max serves.

They still don't match close variants, so an excluded term can let a similar search through while a long list quietly cuts reach.

### Ship ten terms, then keep or roll back

Take the ten search terms with the highest cost and zero conversion value over the last 14 days.

| Step | What to do | Keep going if |
|---|---|---|
| Screen | Drop any term that is a plural, misspelling or close variant of a converting search, or sits in a top product's title | None of the ten touches a seller |
| Add | Campaign level, narrowest safe match type, date noted | Each term blocks only its own search |
| Measure | Cost, conversion value and impression share for 14 days | The comparison period is like for like |
| Tie to products | Margin, stock and price position of the products each search sells | No converting product loses its searches |
| Decide | Compare with a comparable period or a geographic split | Waste falls and conversion value holds; otherwise roll the whole batch back |
| Promote | Move surviving terms to the shared non-buying list | Start the next ten |

If you change bids in the same window, [tune Shopping and Performance Max bids](https://www.productmetrics.io/blog/google-ads-optimize) in a separate week so the exclusion test is the only change you are reading.

That product check is where doing it by hand stops scaling.

[Product Journeys](https://www.productmetrics.io/product-journeys) shows when a click on one product led to the purchase of another, and [Product Segmentation](https://www.productmetrics.io/product-segmentation) segments every product on its own clicks and return, then writes the labels to Google Merchant Center.

You see which products a search actually sells before a negative goes live.

> **Get more performance out of Performance Max.** Give your best-performing products more priority, segmented on your own data. [Analyse your products for free](https://app.productmetrics.io/) Log in with Google, no credit card.

## Final thoughts

A negative keyword is a bet that a search will never sell.

Place it on a small batch with the profit numbers in front of you, and be as ready to take it back as you were to add it.

This week, export the last 14 days of search terms and run the ten-term test on the costliest ones with no conversion value.

If you are new to exclusions and want a second walk-through of the basics before you paste a list into a live campaign, Netcodesign shows how to [refine Google Ads targeting with exclusions](https://netcodesign.com/what-are-negative-keywords/).

If your negative keyword review is part of a wider account clean-up, the [paid media insights from Sprints & Sneakers](https://www.sprintsandsneakers.com/insights/how-to-optimize-google-ads) give broader campaign optimisation context.

## Frequently asked questions

### Do negative keywords work on Display and YouTube?

Only partly. Performance Max negatives apply to Search and Shopping inventory only, and Display and Video use content exclusions instead. In Display and Video campaigns, Google treats negative keywords as topics to exclude and says excluded terms can still occasionally appear on pages where your ads run.

### Can you add negative keywords to Shopping campaigns?

Yes. Standard Shopping campaigns take negative keywords at campaign and ad group level, and the account-level list also applies to Shopping inventory. Shopping has no positive keywords, so negatives and the product feed are the two ways to steer which searches your products appear on.

## Keep reading.

- [Google Ads Campaign Types for Ecommerce: Search, Shopping and PMax](https://www.productmetrics.io/blog/google-ads-campaign-types-ecommerce)
- [Google Performance Max: What It Is and How It Works](https://www.productmetrics.io/blog/google-performance-max)
- [Google Ads optimisation for Shopping and PMax](https://www.productmetrics.io/blog/google-ads-optimize)

---

Written by Berend Vrakking, founder of Product Metrics. Last updated 2026-10-29.

1M+ products analysed · Nominated at the Dutch Search Awards for Best Measurement Campaign (2023) and Best Use of Data (2024)

HTML version: https://www.productmetrics.io/blog/google-ads-negative-keywords