Short answer: Negative keywords are search terms you exclude from your Google Ads campaigns so your ads don’t show for them. To add them, click the Campaigns icon, open Audiences, keywords, and content, click Search keywords and go to the Negative search keywords tab. Click Edit exclusions, add one keyword per line and click Done. Negatives already cover casing and misspellings, but not close variants: add plurals and synonyms yourself.
What negative keywords do
Negative keywords let you exclude search terms from your campaigns, so you focus on the keywords that matter to your customers. Google’s advice is to look for searches that look like your keywords but come from people who want a different product. Its example: an optometrist who sells eyeglasses may want to exclude “wine glasses” and “drinking glasses”.
The best place to find them is the search terms report, which shows the real searches that triggered your ads. In Google Ads, select Campaigns in the left navigation panel and go to Search terms within the Insights and reports menu. When a search term isn’t relevant enough to what you offer, add it as a negative keyword.
From Google Ads Help, “About negative keywords” and “About the search terms report”, read November 2, 2026.
Broad, phrase and exact: what each one blocks
In Search campaigns, a negative keyword can be broad, phrase or exact match. Broad is the default. Phrase goes in quotes and exact goes in square brackets, the same symbols as regular keywords:
- Negative broad. Your ad won’t show if the search contains all your negative keyword terms, in any order. It can still show if the search has only some of them.
- Negative phrase. Your ad won’t show if the search contains your terms in the same order, even with more words around them.
- Negative exact. Your ad won’t show if the search is exactly your terms, in the same order, with no extra words.
This is Google’s example with the negative keyword running shoes. “Shows” means your ad could still show for that search:
| Search | Broad: running shoes | Phrase: "running shoes" | Exact: [running shoes] |
|---|---|---|---|
| blue tennis shoes | Shows | Shows | Shows |
| running shoe | Shows | Shows | Shows |
| blue running shoes | Blocked | Blocked | Shows |
| shoes running | Blocked | Shows | Shows |
| running shoes | Blocked | Blocked | Blocked |
From Google Ads Help, “About negative keywords” and “About keyword matching options”.
What negative keywords don’t catch
Negative keywords don’t match close variants or other expansions. If you exclude “flowers” in broad match, your ad can’t show for “red flowers”, but it can for “red flower”. You need to add synonyms and the singular or plural yourself. Casing and misspellings are covered, so you don’t add those.
Google lists other limits:
- Long searches. Your ad can still show when someone searches a phrase longer than 16 words and your negative keyword comes after the 16th word.
- Symbols. You can use ampersands (&), accent marks (á) and asterisks (*). A word with and without an accent counts as two different negatives, like sidewalk cafe and sidewalk café. Periods are ignored, and some symbols, such as ! @ or %, give an error.
- Display and Video. There every negative keyword counts as broad match, Google considers at most 1,000 of them, and they’re less precise than on Search: your ad may still appear on pages that contain those terms.
From Google Ads Help, “About negative keywords” and “Add negative keywords to campaigns”.
How to add negative keywords to a campaign
- In your Google Ads account, click the Campaigns icon.
- Open the Audiences, keywords, and content menu, click Search keywords and go to the Negative search keywords tab.
- Click Edit exclusions to add negatives to all campaigns. For one campaign, click the arrow next to Show table, select the campaign and then click Edit exclusions.
- Add your negative keywords, one per line, with quotes or brackets if you want phrase or exact match.
- Click Done.
Before you save, check that no negative keyword overlaps with a keyword you’re bidding on: Google says that overlap stops your ad from showing. In the same step you can save the words to a new or existing negative keyword list.
From Google Ads Help, “Add negative keywords to campaigns”.
Negative keyword lists for several campaigns
If the same unwanted searches show up in several campaigns, put them in a negative keyword list and apply it to all of them. Later, a word you add to the list applies to every campaign that shares it. Google’s example: a travel business that sells Hawaii and Alaska, but not Mexico, puts terms like “Cancun hotels” and “Flights to Mexico” in one list for its cruise, flight and hotel campaigns.
You can create up to 20 lists per account, with up to 5,000 negative keywords each, and apply a list to up to 1,000 campaigns at once. To apply one, click the Tools icon, open Shared library, click Exclusion lists and go to the Negative keyword lists tab. Select the list, click Apply to campaigns, check the campaigns and click Done.
From Google Ads Help, “About negative keyword lists” and “Add negative keywords to campaigns”.
Account-level negative keywords and Performance Max
Account-level negative keywords apply automatically to all Search and Shopping inventory in the relevant campaign types, Performance Max included. They’re for terms none of your campaigns should show for, and the limit is 1,000. To add them, click the Admin icon, then Account settings, and expand the Negative keywords section. Click the plus button, enter one word or phrase per line and click Save. You can change the match type in the Match type column.
In Performance Max, negative keywords apply only to Search and Shopping inventory. To add them to one campaign, go to Keywords within the Campaigns icon and select the Negative keywords tab. Click the plus button, select the Performance Max campaign, add keywords one per line or pick an existing list, and select Save.
From Google Ads Help, “About account-level negative keywords” and “Negative keywords in Performance Max campaigns”.
Before you save your negative keywords
- You took them from the search terms report, not from guesses.
- Each one has its singular, plural and synonyms.
- None overlaps with a keyword you’re bidding on.
- Phrase negatives are in quotes and exact negatives in square brackets.
- Terms that several campaigns share live in a negative keyword list.
- Terms no campaign should ever show for are at the account level.
RememberFind negative keywords in the search terms report, add their plurals and synonyms, and choose the match type with quotes or brackets. Use lists for terms several campaigns share, and the account level for terms no campaign should show for.
Negative keywords cut wasted clicks. To know which searches bring customers, set up Google Ads conversion tracking, and our article on Google Ads for small business covers the first campaign. If you want us to run your account, see our Google Ads service.
Quick answers about negative keywords
What are negative keywords in Google Ads?
Search terms you exclude so your ads don’t show for them. Google’s example: an optometrist who sells eyeglasses can add “wine glasses” and “drinking glasses” as negative keywords. They help you focus on the keywords that matter to your customers and avoid paying for clicks from people who want something else.
How do I add negative keywords in Google Ads?
Click the Campaigns icon, open Audiences, keywords, and content, click Search keywords and go to the Negative search keywords tab. Click Edit exclusions (for one campaign, select it first with the arrow next to Show table), add one keyword per line and click Done. For the whole account, use the Negative keywords section of Account settings.
What is the difference between negative broad, phrase and exact match?
Negative broad, the default, blocks searches that contain all your words in any order. Negative phrase blocks the words in the same order, even with extra words. Negative exact blocks only that search, in that order and without extra words. Use quotes for phrase and square brackets for exact.
Do negative keywords block plurals and misspellings?
Misspellings yes, plurals no. Negative keywords account for casing and misspellings on their own, but they don’t match close variants: excluding “flowers” in broad match blocks “red flowers” but not “red flower”. Add the singular, the plural and the synonyms you want to exclude.
How many negative keywords can I add?
Up to 20 negative keyword lists per account, with up to 5,000 negative keywords in each. The account-level list takes up to 1,000. In Display and Video campaigns Google considers at most 1,000. Google also warns that too many negative keywords can make your ads reach fewer customers.
Sources
All read on November 2, 2026. Google Ads Help: About negative keywords, Add negative keywords to campaigns and About negative keyword lists. Also About account-level negative keywords, Negative keywords in Performance Max campaigns, About keyword matching options and About the search terms report.