A negative keyword list for your market, before you launch
A negative keyword list is the set of searches your ads should never show for. The best time to have one is before the first click is paid for, and the only list that works is one made for your market. About 140 people in the US search for "negative keyword list" every month, and most of the lists on offer are one generic list for everyone.
This page explains why a generic list fails, what a list for one market looks like, how much it saves, and how to order one: Pre-launch negatives.
Why a universal negative keyword list fails
The same word means different things in different markets. "Jobs" is a wasted click for a roofer and the whole point for a staffing agency. A universal negative keyword list (about 10 US searches a month) has to guess, so it blocks some buyers in your market and misses the waste that is specific to it.
The waste that costs the most is rarely a word you would think to block. It is a search that looks like your product, uses your words, and comes from someone who will never buy from you. A generic list does not know those searches exist, because they only exist in your market.
That is why a list that works is made for one market and names whole searches, not single words.
What you get: Pre-launch negatives
The wrong-audience searches for one market, ready to paste as negatives, within 24 hours.
Each row on the list is one search. For each one you get:
- the search itself, written out in full, not a single word;
- its US monthly searches, so you can start with the lines that save the most;
- the match type to add it as, so one line blocks what it should and nothing more;
- a link with each row, so you can check any line before you add it.
A person checks every row before delivery. The list arrives ready to paste into your ad account, at the campaign level or as a shared list.
- Unit: One list covers one market.
- Delivery: Within 24 hours, by email.
- Price: We confirm the price by email with your order, together with how to pay.
- Refund: If it's not useful, reply within 7 days for a full refund.
What a row looks like
A list is a table you can act on, not a paragraph of advice. Here are two rows from a list for a market that sells accounting software to small firms. The volumes are round numbers, shown only to illustrate the layout.
Search: accounting software jobs
90US searches a month (example)
- Add as
- phrase
- Why it is on the list
- People looking for work, not software
Search: accounting software course
50US searches a month (example)
- Add as
- phrase
- Why it is on the list
- Students learning a tool, not buying one
Notice what stays off the list: "accounting software for small business" uses the same words and comes from buyers, so you keep paying for it. The list is about searches, not words. That is the difference between a list that saves money and one that quietly removes buyers.
How much money a list saves
We counted one US market, freight factoring, a B2B finance service. It came to 1,569 searches, grouped into 144 ad groups in 3 campaigns, covering about 309,080 US searches a month.
Of those, 272 searches looked relevant but came from the wrong audience: about 24,460 US searches a month that an ad account would pay for without getting a buyer.
Now a worked example. Say 2 in 100 of those searches end in a click on your ad, and a click costs $8. That is about 490 clicks and about $3,900 a month on people who will not buy. Your market and bids will move the numbers. The shape stays: the waste repeats every month until it is blocked.
Before launch, not after the spend
Most advertisers build their negative keyword list from the search terms report, which shows the searches that already triggered your ads. It is useful, but it is a receipt: every line on it has already been paid for.
A list prepared before launch flips the order. The first month runs with the obvious waste already blocked, and the search terms report shows only what is left. That matters most:
- for a new account, where the first weeks set the cost per lead the client remembers;
- for a new market, where you do not yet know which nearby searches carry the wrong audience;
- for a client pitch, where you need to show the waste before you are trusted with the budget.
Negative keywords for search ads: how to add the list
Acting on the list takes a few minutes. In your ad account, open the campaign, find its negative keywords section, paste the lines and set each one's match type. Lines that apply to every campaign belong in a shared list that each campaign uses, so a new campaign starts protected.
Match types matter more for negatives than for keywords you bid on. A broad negative blocks any search that holds all its words; a phrase negative blocks the words in that order; an exact negative blocks only that search. Negatives do not catch plurals or close variants on their own, so the list names the forms worth blocking. More on the choices in negative keywords and match types.
What to check before you add any list
- Is every line a search, with a number? A word list cannot tell you what it will block.
- Does any line block a keyword you bid on? A negative that matches your own keyword stops it from showing at all.
- Is the list made for your market? A list copied from another market blocks the wrong things in yours.
- Can you verify the lines? Each row on Pre-launch negatives comes with a link, so you can check it.
- When does it arrive? A list that lands after the budget is spent only protects next month.
Who orders a list
- Paid search managers launching a new account or a new market. The page for PPC teams shows the fuller report, with the searches to bid on as well.
- Agencies taking over an account, who want the waste blocked in week one.
- Business owners about to switch on ads for the first time, who want to start with the leak closed.
If you also need to know which searches carry buyers, read about buyer intent keywords: the same market splits into searches to buy and searches to block.
Frequently asked questions
What is a negative keyword list?
It is a set of searches you add to an ad account so your ads do not show for them. A good one names whole searches, carries a match type and a monthly number for each, and is made for one market.
Is there one negative keyword list for every business?
No. A word that wastes money in one market brings buyers in another, so a list has to be prepared for your market. That is what Pre-launch negatives is: one list for one market.
Can I order lists for several markets?
Yes. One list covers one market. Order one for each market you are about to advertise in.
What if the list is not useful?
If it's not useful, reply within 7 days for a full refund.
Ready to see one? Ask for a sample below, or read the page for PPC teams.