How to Build a Negative Keyword List for Ecommerce Campaigns (Step-by-Step)

Ecommerce advertisers deal with a specific problem that other Google Ads users often don't: their products attract a massive volume of irrelevant search traffic. Someone searching for "free running shoes" or "DIY leather wallet tutorial" isn't going to buy anything. But without a solid negative keyword list, your ads can still show up for those queries and quietly drain your budget.

This guide walks you through exactly how to build a negative keyword list tailored for ecommerce campaigns, from pulling the right data to applying negatives at the right level. By the end, you'll have a working list that cuts wasted spend and helps your budget reach people who actually want to buy.

The steps here are practical and repeatable. Run through them when you launch a new campaign, then revisit on a regular cadence. Whether you're managing your own store or running ads for multiple ecommerce clients, the process is the same.

A quick note on terminology before we dive in, because precision matters here. Search terms are the actual queries users typed into Google, visible in the Search Terms Report. Keywords are the terms you've added to your campaign to trigger ads. Negative keywords are terms you add to prevent your ads from showing for irrelevant queries. These three things are distinct, and keeping them separate will make the steps below much clearer.

Let's get into it.

Step 1: Pull Your Search Terms Report and Look for Patterns

Your Search Terms Report is ground truth. It shows the actual queries that triggered your ads, not just the keywords you're bidding on. This is where you start.

In Google Ads, navigate to your campaign, then find the Search Terms section (the exact location in the left-hand navigation may vary slightly depending on your account view, so look for it under your Keywords section or campaign-level tabs). You'll see a list of every query that resulted in an impression or click within your selected date range.

Filter by a meaningful date range. Thirty days is a minimum; 60 to 90 days gives you enough data to spot real patterns rather than one-off anomalies. A single weird query on a Tuesday doesn't tell you much. A category of queries appearing week after week tells you something worth acting on.

What you're looking for are recurring categories of bad traffic. For ecommerce, these tend to fall into a few predictable buckets:

Informational and research queries: Terms like "how to," "DIY," "tutorial," "guide," and "homemade" signal that someone wants to learn, not buy. If you sell leather goods, you'll inevitably attract people looking to make their own.

Freebie and deal seekers: "Free," "cheap," "coupon," "promo code," "giveaway," and "sample" indicate price sensitivity that often doesn't convert at standard margins. These queries can generate clicks without purchases.

Wrong audience signals: "Wholesale," "bulk," "B2B," "manufacturer," and "supplier" suggest someone looking for trade pricing, not a retail purchase.

Wrong buyer stage: "Review," "Reddit," "YouTube," "vs," and "alternative" suggest someone still in research mode, comparing options rather than ready to check out.

Wrong product context: "Used," "second hand," "rental," "repair parts," and "borrow" indicate someone who wants something other than what you're selling.

When you're reviewing the report, don't just sort by cost. Sort by impressions and clicks as well. Some junk terms cost very little individually but appear across hundreds of queries and collectively represent meaningful wasted spend. The pattern matters more than the individual row.

If you're using Keywordme, you can review and act on search terms directly inside the Google Ads interface without exporting to a spreadsheet. That said, even if you're working manually, the goal at this stage is the same: identify at least three to five clear categories of irrelevant queries specific to your product type before you move on.

Success indicator: You've spotted recurring patterns in your search terms, not just individual bad queries, and you can name the categories of irrelevant traffic your campaigns are attracting.

Step 2: Build Your Ecommerce-Specific Seed List

Before you start adding negatives from the Search Terms Report, build a seed list. This is a set of negative keywords you know upfront will never convert for an ecommerce campaign, regardless of what the data shows. Think of it as your starting point before you've even looked at a single query.

Universal ecommerce negatives worth considering include: free, cheap, DIY, "how to make," tutorial, homemade, wholesale, bulk, sample, review, Reddit, YouTube, used, "second hand," and "for rent." These terms appear across almost every product category and almost never lead to a purchase.

Once you have your universal list, layer on category-specific negatives based on what you actually sell. A clothing retailer needs different negatives than a supplement brand or a home goods store. Think about the gap between what people research and what they buy.

For a clothing brand, you might add terms like "sewing pattern," "alter," "tailor," or "how to style" as negatives because those queries attract people looking for fashion advice or DIY solutions, not a product to purchase.

For a supplement brand, terms like "side effects," "ingredients list," "natural alternative," or "make your own" might belong on your seed list because they attract researchers and skeptics rather than buyers.

For a home goods retailer, "repair," "replacement parts," "how to fix," and "rental" might be consistent sources of irrelevant traffic.

Also consider brand-safety negatives. If you're not intentionally running competitor campaigns, add competitor brand names as negatives so your budget isn't spent on queries where someone is specifically looking for another brand. Be careful here: only add competitors you're certain you don't want to appear for.

Label your list clearly from the start. Keep universal negatives in one group and category-specific negatives in another. This separation makes the list reusable across campaigns and easy to share with clients or teammates without confusion.

One important distinction to keep in mind: you're building a list of negative keywords, which are the terms you'll tell Google to block. These are not search terms (the actual queries users typed). You'll use search terms as inputs when you review your data, but the negative keyword list itself is your curated set of blocking terms. Keeping this separation clear prevents mistakes later when you're uploading or applying the list.

Success indicator: You have a documented seed list with at least two distinct groups: universal ecommerce negatives and product-category-specific negatives. It's written down somewhere you can reuse it.

Step 3: Assign the Right Match Type to Each Negative

Match types for negative keywords work differently than match types for positive keywords, and this is one of the most commonly misunderstood parts of the process. Getting this right matters because the wrong match type either blocks too much (cutting off profitable traffic) or too little (letting junk through).

Negative keywords in Google Ads use three match types: broad, phrase, and exact. Here's how each one behaves:

Negative broad match blocks queries that contain all of the words in your negative keyword, in any order. Importantly, unlike positive broad match, negative broad match does NOT use close variants. So if your negative broad match term is "running shoes free," it blocks queries containing all three words in any order, but it won't block "complimentary running footwear" based on semantic similarity.

Negative phrase match blocks any query that contains your negative keyword phrase in that exact order. For example, adding "how to" as a negative phrase match blocks "how to clean sneakers," "how to style boots," "how to break in leather shoes," and any other query where those two words appear together in sequence. For ecommerce, this is often the most efficient match type to use for informational query categories.

Negative exact match blocks only that precise query. Adding [free running shoes] as a negative exact match blocks that specific phrase but still allows "discount running shoes" or "cheap running shoes" to trigger your ads. Use exact match negatives when you want surgical precision, for example when a specific competitor name also happens to be a common word you don't want to block entirely.

For ecommerce campaigns, phrase match negatives tend to do the most work. A single "how to" phrase negative can block hundreds of informational queries at once without requiring you to list every variation. The same applies to "DIY," "tutorial," and "for rent."

Use negative broad match carefully. Because it requires all words to appear in the query, it's less aggressive than it sounds, but it can still create unexpected blocks. Test before applying broadly across your account.

One common pitfall: avoid adding negatives that are too broad and accidentally block profitable queries. "Sale" might seem like a freebie signal, but a query like "flash sale running shoes" could indicate real buyer intent. Think through what you're actually blocking before you assign the match type.

Before you move to the next step, go through every negative on your list and assign an intentional match type. Don't just default everything to broad because it's the first option.

Success indicator: Every negative keyword on your list has a deliberate match type assigned, with a reason for that choice.

Step 4: Decide Where to Apply Your Negatives

Google Ads lets you apply negative keywords at three levels: ad group, campaign, and shared negative keyword lists. Where you apply them determines how much coverage you get and how manageable your account stays over time.

Ad group level is the most granular option. Use it when a negative only applies to one specific ad group and would actually hurt performance if applied more broadly. For example, if one ad group targets "men's running shoes," you might add "women's" as a negative at the ad group level. But you wouldn't want that negative applied to a separate ad group targeting all running shoes.

Campaign level is where most of your seed list negatives belong. Any term that's irrelevant across every ad group in a campaign should be applied at this level. This is more efficient than duplicating the same negatives across multiple ad groups.

Shared negative keyword lists are the most scalable option, especially for agencies or accounts with multiple campaigns. In Google Ads, go to Tools, then Shared library, then Negative keyword lists. You can build a master list, for example "Ecommerce Universal Negatives," and apply it to multiple campaigns at once. When you update the shared list, every linked campaign updates automatically. This is a significant time-saver when you're managing several ecommerce accounts or a large product catalog.

For ecommerce accounts with multiple product categories, a practical structure is: one universal shared list applied to all campaigns, plus category-specific lists applied only to the relevant campaigns. This keeps your coverage broad where it needs to be and precise where it matters.

If you're working inside the Search Terms Report and want to push negatives to the right level quickly, Keywordme lets you add negatives at the campaign or ad group level without leaving the Google Ads interface, which removes a few steps from the standard workflow.

Before you apply anything, map each negative on your list to the level where it belongs. This is worth doing on paper or in a spreadsheet before you start clicking, because it's easy to apply something at the wrong level and create coverage gaps or conflicts.

Success indicator: Every negative on your list is mapped to a specific application level, and you know whether it's going to an ad group, a campaign, or a shared list.

Step 5: Add Your Negatives and Verify They're Active

With your list built and your levels mapped, it's time to actually apply the negatives. The process differs slightly depending on where you're adding them.

To add campaign-level negatives, go to the relevant campaign, navigate to the Keywords section, and look for the Negative Keywords tab. Add your terms there, making sure to select the correct match type for each one as you enter them.

To add negatives to a shared list, go to Tools, then Shared library, then Negative keyword lists. Create a new list or edit an existing one, add your terms, and then link the list to the relevant campaigns. That last step is critical: the list does nothing until it's linked.

This is one of the most common mistakes in this entire process. Advertisers create a shared list, add all their negatives, and then forget to link it to any campaigns. The list exists in the account but has no effect. After creating or editing a shared list, always confirm that it's linked to the campaigns you intend.

A second common mistake: adding a negative keyword that conflicts with a positive keyword at the same or lower level. This can accidentally suppress ad delivery for a query you actually want to show for. After adding your negatives, do a quick review to check for obvious conflicts, particularly if you've used broad match negatives.

After you've applied everything, give the account a few days to accumulate data, then return to the Search Terms Report and check whether the queries you intended to block are still appearing. You can also use the Keyword Diagnosis tool or the ad preview tool to test whether a specific query would be blocked by your negatives.

Success indicator: Your negative keywords appear in the correct location (ad group, campaign, or shared list), and any shared lists are confirmed as linked to the relevant campaigns.

Step 6: Schedule Regular Reviews to Keep the List Current

A negative keyword list is not a one-time task. Google's matching behavior evolves, new search trends emerge, and your product catalog changes. All of these introduce new junk queries over time, and a list you built three months ago won't catch everything that's showing up today.

For active ecommerce campaigns, review the Search Terms Report at least every two weeks. For high-spend accounts, weekly is more appropriate. The goal of each review is to catch new patterns before they accumulate into meaningful wasted spend.

During each review, look for things that weren't there before. Seasonal terms are a common source of new irrelevant traffic. If you're selling home gym equipment in November, you might start seeing queries like "Christmas gift ideas for fitness lovers" from people browsing rather than buying. New competitor names, trending DIY queries, and shifts in how people search for your product category can all introduce new junk traffic that your existing list doesn't cover.

Keep a running document or shared list that your team can update collaboratively. If you're working at an agency, make the search terms review part of your standard client reporting workflow rather than something that only happens when performance drops.

Track the impact of your negative keyword work over time. Monitor changes in click-through rate, conversion rate, and cost per conversion after adding new batches of negatives. Improvement in these metrics is a signal that your list is working. Stagnation might indicate that new junk traffic is creeping in and it's time for another review.

The trap to avoid: only reviewing when something looks wrong. Proactive maintenance prevents wasted spend from accumulating in the first place. Reactive maintenance means you're always catching up.

Success indicator: You have a scheduled review date on your calendar and a documented process for adding new negatives when you find them. It's a repeatable workflow, not a one-time cleanup.

Your Negative Keyword List Checklist

Building a negative keyword list for ecommerce isn't complicated, but it does require doing it in the right order. Start with real data from your Search Terms Report, build a seed list that covers universal and category-specific junk traffic, assign the right match types, apply negatives at the right level, and then maintain the list on a regular schedule.

Here's a quick checklist to confirm you've covered the essentials:

Pulled Search Terms Report with 30 to 90 days of data.

Identified recurring categories of irrelevant queries, not just individual bad terms.

Built a seed list with universal and product-category-specific negatives in separate groups.

Assigned match types intentionally to every negative on the list.

Mapped each negative to the correct application level: ad group, campaign, or shared list.

Added negatives and confirmed any shared lists are linked to the relevant campaigns.

Checked for conflicts between negative and positive keywords.

Scheduled a recurring review date.

If you want to speed up the search terms review and negative keyword workflow without leaving Google Ads, Keywordme's Chrome extension lets you add negatives with one click directly from the Search Terms Report. No spreadsheets, no tab-switching, no exporting data to work on it elsewhere. Start your free 7-day trial (then just $12/month) and run through this entire process in a fraction of the time.