8 Crucial Negative Keywords Example Categories For 2026

Ever feel like your Google Ads budget is just disappearing into thin air? You're not alone. The culprit is often a silent killer: wasted clicks from irrelevant searches. The fix is a powerful, yet often overlooked, strategy of building a rock-solid negative keyword list. Think of it as the ultimate bouncer for your ad campaigns, turning away traffic that has zero intention of converting.

This isn't just about adding a few 'free' or 'cheap' terms; it's a strategic process. It requires understanding user intent and surgically removing the searches that drain your budget without a second thought. Wasting even a small portion of your ad spend on the wrong audience adds up fast, directly hurting your return on investment and preventing you from reaching high-quality leads who are actually ready to buy.

In this comprehensive guide, we're breaking down 8 essential categories with a ton of real-world negative keywords example lists you can copy and paste directly into your campaigns. We’ll show you exactly what to exclude, why it matters, and how to spot costly search terms before they become a problem. Forget theory—we're giving you actionable lists for everything from competitor names and job seekers to informational queries that attract researchers, not buyers.

We'll also show you how tools like Keywordme can put this entire process on autopilot, saving you countless hours while boosting your ROI. Let's stop the budget burn and get to the examples.

1. Competitor Brand Names

This one’s a classic for a reason. Adding competitor brand names as negative keywords is a foundational move to protect your ad budget. It stops your ads from showing up when someone is specifically looking for another company. Think about it: if someone types "HubSpot login" into Google, they are definitely not looking to buy your CRM, no matter how great your ad copy is.

Wasting money on these clicks is like trying to sell pizza to someone already walking into a taco shop. They have a clear destination in mind. By excluding competitor terms, you ensure your budget is spent only on users who are genuinely open to discovering your solution.

Strategic Breakdown & Analysis

The core strategy here is intent filtering. A user searching for a competitor by name has high brand affinity and purchase intent, but it's directed at the wrong brand. Trying to convert them is an uphill, expensive battle.

Key Insight: Clicks on competitor brand terms are often high-cost and low-conversion. Excluding them directly boosts your ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) by eliminating the most inefficient ad spend. It’s one of the quickest ways to improve campaign performance.

For instance, a boutique e-commerce store selling handmade leather bags should absolutely add "Amazon," "eBay," and "Etsy" as negative keywords. While these platforms also sell bags, users searching for them are looking for a marketplace experience, not a specialized brand. This is a prime negative keywords example of filtering out broad, irrelevant traffic.

Actionable Takeaways & Application

Ready to put this into practice? Here’s how you can implement this strategy effectively.

• Create a Master List: Start a dedicated negative keyword list in your Google Ads account named "Competitors." Add every competitor you can think of.
• Use Phrase Match: Add competitor names as phrase match negatives (e.g., "HubSpot," "Salesforce"). This will block searches like "HubSpot pricing" or "Salesforce reviews" while still allowing your ads to show for more general queries.
• Include Misspellings: Don't forget common typos! If your competitor is "Mailchimp," add "mail chimp" and "mail-chimp" to your list.
• Automate the Process: Manually hunting for every competitor is time-consuming. Tools like Keywordme can help automate the discovery and exclusion of competitor keywords, saving you hours and ensuring your campaigns stay protected. For a deeper dive, learn more about how to stop competitor clicks in Google Ads and safeguard your budget.
• Regularly Review Reports: Check your Search Terms Report weekly or monthly. You'll often find new competitors you didn't know you had, which you can then add to your negative list.

2. Low-Intent or Informational Queries

This is a big one. Excluding informational queries is all about protecting your budget from "tire kickers" and researchers. These are people looking for answers, not your product. Someone searching "how to fix a leaky faucet" isn't ready to hire a plumber just yet; they're in DIY mode. Paying for that click is a donation to their education, not an investment in your business.

By adding terms like "how to," "what is," and "guide" to your negative keyword list, you filter out users who are still in the early stages of the research funnel. This focuses your ad spend exclusively on individuals with high commercial intent, meaning they are much closer to making a purchase. It’s the difference between talking to someone browsing a library and someone standing at a cash register.

Strategic Breakdown & Analysis

The strategy here is intent qualification. You're actively deciding to engage only with users whose search terms indicate a desire to buy, not a desire to learn. Informational queries often have high search volume but abysmal conversion rates for direct-response campaigns.

Key Insight: Wasted spend on informational queries is a silent killer of PPC campaigns. Excluding them improves lead quality, lowers your cost-per-acquisition (CPA), and dramatically increases the efficiency of your budget. This is a critical negative keywords example for anyone focused on ROAS.

For example, a SaaS company selling project management software should exclude "what is project management" or "project management explained." Users searching for these are students or beginners, not managers ready to purchase a solution. Similarly, a local real estate agent should negate "real estate agent salary" or "how to become a realtor" to avoid clicks from job seekers, not home buyers.

Actionable Takeaways & Application

Ready to trim the fat from your campaigns? Here’s how to filter out low-intent searchers.

• Build an "Informational" Negative List: Create a shared negative keyword list in Google Ads with terms like "how to," "what is," "guide," "tips," "ideas," "learn," "tutorial," and "example."
• Use Phrase Match for Modifiers: Add these common informational modifiers as phrase match negatives (e.g., "how to," "guide to"). This prevents your ad from showing on "how to choose running shoes" but allows it on "running shoes."
• Analyze Your Search Terms Report: Dive into your search terms report to find question-based queries that have high clicks but zero conversions. A comprehensive search query analysis is the best way to uncover these budget drains.
• Automate Identification: Manually sifting through thousands of search terms is a chore. Keywordme's tools can automatically flag and help you exclude these low-intent, informational queries, streamlining your optimization process.
• Check Performance Metrics: Look for keywords with high bounce rates or low time-on-page. These are often signs that the user's informational intent didn't match your transactional landing page.

3. Free or 'No Cost' Variations

This is a big one, especially for SaaS, software, and premium service providers. Adding "free," "no cost," and similar terms as negative keywords prevents your ads from appearing in front of users who have zero intention of ever paying for your solution. If someone is searching for a "free project management tool," they are not your target audience for a premium, enterprise-level platform.

Spending your ad budget on these clicks is like setting up a gourmet food truck at a free soup kitchen. The audience is there for a specific reason, and it isn't to spend money. By excluding these terms, you ensure your ads are shown to users who understand the value of a paid product and have the purchasing power to prove it.

Strategic Breakdown & Analysis

The strategy here is qualifying intent and budget. Users searching with "free" modifiers have explicitly signaled that they are not in the market for a paid product. Their primary decision-making factor is cost (or lack thereof), not features, quality, or support. These are fundamentally low-quality leads for a premium business model.

Key Insight: Clicks from "free" seekers almost always have a near-zero conversion rate for paid products. Excluding them is a direct and powerful way to increase lead quality and cut wasted ad spend, immediately improving your Cost Per Acquisition (CPA).

For example, a high-end accounting software targeting established businesses should add negative keywords like "free accounting software" and "QuickBooks free version." This is a crucial negative keywords example because it filters out students, hobbyists, or micro-businesses who cannot afford a premium tool, focusing the budget on qualified prospects who can.

Actionable Takeaways & Application

Ready to filter out the bargain hunters? Here’s a clear plan to implement this strategy and protect your budget.

• Build a 'Freebie Seeker' List: Create a new negative keyword list in Google Ads called "Free & Low-Intent Terms."
• Use Broad and Phrase Match: Add broad match negatives like free and no cost to block a wide range of queries. Use phrase match for more specific terms like "free trial," "free version," or "free alternative."
• Think Beyond 'Free': Your list should include variations like "cheap," "discount," "coupon," "torrent," and "crack." These terms also signal low purchase intent.
• Analyze Before Excluding All: If you have a freemium model, be careful. Monitor the lifetime value (LTV) of users who convert from "free trial" searches. If they eventually upgrade and become profitable, you may want to keep these terms in a separate, low-budget campaign.
• Find Terms Automatically: Don't guess which terms to exclude. Tools like Keywordme can analyze your search term reports and automatically identify and categorize hundreds of these cost-related negative keywords, ensuring your campaigns are fully optimized against low-quality traffic.

4. Geographic Irrelevant Terms

If your business serves a specific city, state, or region, this one is non-negotiable. Adding geographic terms for places you don't serve is a simple yet powerful way to stop wasting ad spend. When a user includes a location in their search, their intent is crystal clear. Someone in Miami searching for a "roofer in Seattle" has zero interest in your Miami-based roofing company, no matter how amazing your ad is.

Paying for that click is like delivering a pizza to the wrong state; it's a complete waste of time, money, and resources. By excluding irrelevant locations, you ensure your ads are only seen by potential customers in your actual service area, dramatically improving lead quality and budget efficiency.

Strategic Breakdown & Analysis

The core strategy here is geographic qualification. While Google Ads campaign settings let you target specific areas, they don't stop your ads from showing if a user outside your area searches for a term that includes a location inside your area. Negative keywords are the second layer of defense, filtering out search queries that explicitly mention locations you don't serve.

Key Insight: Geographic negatives work hand-in-hand with your campaign's location targeting to create a highly refined audience. This combination prevents budget drain from unqualified clicks and focuses your spend on users who can actually become customers, boosting your local marketing ROI.

For instance, a law firm based in Austin, Texas should add negative keywords like "Dallas," "Houston," and even "California." While they might get clicks from these queries, the conversion rate will be near zero. This is a perfect negative keywords example of tightening your geographic focus to capture only relevant, local intent.

Actionable Takeaways & Application

Ready to fence off your service area and protect your budget? Here’s how to do it right.

• Build Your Exclusion List: Start by listing all major cities, states, and even countries where you do not operate. Think big and small, from neighboring towns to distant regions.
• Include Abbreviations and Variants: Add common abbreviations like "NYC," "LA," and state codes like "CA" or "FL." People search in different ways, so cover all your bases.
• Use Phrase or Broad Match: Add locations as phrase match negatives (e.g., "Chicago," "Denver") to block any search containing that city. Use broad match for single-word state names.
• Leverage Automation: Creating a comprehensive geographic list is tedious. Tools like Keywordme can automate this process, generating extensive lists of out-of-area locations to ensure your campaigns are protected from the start.
• Audit Your Search Terms Report: Make it a quarterly habit to review your Search Terms Report for new, irrelevant geographic queries. You'll often find surprising locations popping up that need to be excluded.

5. Job Seeker and Career-Related Queries

This is an often-overlooked but crucial category. Excluding terms related to job seeking is a simple, high-impact way to filter out traffic that has absolutely zero chance of converting into a customer. When someone searches for "your brand careers" or "your industry jobs," they aren't looking to buy your product; they're looking for a paycheck.

Showing your product or service ad to a job seeker is a complete waste of your ad budget. They are on a mission to find employment, and even if they click your ad by mistake, they will bounce immediately. Adding these career-focused queries to your negative keyword list ensures your ads are reserved for potential customers, not potential colleagues.

Strategic Breakdown & Analysis

The strategy here is intent purification. The user's goal is fundamentally misaligned with your campaign's goal. A job seeker's intent is to find employment, while your ad's intent is to generate a lead or sale. This is a non-negotiable mismatch that no amount of clever ad copy can overcome.

Key Insight: Clicks from job seekers are some of the most definitive examples of wasted ad spend. They pollute your data with low engagement signals (like high bounce rates and low time-on-page) and drag down your overall campaign ROI. Excluding them is pure campaign hygiene.

For example, a B2B SaaS company selling project management software should exclude terms like "SaaS jobs," "project manager career," and "software developer hiring." This prevents their ads from appearing for job hunters, which is a prime negative keywords example of protecting your budget from fundamentally irrelevant searches.

Actionable Takeaways & Application

Ready to stop paying for job applications? Here’s a clear plan to implement this strategy and clean up your traffic.

• Build a Universal "Careers" List: Create a negative keyword list in Google Ads named "Job Seekers." Add core terms like "jobs," "careers," "hiring," "employment," and "recruitment."
• Use Phrase and Broad Match: Add broad match negatives for single-word terms like jobs and careers. For multi-word terms, use phrase match negatives like "hiring now" or "job opportunities" to block longer, more specific queries.
• Include Role-Specific Queries: Think about the roles within your company. If you are a law firm, add negatives like "paralegal jobs" or "lawyer salary." This blocks people looking for specific positions at companies like yours.
• Scan Your Search Terms Report: Regularly check your search term reports for your branded campaigns. You might be surprised to see how many people search for "[Your Brand] jobs." Add these variations to your negative list immediately.
• Automate with Tools: A tool like Keywordme can streamline this process. It can help identify and bulk-add common job-seeking terms across all your campaigns, ensuring consistent protection without manual effort.

6. DIY and Self-Service Alternative Searches

This is a critical filter for any service-based business. Adding terms related to do-it-yourself (DIY) or self-service ensures you don't waste your ad budget on people who are actively trying to avoid paying for a professional. If someone searches for "how to fix a leaky faucet yourself," they are sending a clear signal: they want a tutorial, not a plumber.

Wasting ad spend on these clicks is like setting up a booth for your tax preparation firm at a software store that sells TurboTax. The audience has already decided on their path, and it doesn't involve hiring you. By excluding these search terms, you can laser-focus your budget on users who are actively looking for a professional to solve their problem for them.

Strategic Breakdown & Analysis

The strategy here is intent qualification. Users searching with DIY modifiers have a problem-solving intent, but their chosen solution is self-action, not professional service. Their goal is to find information and guides, which means a click on your service ad is almost always accidental or purely for research, with a near-zero chance of conversion.

Key Insight: Clicks from DIY-intent searches are high-cost, zero-conversion traps. Excluding them protects your budget from informational queries and directly increases your lead quality. This is a powerful negative keywords example for any business selling a professional service or a done-for-you solution.

For example, a web design agency should immediately add negative keywords like "DIY website builder" and "how to build a website myself." A user typing in these queries is looking for tools like Wix or Squarespace, not a high-end agency. Filtering this traffic is a fundamental step to stop burning cash on irrelevant clicks.

Actionable Takeaways & Application

Ready to stop paying for clicks from aspiring handymen and self-starters? Here’s how to implement this strategy effectively.

• Build a "DIY & Self-Service" List: In your Google Ads account, create a shared negative keyword list dedicated to these terms. Add foundational keywords like "DIY," "how to," "tutorial," "guide," and "do it yourself."
• Use Phrase Match: Add these terms as phrase match negatives (e.g., "how to," "self-service"). This will block longer searches like "how to repair drywall" or "self-service tax filing" without interfering with valuable commercial queries.
• Expand with Variations: Think about all the ways people search for self-help. Add terms like "self install," "on my own," "free template," "learn to," and "step-by-step."
• Leverage Automation: Sifting through search term reports for DIY patterns can be tedious. Tools like Keywordme can automatically detect and suggest these types of budget-wasting keywords, making it easier to keep your campaigns focused on high-intent leads.
• Monitor Search Term Reports: Regularly check your reports for new informational or DIY-related queries that are slipping through. You might find industry-specific terms you hadn't considered, which can then be added to your master negative list.

7. Product/Service Comparison and Review Queries

This category of keywords seems promising at first glance but can be a huge drain on your ad budget. When users search for terms like "product A vs. product B" or "best CRM software review," they are still in the research and evaluation phase. They are gathering information, not making a final purchasing decision.

Showing your ad to someone deep in comparison mode is like interrupting a debate team to ask who's ready to sign a contract. They are focused on weighing pros and cons, not clicking "Buy Now." By excluding these queries, you save your budget for users who have completed their research and are ready to choose a provider.

Strategic Breakdown & Analysis

The strategy here is purchase-readiness filtering. These searchers have high informational intent but low transactional intent at that moment. They want to read detailed articles, watch video reviews, or see side-by-side feature lists, which your landing page likely doesn't provide.

Key Insight: Clicks from comparison and review queries often have a high bounce rate and low conversion rate because your landing page doesn't match their research-focused intent. Excluding them helps you focus on bottom-of-the-funnel users who have already made up their minds.

For example, a company selling project management software should add negatives like "Asana vs Trello," "best project management tools," and "Monday.com review." A user searching these terms is looking for an unbiased (or at least comprehensive) overview, not a direct sales pitch. This is a classic negative keywords example of avoiding costly, top-of-funnel clicks that rarely convert.

Actionable Takeaways & Application

Ready to filter out the researchers and focus on the buyers? Here’s a clear plan to implement this strategy.

• Build a "Research" Negative List: Create a new negative keyword list in Google Ads specifically for these terms. Name it "Comparison & Reviews."
• Add Core Comparison Modifiers: Add broad or phrase match negatives for terms like "vs," "versus," "comparison," "compared to," and "alternative."
• Exclude Review & Ranking Terms: Add words like "review," "reviews," "rating," "ratings," "best," and "top" to your negative list to catch users looking for third-party validation.
• Consider a Separate Campaign: If you believe you can convert this traffic, create a separate campaign for these keywords with a much lower bid and a dedicated landing page that offers a comparison guide. This isolates the risk and allows you to test its viability.
• Audit Your Search Terms Report: Regularly check your search terms for these patterns. You'll quickly see which comparison queries are eating your budget without delivering conversions, allowing you to refine your negative list.

8. Misspellings and Typo Variants of Irrelevant Terms

This might seem counterintuitive at first. While you generally want Google to match your ads to misspellings of your target keywords, you absolutely need to block misspellings and typos of irrelevant terms. Failing to do so opens a backdoor for wasted ad spend, as Google's algorithm might "helpfully" connect a user's typo to your keyword, even when their intent is miles away.

Think of a company selling high-end "ergonomic desk chairs." A user might search for "disck golf," a common typo for "disc golf." Google's matching system could see the word "disck" and relate it to your keyword "desk," showing your expensive chair ad to someone looking for a frisbee. This is a perfect example of a well-intentioned algorithm leading to a completely worthless click.

Strategic Breakdown & Analysis

The strategy here is intent clarification through exclusion. By proactively adding common misspellings of unrelated but phonetically or typographically similar words, you are giving Google clearer instructions. You're telling the system, "No, even if it looks close, this specific search has nothing to do with what I sell." This prevents your budget from being drained by accidental matches.

Key Insight: Many wasteful clicks come from Google's broad matching of typos to keywords that look or sound similar. Excluding these typo variants is a surgical move that refines your targeting, ensuring you only pay for traffic with the correct underlying intent. This is a more advanced negative keywords example that separates novice advertisers from seasoned pros.

For instance, a software company offering a "suite" of marketing tools should add negative keywords like "sute" or "seut" if their Search Terms Report shows they are matching with searches for "hotel suites." This simple exclusion stops the campaign from bleeding money on irrelevant travel-related queries.

Actionable Takeaways & Application

Ready to tighten your targeting and eliminate these sneaky budget-wasters? Here’s how to apply this strategy.

• Audit Your Search Terms Report: This is your primary source of truth. Scour your report monthly for any terms that are clearly typos of unrelated concepts. These are your prime candidates for exclusion.
• Think Phonetically: Consider words that sound like your keywords but mean something different. If you sell "hair dye," you might want to exclude "hair die" to avoid any morbid or unintended search contexts.
• Focus on High-Volume Typos: Prioritize adding negative keywords for misspellings that appear most frequently in your reports. This will give you the biggest and fastest impact on your budget efficiency.
• Use Phrase and Exact Match: Add these typo variants as phrase match or exact match negatives. This provides precise control, blocking "disck golf" without accidentally blocking a legitimate search like "ergonomic desk for bad back." To better understand which match type to use, you can find more details on how negative keyword match types work.
• Create a "Typo Exclusions" List: Just like with competitors, create a dedicated negative keyword list for these variants. This keeps your account organized and makes it easy to apply the list across multiple campaigns.

Comparison of 8 Negative Keyword Examples

Make Your Ad Budget Work Smarter, Not Harder

And there you have it. We've journeyed through the nooks and crannies of wasted ad spend, uncovering the culprits that quietly drain your budget one irrelevant click at a time. From blocking the tire-kickers searching for "free" alternatives to sidestepping job seekers and steering clear of your competitors' brand traffic, the power of a well-curated negative keyword list is undeniable.

Think of it this way: every single negative keywords example we've explored today is more than just a word to block; it's a strategic decision. It's you, the advertiser, drawing a clear line in the sand and telling Google, "Don't show my ads to these people, because they aren't my customers." This isn't about limiting your reach; it's about concentrating your firepower where it will have the most impact.

From Theory to Tangible Results

The real magic happens when you move from reading about these concepts to actively implementing them. The lists and examples provided are your starting point, not your final destination. The most successful campaigns are built on a foundation of continuous refinement.

Here’s a quick recap of the core principles we've covered:

• Intent is Everything: The most critical filter is user intent. Your goal is to eliminate searchers who have no intention of buying, whether they're looking for information, a job, or a DIY tutorial.
• Protect Your Brand & Budget: Blocking competitor brand names and terms like "reviews" or "vs" ensures your budget is spent attracting new customers, not engaging in costly, low-conversion battles.
• Context is King: A term that's negative for an e-commerce store selling high-end furniture (e.g., "cheap," "free delivery") might be a primary keyword for a budget-focused brand. Your negative list must be tailored to your business model.
• Proactive vs. Reactive: Use the provided lists to build a foundational negative keyword list before you even launch a campaign. Then, use your Search Terms Report weekly to reactively add the new, unexpected junk queries that inevitably pop up.

Mastering the art of exclusion is what transforms a good Google Ads account into a great one. It’s the behind-the-scenes discipline that directly correlates with a lower Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) and a higher Return On Ad Spend (ROAS). Each term you negate is a small but significant victory in the war against wasted spend.

Strategic Takeaway: Treat your negative keyword list as a living document, not a static file. Schedule a recurring calendar event—maybe every Friday afternoon—to review your Search Terms Report. This simple habit will pay dividends, ensuring your campaigns become progressively more efficient over time.

By embracing this process, you are fundamentally changing your relationship with your ad budget. You stop treating it as a resource to be spent and start viewing it as an investment to be optimized. You’re no longer just buying clicks; you’re buying qualified, high-intent traffic that has a real chance of converting. This shift in mindset is the true key to unlocking scalable, profitable growth with Google Ads. The journey from a generic negative keywords example to a highly specific, ROI-driving list is where the pros are made.

Ready to stop digging through spreadsheets and start optimizing your campaigns in a fraction of the time? Keywordme offers a powerful Chrome plugin that integrates directly with your Google Ads interface, allowing you to analyze search terms and add negative keywords in bulk with just a few clicks. Turn hours of manual, tedious work into a streamlined, strategic process by trying Keywordme today.