The short answer
A negative keyword tells Google: don't show my ad when someone's search contains this word. Plumbers exclude ‘apprenticeship’ and ‘how to’, roofers exclude ‘salary’, and so on. It's the simplest way to stop paying for useless clicks.
“plumber apprenticeship”
Ad not shown“fix leaking tap yourself”
Ad not shown“roofer salary”
Ad not shown“solar panels cheap”
Ad not shownWhy you need them
Google matches your ads to searches that are related to your keywords, not only identical ones. That's useful, but it also means your ad can appear for ‘bathroom renovation apprenticeship’ when you advertise ‘bathroom renovation’.
Common negatives for local businesses
Most service businesses can start with words like these:
- Jobs: apprenticeship, salary, job, vacancy
- DIY: yourself, how to, instructions, tutorial
- Free stuff: free, template, pdf
- Shopping: buy, cheap, online shop (if you only install)
How to find your own
Open the search terms report, sort by cost and look for searches with clicks but no enquiries. Each pattern you find is a candidate negative. Repeat weekly; new patterns appear all the time.
Be careful not to exclude good searches: ‘price’ or ‘cost’ often come from serious buyers.
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Start free trialQuestions
Can negative keywords block good customers?
Yes, if chosen carelessly. Exclude clear patterns (jobs, DIY) and review before excluding broad words.
How many negative keywords should I have?
There's no fixed number. Start with obvious patterns and add more as your search terms show them.
Does Orbit Grow add negative keywords for me?
It suggests them in plain language, such as ‘Stop paying for these 4 searches?’, and adds them after you approve.