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The Value of Negative Keywords for PPC Ads

Updated: Feb 25, 2023 @ 3:29 AM

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What’s a Negative Keyword?

Negative keywords are a crucial element of any pay per click (PPC) campaign. A negative keyword is a keyword or phrase that’s set to “not trigger” an ad from a Google Ad campaign.

When a user searches for a phrase containing a negative keyword, the business’s ads will not be shown to them, even if the ad is related to the user’s search query.

Example of How Negative Keywords Work

If a business sells women’s clothing and has the keyword “dresses” in its campaign’s keyword list, its ads may be shown to users who search for “women’s dresses.”

However, if the business has the negative keyword “wedding” included in its campaign, its ads will not be shown to users who search for “wedding dresses.” If the business doesn’t sell wedding dresses and doesn’t have “wedding” as a negative keyword, then they’ll pay for each click from users searching for wedding dresses, a needless cash burn.

The effective use of negative keywords will improve the relevance of your ads and ensure that they’re only shown to users who are genuinely interested in your business’s products & services.

Negative Keywords Make PPC Campaigns Efficient

One of the main benefits of using negative keywords is they’ll help to increase the relevance and efficiency of your PPC campaign. When ads are shown to users who are searching for terms that are unrelated to company’s products & services, it can mean a high number of irrelevant clicks which will result in a low conversion rate, and an unnecessary cash burn.

Eliminate Irrelevant Clicks

As previously stated, irrelevant clicks will increase the cost of the campaign. When ads are shown to users who are not interested in the business or its products or services, it can lead to a high number of wasted clicks that won’t result in conversions. This can cause the business to pay for a large number of clicks that don’t provide any value, which can significantly increase the overall cost of the campaign.

Improve Conversion Rates

Lead Generation and Internet Marketing with PPC AdsA low conversion rate can reduce the ROI of your PPC campaign. When ads are shown to users who are not likely to convert, it can lead to a low conversion rate, which means that your business is not getting a good return on its investment in the campaign.

This can make it difficult for you to justify the cost of your campaign and might prompt you to stop PPC advertising. 

Most of our current PPC clients have had less than stellar experiences with their previous PPC campaigns because of inexperienced management.

However, they found success working with our team of experienced PPC campaign managers. If you’ve had a bad experience with a Google Ad campaign and need professional assistance, feel free to contact us for help or ask us about our PPC campaign audit services.

Irrelevant clicks and a low conversion rate will have negative effects on a Google Ad PPC campaign. They can increase the cost of the campaign, reduce ROI, and damage your business’s reputation.

By implementing a negative keyword strategy, your Google Ads will bring in qualified traffic from users that are interested in the solutions your business offers. An effective negative keyword strategy will lead to a higher conversion rate, lower costs, and a better ROI.

Negative Keywords Improve Google Ads Quality Score

Negative keywords can also help improve a PPC campaign’s quality score.

The quality score is a measure of the relevance and effectiveness of a Google Ad. It’s used by Google to determine the ranking of an ad and the amount the business pays per click. By implementing an effective negative keyword strategy, your digital text & display ads will be more relevant to the users who see them, leading to a higher quality score and a lower cost per click.

Need Help with Your PPC Campaign?

Contact VizTV Media Services Today!

We continuously research and implement negative keywords when managing our client’s Google Ad accounts. We implement multiple negative keyword strategies which exclude celebrities, unrelated industry terms, phrases like “free,” and other strategies to categorize negative keywords.

If you’re looking for help to maximize the efficiency of your Google Ads PPC campaign, contact VizTV Media Services today by calling 713-443-7578 or reach out to us via the contact form.

About The Author

I'm Ray'Von D. Shanklin (AKA VizFact), owner, and founder of VizTV Media Services. I'm a webmaster, SEO specialist, videographer, graphic designer, PPC campaign expert, and an all-around heck of a guy. If you have any questions or need help, reach out to me.