Negative keywords are an integral optimization for SEM campaign success.  Negative keywords are used to filter and block queries which are unrelated to your defined customer experience.

Benefits of Negative Keywords

The benefits of negative keywords include:

• Eliminating low converting queries
• Eliminating low CTR queries
• Eliminating high CPC Undesired queries

The gist of it is – if your bidded keywords are matching into queries that are negatively impacting your program you should be negative matching the query.  Depending on your keyword universe (total relevant query volume) you could be save anywhere from 5% to %50 on unnecessary cost!  If you can do only one optimization it should be developing negative keywords.

How to Develop Negative Keywords

There are many methods to developing negative keywords; however, the most effective way is to pull a search query report.  This report which can be generated in both AdWords and AdCenter provides a list of actually searched queries.  From this list you can look at performance metrics such as CPC, CTR and even Conversion if you have engine level conversion tracking enabled.

You should comb through this report at least monthly.  I recommend more frequent pulls ( weekly to biweekly) depending on your seraph volume.  If you are short on time sort the report by impressions to find the highest volume searches.  Read top to bottom and highlight queries unrelated to your defined customer experience.

AdCenter Search Query Report

You should also be on the lookout for keywords mapping to the wrong adgroup and campaign.  One frequent example of this is if you have 2 campaigns – “Brand Campaign” and “General Campaign.”  My brand name is “Awesome Guitars.”  In the “General Campaign” I am bidding on the keyword “Guitars.”

If the keyword “Guitars” has a higher max CPC than the keyword “Awesome Guitars” the the query “Awesome Guitars” will likely match the the campaign “General Campaign.”  To combat this in AdWords you can add the negative phrase match “Awesome Guitars” to the “General Campaign” which will force the “Brand Campaign” to correctly map to the query “Awesome Guitars.”

This same method can be risky in AdCenter due to its lack of negative matchtypes.  If you were to apply the negative “awesome guitars” in AdCenter you run the risk of blocking relevant traffic.

AdWords Negative Match Types

Negative match types has led to much frustration as a result of the difference from tradditional match type behavior.

Negative Broad Match

Negative Broad Match should be utilized when word order is not important.  It does not block plurals or extended matchers (IE Scarves vs. Scarf )

Negative Phrase Match

Negative Phrase Match should be utilized when word order is important. The negative phrase match keyword “silk ties” will not block the query “ties made from silk” because the word order has changed.  “Silk ties made in the USA” will be blocked.

Negative Exact Match

Negative Exact Match should be utilized when you want an exact query blocked.