Negative Keywords
Negative keywords prevent your ads from showing for irrelevant, low-intent, or off-brand search queries — protecting budget and improving quality scores.
What it is
A negative keyword tells Google: "don't show my ad when this word or phrase appears in the search query." You can add negatives at the ad group level (specific) or campaign level (broad). For healthcare, common negatives include "free", "jobs", "salary", "reviews" (unless you want them), and competitor brand names you don't want to bid on.
Why it matters
Without negative keywords, broad match and even phrase match can trigger your ads on hundreds of irrelevant queries — wasting budget and dragging down quality score. For behavioral health, this is critical: "detox" can pull in juice-cleanse queries, "recovery" can pull in sports recovery, "therapy" can pull in massage therapy.
How to build a negative list
Three sources: Search Terms Report (the queries that actually triggered your ads — mine this weekly), industry-standard negatives (a baseline list curated for your vertical), and brand protection (your own brand, your competitors when not advertising against them). Healthcare practices should also block "DIY", "at home", and similar self-service intents.
Frequently asked questions
How often should I review negative keywords?
Weekly in the first 90 days of a new campaign, then bi-weekly. Search query landscape shifts constantly, especially in healthcare where new conditions and products enter the lexicon.
Will negative keywords hurt my reach?
Done right, they protect reach — they cut off wasted impressions, which improves CTR, which boosts Quality Score, which gets you more relevant impressions at a lower cost.
Should I use phrase or exact match negatives?
Mix. Exact for known specific wasted queries (e.g., [free therapy]). Phrase for thematic blocks ("jobs"). Negative broad rarely needed.
