Should Negative Keywords be Broad Match?

Posted September 19th, 2019 by Kirti & filed under Google Ads Tips, Keywords, Negative Keywords.

We say, why not! Using broad match negative keywords is no restriction but yes, it does come with a rulebook to follow.

We had previously written about this topic already. We take this space to revise on the things we discussed and bring all the points together here.

1. Make sure that no relevant search term is getting blocked as broad match tends to cater to a larger spectrum of search terms. So, you don’t want to, as a result, block some relevant queries too.

2. While adding negative keywords, you need to note that close variants or similar keywords are not considered. So if you wish to block a keyword then don’t forget to add the close variants as negative keywords too. For e.g., for the negative keyword red shoes your ad will not show for red shoes for toddlers, but will show for search query red shoe and the ones mentioned below.

3. Certain terms might be relevant in some scenario but irrelevant in others. So, make a note of such terms and use a phrase match type instead to block the search queries. For example if you sell “golf shoes” and don’t want to appear for the search term golf tournament, you might think of adding golf tournaments as a broad match negative keyword. It might help in blocking your ad for irrelevant search queries such as tournaments of golf or golf tournaments in USA but also for some relevant search queries such as golf shoes for tournaments or shoes for golf tournaments. So use the match type wisely.

4. For a single word keyword, it actually doesn’t matter what match type you use as the match type’s role is insignificant there. That is a no-brainer. So, your match types come into play when they are multi-word keywords.

Note: For multi word keywords, variations of the negative keyword should be considered before adding it in the broad match type.

5. Broad match is the default match type in the negative keywords. So while adding your negative keywords do make it a point to assign the match type if it is not the broad match type.

6. For some keywords, the terms in a particular order change the meaning of the keyword. In such a case, you need to be careful while assigning the broad match type. For instance, keywords Wellington Hotel and Hotels in Wellington both would serve different intent. Where the former would be searches related to the brand ‘Wellington Hotel’, the latter is search related with hotels in Wellington (New York).

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And here are some top-ups

1. With broad match, all the terms need to be present in the search query to block it. So, if you have a negative keyword with more than one word, then make a note that your ad will end up showing for the individual terms. For example, if you have added ‘running shoes’ as negative keyword, then your ad will still show for ‘running‘ and ‘shoes‘ individually. If you do not want to show for these terms too, then add them as negative keywords separately.

2. Variation of your negative keywords may perform differently. When adding a broad match type negative keyword you end up blocking all possible variations. It is thus, advisable to relook into your search terms and evaluate the performance. If a possible variation works better or is converting, then add the non-performer as a exact match type negative keyword.

For e.g., negative keyword ‘green shoes‘ might also block a performing term such as ‘green running shoes‘. In such a case it is better to use ‘green shoes’ in the phrase match type.

End Notes

Broad match keywords should not be feared, but used when it is the last resort. As you can very well witness that it is complex in nature and needs double the work to execute. So, if it needs to be replaced with another match type, then it should be. What matters by the end, is that, you block irrelevant terms no matter what combination of match types you use for your negative keywords.

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