{"id":28472,"date":"2026-10-08T15:00:40","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T09:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.karooya.com\/blog\/?p=28472"},"modified":"2026-10-08T15:00:41","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T09:30:41","slug":"google-ads-negative-keyword-lists-types-strategy-best-practices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.karooya.com\/blog\/google-ads-negative-keyword-lists-types-strategy-best-practices\/","title":{"rendered":"Master Google Ads Negative Keyword Lists: Types, Strategy & Best Practices"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Manually adding negative keywords to individual campaigns can be tedious and time-consuming. Negative keyword lists make it easier to group related terms and apply them across multiple campaigns at once. This keeps your account organised, simplifies ongoing management, and makes it easier to update exclusions as search behavior changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

TL;DR<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Discover how to build and manage Google Ads negative keyword lists, find new exclusions using search data and AI, and keep irrelevant traffic out without restricting valuable opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why negative keywords still matter in increasingly automated Google Ads?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Negative keywords have always been useful for stopping wasted ad spend, and they remain an important way to prevent ads from showing for clearly irrelevant searches. The role of negative keywords, however, is changing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Over the years, Google Ads has become increasingly automated. Features such as AI Max for Search<\/a> and Performance Max use AI to expand reach and identify relevant search queries. AI Max can go beyond traditional keyword matching, using broad match and keywordless technology to discover additional queries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But automation doesn\u2019t mean advertisers have to give up control. Negative keywords still provide an important way to tell Google which searches are not relevant to your business. If a query may seem related to your keywords but doesn\u2019t align with your offering or goals, you can use a negative keyword to exclude it. This helps prevent irrelevant traffic from consuming budget and keeps campaign targeting aligned with your business objectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“While automation handles more of the targeting, negative keywords help advertisers set clear boundaries around unwanted traffic.<\/strong><\/em>“<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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What is a negative keyword list, and why should we use one?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Adding negative keywords manually works well when you need to apply them to just one ad group or campaign. But when the same keywords need to be added across multiple campaigns, ad groups, or the entire account, negative keyword lists make the process much easier and more efficient. Once you update a list, the changes automatically apply to all campaigns or ad groups using that list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As per 2026 Google Ads updates:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Negative keywords per list<\/td>Up to 5,000 keywords<\/td><\/tr>
Negative keyword lists per account<\/td>Up to 20 shared negative keyword lists<\/td><\/tr>
Negative keyword lists per campaign<\/td>Up to 20 shared negative keyword lists attached to a single campaign<\/td><\/tr>
Account-level negative <\/td>Up to 1,000 account-level negative keywords<\/a> can be applied across relevant Search and Shopping inventory, including Performance Max<\/td><\/tr>
Performance Max campaign-level negatives<\/td>The limit rose from 100 to 10,000 per campaign in March 2025, and shared lists became usable in Performance Max from August 2025.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Which negative keyword lists should every Google Ads account have?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Before creating negative keyword lists, segment them by campaign objectives. Keeping your negative keywords organized also makes account management easier. By separating them into relevant lists, you can manage them more efficiently and apply the right exclusions to the right campaigns. Let\u2019s look at the different types of negative keyword lists you can create:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1. Brand Negatives:<\/strong> If you have separate campaigns for brand and non-brand keywords, consider adding your brand terms as negatives to the non-brand campaigns. Brand and non-brand keywords typically perform differently, with brand searches often generating lower CPCs, higher CTRs, and lower CPAs. Keeping brand traffic separate can help prevent overlap between campaigns and give you a clearer view of each campaign\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2. Competitor Brand Negatives:<\/strong> There are several reasons you may choose not to bid on your competitors\u2019 brand names. You may have an agreement with competitors not to target each other\u2019s brands, or trademark restrictions may limit how you can use their names in your ads or as keywords. In other cases, competitor-related traffic may simply deliver poor conversion rates because users are specifically looking for another brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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3. Partner Brand Negatives:<\/strong> Your affiliates or business partners may bid on the same terms and compete for the same audience. To avoid your ads appearing for searches that include a partner\u2019s brand name, you can create a negative keyword list containing their brand terms. Similarly, you may want your affiliates to exclude your brand name from their campaigns to avoid competing with your own brand traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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4. Product or Audience Negatives:<\/strong> If your campaigns target highly segmented audiences, you may not want users to see ads for products or services that aren’t relevant to them. For example, if you sell kids’ scarves<\/em> and women’s scarves<\/em> through separate campaigns, you can add the relevant women’s scarf keywords as negatives in the kids’ scarf campaign, and vice versa. This helps keep your ads aligned with each audience’s needs and prevents irrelevant products from appearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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5. Related Product Negatives:<\/strong> Overlapping product lines can also lead to irrelevant traffic. For example, if you sell phone chargers, laptop chargers, and power banks, shared terms like \u201ccharger\u201d can trigger the wrong ads. Cross-negating specific product terms helps keep each campaign focused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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6. Performance Max Negatives:<\/strong> Negative keyword control in Performance Max<\/a> has evolved significantly. In 2026, a well-structured setup looks like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n