Negative Keyword Hygiene

What AdGradr checks

Negative keyword coverage is the most common finding in real audits and one of the most important checks. AdGradr evaluates negatives from all three scopes — campaign-level, ad-group-level, and shared negative keyword lists — and surfaces the breakdown in your report so you know where the gaps are.

Three conditions are evaluated:

• Zero negative keywords anywhere in the account. The most significant finding. Without any negatives at any scope, broad and phrase match campaigns have no guardrails against irrelevant queries.
• Negative-to-keyword ratio below 10%. A moderate finding indicating the combined negative list is too thin relative to the active keyword portfolio.
• Broad or phrase match campaigns with zero negatives. A significant finding because these match types are most vulnerable to irrelevant query expansion.

Note

The report shows the breakdown by scope: how many negatives are campaign-level, how many are ad-group-level, and how many come from each shared list. A campaign appearing in the broad/phrase-match-without-negatives finding has no negatives at any scope, including shared lists attached to it.

Why this matters

Without negative keywords, broad and phrase match campaigns serve impressions on irrelevant queries. You pay for clicks that will never convert. In most accounts we audit, 15% to 30% of search spend goes to queries that should have been excluded. Negatives are the single cheapest way to improve account efficiency.

What good looks like

• A negative-to-keyword ratio of at least 20% (e.g., 100 keywords and 20+ negatives) across all three scopes combined.
• Every broad and phrase match campaign has either campaign-level negatives, ad-group-level negatives, or a shared list attached.
• Negatives are reviewed and updated at least monthly using the Search Terms report.
• Shared negative keyword lists cover account-wide exclusions (competitors, jobs, free, DIY, etc.) and are attached to all search campaigns.

The three scopes (use them deliberately)

Each scope solves a different problem. Mixing them poorly leaves gaps; using them well builds layered defense.

1. Campaign-level negatives. Best for exclusions specific to that campaign’s theme. Example: a “Plumbing - Emergency” campaign excludes “DIY,” “tutorial,” “how to fix.”
2. Ad-group-level negatives. Best for tighter intent shaping inside a campaign. Example: an ad group targeting “water heater repair” excludes “installation” terms so the traffic stays on repair intent.
3. Shared lists. Best for universal exclusions that apply everywhere: competitor names, job-seeker terms, geographic mismatches, brand-protection terms. Maintain once, attach to all campaigns.

Common mistakes

1. Setting up campaigns and never adding negatives at any scope. This is the default state of most accounts. Broad match without negatives is essentially a blank check to Google.
2. Relying only on campaign-level negatives. If you have 10 campaigns and the same 50 universal exclusions, you are maintaining 500 entries instead of 50 in a shared list.
3. Using only exact match negatives. This misses variations. A phrase match negative for “free consultation” blocks “free consultation near me” and “get free consultation online.” An exact match negative only blocks the exact phrase.
4. Adding negatives only at setup and never revisiting. Search behavior changes. New irrelevant queries appear constantly.

How to fix it

1. Pull the Search Terms report for the last 90 days. Sort by cost descending.
2. Identify queries with spend but zero conversions. Look for patterns: informational intent (“how to,” “what is”), competitor names, job seekers (“careers,” “salary”), and geographic mismatches.
3. Decide the right scope for each pattern. Universal exclusions go into a shared list. Campaign-specific go to campaign-level. Tight intent shaping inside a campaign goes ad-group-level.
4. Create a shared negative keyword list for universal exclusions and attach it to all search campaigns.
5. Set a calendar reminder to review search terms every two weeks for the first 90 days, then monthly.

When to ignore this check

• Exact match only campaigns have minimal exposure to irrelevant queries. A low negative count is acceptable if every keyword is exact match.
• Very small accounts with fewer than 10 keywords may not need a large negative list yet. Focus on building the keyword set first, then layer in negatives as search term data accumulates.

---

Want someone to handle this? The Click Makers team manages Google Ads accounts for companies spending $10K+/month. Get in touch to see if we are a fit.