Pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns are one of the many channels digital marketers rely on to drive website traffic. To leverage this form of advertising, you must be excellent with keywords, especially negative keywords.
Negative keywords are words or phrases you apply to your PPC campaigns so your ads will not appear on irrelevant searches. You must master them because not all clicks result in conversion, but they all cost you money.
Imagine a business running a PPC campaign for luxury watches. It would want its ads to appear on the result pages of people searching for terms like “luxury watches,” “high-end watches,” or “designer timepieces,” but not for “affordable watches.” The word “affordable” is a negative keyword that can filter out those not in the target market.
Negative keywords improve ad relevance by ensuring that only the “right” people can see your ad and, consequently, enhance click-through rates (CTR). When your ads only reach the people they are supposed to reach, the more chances you have for conversion and the less budget you have to allocate for clicks that do not lead to sales.
Running PPC campaigns with relevant keywords is already challenging. Adding negative keywords into the mix can make it even more complicated! How do you make this technique work for you?
Search query reports show what terms users searched for that led them to your ad. Analyze the keywords and determine those with low CTRs and conversion rates, as they are the terms you must exclude from your campaign. You can also brainstorm potential negative keywords to avoid irrelevant searches proactively.
Your campaign has a key theme; you need ad groups to deliver your message. Each ad group has its own set of keywords, which may not be the same as those of other ad groups.
Campaign-level negative keywords are your first and broadest line of defense, and you set them up to exclude terms across all ad groups in your PPC campaign. Ad group-level negative keywords narrow the scope even further, focusing on specific keywords within an ad group.
Negative keywords are a lot of work. However, your efforts in mastering them lead to benefits that relevant keywords cannot provide alone.
Remember, you pay for every click on your ad, including those that do not lead to any action. By keeping your ad away from users who may click but not buy, you reduce wasted ad spend and improve return on ad spend (ROAS).
For instance, if you sell light-blocking window shades, you can add “curtains” or “blinds” as negative keywords to avoid appearing in searches for these alternative products. If you make $9 for every $1 you spend on advertising, removing irrelevant searches can increase your ROAS to $10 or more.
You are not the only digital marketer trying to reach a particular audience. As such, your ad should have a good quality score to beat competitors and attain a higher ranking on result pages. Negative keywords refine ad relevance, a factor that determines a quality score.
This perk also lowers cost per click (CPC), the amount you pay for each click on your ad. Your CPC depends on your bid amount, ad quality score, and competition for the targeted keywords. For example, if you bid $1 on a keyword, you can lower it to $0.80 or even less if your ad performs well.
Google PPC ads have a 200% ROI, the biggest among all digital advertising platforms. You can also secure the same success if you target the right audience. And the lower your CPC (thanks to negative keywords), the more you can stretch your ad budget and reach more people.
Consequently, when your ad gets to the people who need it, they get an enhanced user experience. As a result, you attract more potential customers, which can translate to tangible short- and long-term sales.
Like everything else in digital marketing, negative keywords demand regular reviews and updates. Your search query reports will not give the same data today as a month ago, so you must consistently refresh your negative keywords.
You should also use different match types. There are broad, phrase, exact, and negative matches; leveraging them all gives you better control over your PPC campaign. Broad matches show your ads for searches related to the meaning of your keywords, while phrase matches have the same meaning as your keywords. Exact matches only surface your ads for the exact intent of your keyword.
Negative keyword lists can help you manage your PPC campaigns across different ad groups. Create these lists based on themes, products, services, or any category you deem fit. Lists let you apply negative keywords easily and quickly, saving time on manual reviews of search queries.
Are your negative keywords working? You can find out by tracking key metrics or KPIs like the CTR, CPC, and conversion rate. Compare these metrics to the period before you applied negative keywords to your PPC campaign and see if there are significant changes. Update your negative keywords accordingly. Many analytics tools make this process more straightforward, with Google Ads being one of the top recommendations.
Negative keywords prove that some negatives have positive impacts. By filtering your ads, you can increase the likelihood of spending only on clicks that turn into conversions. Implementation takes considerable effort and resources, but once you master it, your PPC campaigns will perform better.
Ready to supercharge your PPC campaigns with expert negative keyword strategies? Connection Model specializes in optimizing digital advertising for maximum ROI. Contact our team today to discover how we can help you refine your targeting, reduce wasted ad spend, and boost your campaign performance.