Why it happens
No negatives at all
No negatives at all
New accounts and campaigns built from recommendations often launch with none, so every loosely related search can trigger an ad.
Negatives added once and never again
Search behavior shifts and broad match finds new territory. A list from launch day stops covering the waste within weeks.
Negatives at the wrong level
An ad-group negative only blocks that ad group. The same search can still trigger another ad group in the campaign.
How to fix it, step by step
Open the search terms report
Go to Campaigns, then Insights and reports, then Search terms. Sort by cost over the last 30 days.
Pick the terms that will never convert
Look for jobs, free, DIY, wrong product, wrong location and competitor searches you do not want. Check cost and conversions before you exclude.
Add them as negatives
Tick the terms and choose Add as negative keyword, or go to Audiences, keywords and content, then Search keywords, then Negative search keywords. Pick campaign level unless only one ad group should be blocked.
Repeat every week
Run the same review weekly while broad or phrase keywords are live, and monthly once the terms stay clean.
Steps checked against Google Ads Help: About negative keywords; Google Ads Help: Add negative keywords to campaigns; Google Ads Help: About the search terms report.
Sprites fixes this
Or let Sprites fix it
Sprites finds the negatives in your own search terms and adds them across your campaigns in one approved change.
What Sprites does
- Reads every search term in your Search campaigns with its cost and conversions.
- Checks negative coverage account-wide, including campaigns with none and lists attached to nothing.
- Adds one negative set to many campaigns at once, at campaign level, or to specific ad groups.
- You approve every change before it goes live.
What it doesn't do
- It does not edit shared negative keyword lists or the account-level list.
- It does not add negatives to Performance Max campaigns.
Questions
What are negative keywords in Google Ads?
Words or phrases that stop your ad showing when a search contains them. They cut spend on searches that will not convert.
Where do I add negative keywords?
At ad-group level, campaign level, in a negative keyword list you apply to campaigns, or in the single account-level list in Account settings.
How many negative keywords can I add?
Up to 5,000 per negative keyword list across up to 20 lists, and 1,000 in the account-level list.
How often should I add negative keywords?
Weekly while broad or phrase keywords run or after a launch, then monthly once new junk stops showing up.
Can negative keywords hurt performance?
Yes, if they block converting searches. Check every negative against your converting search terms before you add it.
Let Sprites fix it
Connect the account. Sprites finds the cause, stages the change and waits for your approval.