Negative Keywords

Definition

Negative keywords are a type of keyword in Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising, particularly in Google Ads, that prevent your ad from being triggered by a certain word or phrase. They work as filters to make sure that your ads don’t show up for irrelevant search queries. When you add negative keywords to your PPC campaigns, the search engines are instructed not to show your ad to people who are searching for those specific terms. This can help increase the relevancy of your ad and prevent wasted clicks.

Negative Keywords Relevance For SEO

Negative keywords, as a PPC concept, only indirectly affects Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and only at the strategic level. They aren’t directly related to organic search rankings, however, their efficient usage can yield interesting insights about the user search behavior. This information can inform and improve your SEO keyword strategy. By studying the keywords that don’t perform well for your paid campaigns, you can have better control over the content you create and optimize it for organic search performance, contributing to your overall SEO strategy.

Negative Keywords Best Practices for SEO

  • Regular Review: Regularly reviewing the terms that triggers your ads and comparing their performance allows you to better drive and fine-tune your SEO strategy.
  • Prioritization: Priorize and dedicate more efforts to ranking for keywords that triggers conversions. Initially avoid the ones that don’t.