The 2025 Guide to Negative Keywords in Google Shopping

Google Shopping is a lead generation powerhouse, connecting your products to over 1.2 billion ready-to-buy shoppers every month. But what happens when your ads show up for all the wrong searches? You burn budget on clicks that will never convert. That’s where a strategic negative keyword strategy comes in—it’s your most powerful filter for profitability.

Read the full breakdown to turn your Shopping campaigns from a money pit into a revenue engine.

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What Are Negative Keywords in Google Shopping? (The Filter Your Campaign Needs)

Unlike the keywords you bid on in Search ads, negative keywords are exclusionary. Think of them as a blocklist: terms you explicitly tell Google not to show your ads for.

Example: You sell premium running shoes. You want to show for “carbon fiber plated running shoes” but you don’t want to show for “cheap running shoes” or “used running shoes.” Adding those latter terms as negatives ensures your budget targets the right audience.

This is the foundation of intent-based targeting. If you’re still building your initial keyword strategy, our guide on how to find Google Shopping keywords is the perfect starting point.

Why Negative Keywords Are Non-Negotiable for ROI

When it comes to the compounding impact on your account’s overall health, here’s how negatives work as a force multiplier:

Filter Unwanted Traffic: This is the obvious one. They stop wasted spend on irrelevant clicks.
Skyrocket Ad Relevance: By blocking mismatched searches, your Click-Through Rate (CTR) climbs. Google rewards high CTR with lower costs and better ad placement.
Hyper-Optimize Budget Allocation: Every dollar saved on a “free” seeker is a dollar you can bid more aggressively on a “buy now” shopper.
Tailor to Commercial Intent: This is the real secret. Negatives let you surgically remove researchers (“review,” “how to”) and bargain hunters (“cheap,” “discount”) to focus purely on commercial buyers.

The twist? Negatives don’t just save money—they actively make your campaigns more efficient and profitable over time.

How to Find Negative Keywords: A Practical 3-Step Process

You can’t just guess. Finding the right negatives requires data. Here’s the actionable workflow we use at BrightBid.

Step 1: Mine Your Search Term Report (The Goldmine)

This is your #1 source of truth. Go to your Google Ads account, navigate to your Shopping campaign, and open the “Search terms” report. Look for two things:

Irrelevant Queries: Any search that has nothing to do with your product.
Low-Intent Queries: Searches with impressions but no clicks, or clicks with no conversions.

Pro Tip: Export this report and sort by cost. A single irrelevant, high-cost search term is a major red flag.

Step 2: Analyze Competitor & Industry Patterns

What are your competitors excluding? Tools like Semrush’s Advertising Research or Similarweb can reveal the negative keyword lists competitors might be using in their search campaigns, giving you a head start.

Step 3: Build a Universal Negative List (The Starter Pack)

While every business is unique, some negatives are almost universal. Start with these high-level categories:

Intent Filters: free, cheap, discount, sample
Research Terms: review, best, vs, compared to, how to
Non-Commercial: DIY, instructions, template, download
Condition: used, refurbished, broken, rental
B2B Terms: wholesale, bulk, supplier (unless you are one!)

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How to Add Negative Keywords: Campaign vs. Ad Group Level

This is where most people get stuck. The key is understanding hierarchy and specificity.

Level	Scope	Best For	Example
Campaign	Applies to ALL ad groups in the campaign	Broad, universal exclusions that apply to every product.	`free`, `used`, `wholesale`
Ad Group	Applies only to one specific ad group	Precise exclusions for a product category.	In a “Men’s Dress Shoes” ad group, add `running` or `athletic` as a negative.

The actionable takeaway: Start with your universal list at the campaign level. Then, as you analyze search terms for specific product groups, add more granular negatives at the ad group level.

Understanding Match Types for Negatives

Just like positive keywords, match types control how strict Google is with your exclusions.

Match Type	What It Blocks	Example
Exact Match `[keyword]`	Only the exact term, in that order.	`[free shoes]` blocks “free shoes” but not “shoes for free”.
Phrase Match `"keyword"`	The exact phrase and close variations.	`"free shoes"` blocks “free shoes” and “red free shoes”.
Broad Match `keyword`	The term, its variations, and related meanings. (Use cautiously!)	`free shoes` could block “free running shoes” or even “shoes without laces”.

Our recommendation: Start with Phrase Match for most negatives. It offers a good balance of control and coverage without being overly restrictive like Exact or overly broad like Broad Match.

Should You Add Misspelled Negative Keywords? (The Surprising Answer)

Generally, no. Here’s why most guides get this wrong: Google’s close variant matching for negatives is very effective. Adding runing shoes is often redundant because the phrase match negative "running shoes" will likely catch it.

The exception? If there is a very common, specific misspelling of your brand or a core product that keeps popping up in your search terms report. Otherwise, your time is better spent on other optimizations.

How Long Until Negative Keywords Work?

The update is almost instant. Once you hit save, Google begins excluding those terms. However, you might still see them in your Search Term Report for 24-48 hours due to reporting latency. Don’t panic—this is normal.

Troubleshooting: Why Your Negative Keywords Aren’t Working

If you’ve added negatives but still see irrelevant traffic, here’s a diagnostic checklist:

Check Your Match Type: A broad match negative might be too vague. Switch to phrase match for more precision.
Audit Your Product Feed: If your product title says “Great for DIY projects,” Google might still show it for “DIY” searches, overriding your negative. Your feed data is powerful.
Understand Priority: If the same product is in multiple campaigns with different priorities, Google uses the campaign-level negative keywords from the winning campaign. Ensure your negatives are in the right campaign.
Be Patient: Wait 2-3 days for the system to fully process the changes and for reporting to catch up.

Advanced Strategy: Campaign Priorities & Negative Keywords

This is the pro-level move. You can create a powerful segmentation strategy by using campaign priorities combined with tailored negative keyword lists.

Here’s the logic chain:

Duplicate your Shopping campaign three times. Set one to Low, one to Medium, and one to High priority.
Assign Budgets & Bids: Set higher bids for High-priority campaigns targeting top-of-funnel, high-intent queries. Set lower bids for Low-priority campaigns casting a wider net.
Layer Your Negative Keywords:
- Low Priority: Minimal negatives. Catch everything, including informational queries.
- Medium Priority: Add negatives for irrelevant and super low-intent terms found in the Low-priority campaign’s report.
- High Priority: The most restrictive list. Negative out all research and non-commercial terms to focus purely on buyers.

This system ensures the right products show for the right searches at the right bid.

Case Study: Stålhästen’s AI-Driven Negative Keyword Optimization

Challenge: Swedish bicycle brand Stålhästen had low brand awareness and underperforming Smart Shopping campaigns.
Solution: BrightBid’s Bidbrain AI was implemented to:

Optimize feed data and refine bidding.
Segment products by likelihood to convert.
Automatically identify and apply negative keywords for irrelevant searches.
ROAS increased from 473% to 1232% in 12 months.
Conversion value grew 33%.

Take Action: Your Negative Keyword Checklist

Don’t let analysis paralysis stop you. Implement this today:

RUN your Search Terms Report for the last 30 days.
IDENTIFY 10-20 irrelevant or low-intent search terms.
CREATE a Shared Negative Keyword List with your universal terms.
APPLY that list at the campaign level.
SCHEDULE a monthly reminder to repeat steps 1-2.

Mastering negative keywords is what separates decent Shopping campaigns from truly exceptional, high-ROI ones. It’s not a set-it-and-forget-it task—it’s an ongoing process of refinement that puts you in complete control of who sees your ads.

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Google Shopping Negative Keywords: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What are negative keywords in Google Shopping?

Negative keywords are terms you add to your Google Shopping campaigns to prevent your ads from showing for irrelevant searches. Unlike regular keywords that help your ads appear, negative keywords act as filters to exclude searches that are unlikely to convert, such as “free” or “used” queries. This ensures your budget is spent on high-intent shoppers.

Q2: Why are negative keywords important for Google Shopping?

Negative keywords are critical for:

Reducing wasted spend by excluding irrelevant clicks.
Improving ad relevance and click-through rates (CTR).
Focusing on high-intent shoppers by filtering out terms like “reviews” or “tutorials.”

They also help optimize your return on ad spend (ROAS) by ensuring your ads reach users ready to buy.

Q3: How do I find negative keywords for my campaigns?

Search Term Report: Analyze queries that triggered your ads and add irrelevant terms as negatives.
Competitor Analysis: Use tools like Semrush or Ahrefs to identify competitors’ negative keywords.
Universal Negatives: Start with broad terms like “free,” “cheap,” or “DIY” that often indicate low purchase intent.

Q4: Can I add negative keywords to Performance Max campaigns?

Yes! Performance Max campaigns support negative keywords to exclude irrelevant searches. Use them to refine targeting and avoid wasted spend. For a detailed guide, see How to Use Exclusions in Performance Max.

Q5: How long do negative keywords take to work?

Negative keywords take effect almost instantly, but full integration into Google’s system may take a few hours. Note that the Search Term Report might reflect these changes after 1–2 days due to reporting delays.

Q6: Why are my negative keywords not working?

Common reasons include:

Incorrect match types (e.g., broad match allowing variations).
Product feed issues (e.g., titles containing negative terms).
Campaign priority conflicts where higher-priority campaigns override negatives.

For troubleshooting tips, read Top Google Shopping Issues and How to Fix Them.

Q7: Should I add misspelled words as negative keywords?

Generally, no. Google’s close variant matching automatically handles most misspellings. However, add industry-specific or brand-specific misspellings if they frequently appear in your Search Term Report.

Q8: How do negative keywords impact ROAS?

By excluding low-intent searches, negative keywords help allocate budget to high-converting queries, directly improving ROAS. For benchmarks and strategies, see A Good ROAS for Google Ads.

Q9: Can I use negative keywords at both campaign and ad group levels?

Yes:

Campaign-level negatives apply to all ad groups (e.g., excluding “wholesale” globally).
Ad-group-level negatives are product-specific (e.g., excluding “running” for dress shoes).

Q10: Where can I learn more about Google Shopping optimization?

Explore these resources:

Ready to automate your negative keyword strategy and more? See how our AI-powered platform transforms Google Ads management.

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