How to Use Negative Keywords to Positively Impact Your Campaign Strategy

A Brief Explanation of the Concept

If you don’t want people to associate a certain term or phrase with your product, you may set it as a negative keyword. Using them lets you quickly and easily filter out those who aren’t interested in your content. The keywords have the potential to increase the success rate of internet marketing campaigns if applied properly.

As an example, such a keyword may be applied to prevent your “lipstick” advertising from appearing when a person is looking for “cheap equivalent of *some* lipstick” but only when the term “lipstick” is included in the query. Bear in mind that incorporating this advertising tool follows one rule: the more details you can provide, the better. 

“Bad” Keywords in Ad Campaigns and Guidelines on Their Optimization

• Increase your CTR by displaying advertising just to those who are likely to be interested in what you have to offer. That’s a certain way to boost your website’s clickthrough rate.
• Save some money on advertising since your adverts won’t be seen by those who will never become customers. You won’t splurge money on a click that does not provide a return on investment.
• Strengthen the cohesiveness of your ad groups by enhancing ad relevancy. You may improve your Quality Score, CPC, and ad position this way.
• Boost your conversion rate by attracting high-quality leads in a certain geographical location by targeting the proper audience, just like you would with search engine optimization.

Only after you complete the research and draft an ad text can you consider creating a full-fledged ad. But hold on, haven’t you forgotten something? Visuals, for instance? Don’t worry, though – VistaCreate has got your back! Check its free social media templates, like this facebook ad template, and use any to make your forthcoming campaign a blast.

Nonetheless, here are some pointers for making the most of “bad” keywords in your advertising campaigns.

1. Include unfavorable search terms in both your campaign and ad group levels.

Conducting a little investigation to determine which negative keywords should become a part of your future campaign is a crucial element of a successful strategy. For your understanding, let us make an effort to differentiate between the two levels of using negative terms:

• in relation to one particular case (specific campaign)

• in relation to an ad group

By using “bad” keywords at the campaign level, you can be certain that none of your adverts will be shown for any of the specified terms, notwithstanding the ad group they are included in.

In the case of employing “bad guys” at the ad group level, only specific adverts within your ad groups won’t show up for the negative search phrases you have selected to target. This is because negative keywords are used to filter out irrelevant results.

2. Don’t use a bunch of “negatives” at once.

Each campaign may only have up to 10k non-positive keywords. This is a Google rule we have to remember about. The easiest trick to prevent your advertising from showing up in search results for terms you don’t want to associate with your brand could seem like adding every single negative phrase you can think of. However, ‘list stuffing,’ which involves entering all of your negative keywords at once, reduces your advertising exposure. Due to this, the percentage of lost impressions will rise as fewer individuals view them. Instead, expand your list in tandem with your advertising efforts to better understand the efficacy of your advertisements.

3. Combine negative keywords from several campaigns into one unified list.

Adding keywords to a common keyword list allows for rapid application across campaigns. All campaigns or only those with a strong connection to one another may be included (for example, a list shared across brand campaigns versus product campaigns). Create a list of typical negative phrases if you want to save time and money while onboarding new customers. Some negative keywords may not be important at present, but they may become useful in the future (for example, seasonal sales, special offerings, new arrivals, and collections). 

Conclusion

For optimal outcomes, cost savings, and a decrease in the number of unqualified leads — all of which contribute to a higher return on investment — a PPC campaign should apply negative keywords.

You may refine your campaign’s TA and get top-notch leads by using “bad keywords.” It’s crucial to be as precise as possible with your “negatives” to save money on advertising to individuals who won’t purchase from you. 

The search for “bad guys” is just half the fight won. Getting your landing page tailored for PPC and making the ideal ad are both essential if you want to reach your target demographic with the right message. You may expect to see dramatic improvements in the outcomes of your internet advertising efforts after using our abovementioned advice.