Negative keyword glossary
Plain-language definitions of the Google Ads negative keyword and search-term concepts NegativeShield works with.
- Negative keyword
- A term added to a campaign, ad group or shared list that prevents an ad from showing when a search contains it. The inverse of a regular keyword.
- Search term
- The actual query a person typed into Google that triggered your ad. Distinct from the keyword you bid on; reviewed in the Search Terms report.
- Search Terms report
- A Google Ads report listing the real queries that triggered your ads, with performance data. The primary source for discovering negative keywords.
- Match type
- How strictly a keyword must match a query: broad, phrase or exact. Negative keywords use the same types but never match close variants, synonyms or plurals.
- Shared negative keyword list
- A reusable set of negatives that can be applied to multiple campaigns or accounts at once — efficient for agencies managing many clients.
- Wasted spend
- Ad budget spent on clicks from searches that cannot convert because they are irrelevant to what the business sells. The problem negative keywords address.