Negative Keyword Finder
Identify the searches draining your budget — and decide whether to exclude them at the campaign or ad group level
What This Prompt Does
Every dollar spent on the wrong search is a dollar that didn't reach a buyer. This prompt reads your keyword list (or actual search term report), flags terms that signal weak intent or wrong audience, explains why each is a waste, and tells you whether to apply it campaign-wide or just to a specific ad group.
When to Use It
- •Before launch, to seed the account's initial negative list
- •After reviewing a search term report and finding waste patterns
- •When CTR is high but conversion rate is low — wrong-audience traffic
- •Moving a historically-tight account into broader match types
The Prompt Template
Act as an SEM analyst. Your goal is to identify negative keywords that can prevent wasted ad spend. Context: - Business type: [BUSINESS TYPE] - Product or service: [PRODUCT OR SERVICE] - Keyword list or search terms: [PASTE KEYWORDS OR SEARCH TERMS] - Conversion goal: [GOAL] Task: Identify: 1. likely negative keywords 2. why they should be excluded 3. whether they should be campaign-level or ad-group-level negatives Process: 1. Review the keyword list or search terms. 2. Identify searches that signal weak buying intent, wrong audience, or irrelevant intent. 3. Group the negatives into useful categories. 4. Recommend where they should be applied. Constraints: - Use plain English. - Be practical, not theoretical. - Do not exclude keywords that might still convert. - Focus on obvious waste first. - Favor recommendations that reduce wasted spend and improve conversion quality, not just click volume. Output format: Use these headings: - Recommended Negative Keywords - Why They Matter - Campaign-Level Negatives - Ad Group-Level Negatives
How the Prompt Is Structured
Three Categories of Waste
The Process names three types of waste: weak buying intent ("how to"), wrong audience ("jobs," "apprenticeship"), and irrelevant intent ("free," "DIY"). Naming the categories forces the AI to think in patterns, not one-offs.
Campaign vs Ad Group Level
Campaign negatives apply everywhere ("free," "jobs," competitor brand names). Ad group negatives separate overlapping themes so broader keywords don't siphon traffic from more specific groups. The prompt makes you pick.
"Do Not Exclude Keywords That Might Still Convert"
An over-aggressive negative list is almost as bad as none at all. This constraint keeps the model from flagging borderline terms that still produce leads.
"Focus on Obvious Waste First"
Starting with obvious waste (free, cheap, DIY, jobs, careers, training) protects the budget immediately and buys time to debate the harder edge cases later.
Example Output
Recommended Negative Keywords
free, DIY, do it yourself, how to, tutorial, jobs, careers, apprenticeship, salary, training, school, course, reviews (when not paired with a commercial modifier), images, pictures, wikipedia
Why They Matter
These terms almost always come from people who want information, training, or to work in the industry — not hire someone. Even a few clicks per day at urgent-service CPCs adds up quickly.
Campaign-Level Negatives
- • free, DIY, do it yourself, how to, tutorial
- • jobs, careers, apprenticeship, salary
- • training, school, course, certification
- • wikipedia, reddit, images, pictures
Ad Group-Level Negatives
- • In the Emergency Plumbing ad group, add "scheduled," "planned," "renovation" to prevent overlap with a future Remodeling campaign.
- • In the Drain Cleaning ad group, add "septic" and "sewer" if those are handled by a separate specialist ad group.
Tips for Better Results
Maintain a Negative Keyword List
Google Ads lets you apply shared negative lists across accounts. Build one master list you reuse on every new campaign.
Feed Real Search Terms In
Pasting actual search term report data produces sharper negatives than theoretical keyword lists.
Mind the Match Type on Negatives
Negatives also have broad, phrase, and exact match types. Exact-match negatives are safer when you worry about over-blocking.
Review Negatives Monthly
Products change, seasons change, language changes. What was a good negative last year may now be blocking legitimate demand.
Stop Paying for Clicks That Can't Convert
We build and maintain negative keyword systems that silently protect your budget every day.