Negative keywords are terms you exclude from your PPC campaigns so your ads don’t appear for irrelevant or unwanted searches. For instance, if you’re a plumber who doesn’t handle commercial projects, you might add “commercial plumbing” as a negative keyword to avoid paying for clicks from large businesses seeking industrial-scale work. Likewise, if you only do high-end kitchen fitting, you might block terms like “DIY” or “cheap” so you’re not attracting budget-focused do-it-yourselfers who’ll never hire you.
Negative keywords are crucial because they help you stay laser-focused on leads likely to convert, rather than spending money on tyre-kickers or irrelevant traffic. Not only does this save you cash, but it can also boost your overall campaign performance by improving click-through rates and conversions. Essentially, negative keywords help filter out the noise and keep your PPC budget working hard in the right direction—towards real customers who genuinely need your trade services.