Archive for July, 2007

Negative keywords are added to your list of keywords to prevent your ad from showing.  So if someone performs a search query that contains one of your negative keywords, your ad will not be served.  In essence they serve as a filtering mechanism.  Think of it in terms like panning for gold.  You shake the pan to filter the dirt so the gold nuggets become exposed.  Negative keywords are “your pan” and when properly used, the targeted user will filter through. 

So how do you find a negative keyword?  During your keyword research, if you stumble across a keyword that does not quite fit your product description, then BINGO you just found a negative keyword.  You then add that keyword to your list with a little minus sign in front of it.  By placing a minus sign in front of a keyword, it prohibits that keyword from triggering your ad.  A negative keyword looks like this:  -keyword

Using negative keywords not only helps you increase control over the serving of your ad but it will also help to increase your click through rate (CTR) and that in turn will also increase your quality score with Google.  Your conversion rates will go up because your ads will only be served for relevant queries.  A word of caution though; be sure not to limit your exposure too much by the use of negative matches.

It’s important to note that should you discover your click through rate is NOT increasing and/or your conversion rate decreasing, then you need to review your negative keyword list immediately and make the proper adjustments.