Negative keywords for contractors: the list that stops wasted spend
Most wasted ad spend we find comes from searches that should have been blocked. Negative keywords are the cheapest fix in Google Ads.
A starter list for trades
- Jobs: job, jobs, hiring, career, salary, wage, apprentice, apprenticeship, course, school, training, certification, resume.
- DIY: how to, diy, yourself, video, youtube, tutorial, guide, diagram, manual.
- Parts and retail: parts, supply, supplies, wholesale, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Rona, Canadian Tire, Amazon, kit.
- Price shoppers (optional): free, cheap, cheapest.
- Other: rent, rental, used, reddit, forum, definition, meaning.
Adjust for your business. If you sell parts, keep "parts". If you rent equipment, keep "rental".
Match types matter
A negative keyword blocks searches containing it, depending on its match type. Broad negatives block searches with all the words in any order; phrase negatives block the exact phrase; exact negatives block only that exact search. Start with broad for single words like "jobs".
Use lists across campaigns
Create a shared negative keyword list in the Shared Library and apply it to every campaign, so you only maintain it once.
Keep adding every week
Open the search terms report weekly, sort by cost, and block anything that will never be a customer. This one habit often saves more than any bid change.
Want us to check your search terms?
In a free audit we read your search terms report and show exactly how much went to searches that could never book a job. Our Google Ads management prunes them every week.
Sources
- About negative keywords, Google
- Google Ads Help Center, Google
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