Negative Keywords Aren't Negative

If you're in the business of selling Valentine candy, for example, you don't want people searching for Valentine jewelry, and vice versa, on the pay per click search engines. Or free valentine cards, or Karen Valentine, etc. Google AdWords tips in the Google AdWords support database advise you on choosing negative keywords. The word “negative” isn't a bad thing at all for your Google advertising.

For example, a search for “valentine” in the Keyword Tool makes one want to quote Forrest Gump: “Keywords are like a box of chocolates…”

Selecting your keywords for your Valentine Google AdWords ad group might include the keywords “valentine,” “valentine chocolates,” “valentine's day candy.” Then, you add negative keywords:

• -free
• -ecards
• -flowers
• -jewelry

Note that negative keywords count as keywords in your pay per click advertising. They are, however, worth selecting to garner more qualified leads.