Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
Adwords negative keywords / keyword lists conflicting?
-
Does any of you had any experience on large 5k+ shared negative keyword lists impacting normal campaign negative keywords in Adwords even if they are not selected on these campaigns?
And a second question; does anyone know how selected negative keyword lists can be removed from a campaign? I seem to be able to add them but not to remove them...
Cheers!
-
Thanks for all responses.
Here is an official Google reply on negative keyword types:
Negative exact would only not show when the exact term is the entire query. Negative phrase would not show anytime the term showed anywhere in the query in that order. Negative would not show anytime the entire term showed anywhere in the search query in any order.
Say you had the keyword "blue mercedes car" on broad match. Here's how the different versions of the negative keyword "fast blue" would affect this ad.
-
-fast blue (Negative)
POSSIBLE SEARCHES:
blue mercedes car - WOULD SHOW
blue fast mercedes car - WOULD NOT SHOW
mercedes fast car - WOULD SHOW
car blue mercedes fast - WOULD NOT SHOW
fast blue - WOULD NOT SHOW
blue fast - WOULD NOT SHOW
fast blue mercedes car - WOULD NOT SHOW -
-"fast blue" (Negative Phrase)
POSSIBLE SEARCHES:
blue mercedes car - WOULD SHOW
blue fast mercedes car - WOULD SHOW
mercedes fast car - WOULD SHOW
car blue mercedes fast - WOULD SHOW
fast blue - WOULD NOT SHOW
blue fast - WOULD SHOW
fast blue mercedes car - WOULD NOT SHOW -
-[fast blue] (Negative Exact)
POSSIBLE SEARCHES:
blue mercedes car - WOULD SHOW
blue fast mercedes car - WOULD SHOW
mercedes fast car - WOULD SHOW
car blue mercedes fast - WOULD SHOW
fast blue - WOULD NOT SHOW
blue fast - WOULD SHOW
fast blue mercedes car - WOULD SHOW
Note that we do not expand to synonyms, singular or plural, and other variations as in the case of expanded broad match. So, the negative keyword "Air" wouldn't block the term "Airbnb" since it is one word, but would block the phrase "Air Mattress" because it contains the word "Air".
I hope this helps

-
-
I'm not familiar with any way that a shared library will be able to affect campaigns that it's not assigned to.
To remove them from campaigns, click on the name of the negative KW list, then scroll to the bottom and remove the campaigns you don't want. It's a little hidden from the normal way but it will still work!

-
Remember the following points while adding the negative keywords in your campaigns :
- Negative broad keywords won’t match on synonyms or similar words like they can for regular keywords.
- Negative keywords, even on broad match, won’t match on close variations or plurals.
- For single-word negative keywords, there is no difference between broad and phrase match.
-
The broad match may not necessarily cover the phrase match. With negative keywords, synonyms and plural versions of the keyword can still show up when a user searches with the term.
-
I agree, but wouldn't it make sense if you have a broad match negative keyword on a campaign level and the same on a shared list bus as a negative phrase match. The broad match would have covered the phrase match...
What are the thoughts on that?
-
Hi hellemans,
Make sure that your shared negative keyword list is not conflicting with your campaign level negative keyword list at the shared library level.
You can add a list of negative keywords at the campaign level or through the Shared Library - the SL is where your conflict may be happening.
To remove a negative keyword from your campaign, you'll need to manage it at the campaign level.
Campaign > Keyword > Scroll to the bottom of the campaign > Add/Remove negative keywords at the ad group/campaign level
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Unsolved How should I update the grouping of keywords in a google ads account
hi, I have a google adwords account running for a while in a fairly competitive market in a major city so there is only one geo location with many suburbs or council areas as popular searched. I have keywords that are 2-4 words long and very similar. I have had one keyword in its own campaign, several in one campaign and a location campaign. The location campaign has several adgroups for specific suburbs. My question is that the most popular search terms are similar but in different campaigns and I am wondering if this is not the best way. for example I have these keywords in separate campaigns as exact match and phrase match
Paid Search Marketing | | salliWW
rubbish removal
rubbish removal near me
rubbish removal Washington But the way google uses exact match seems to be changing and I am concerned these would be best in one adgroup. Also these keywords trigger similar phrases, for example, waste removal. Is it best to put them in one campaign with one ad group or one campaign with separate adgroups, or leave as is. As competition has increased I need to bid for top of page now and need to keep budget rises as little as possible..0 -
Seeing lots of 0 seconds session duration from AdWords clicks
Does anyone have more information on one why this might be? Thanks in advance! GyuYc5F.png
Paid Search Marketing | | Whittie0 -
Google Analytics showing my Adwords campaign bounce rate at 0%
I am relatively new to Adwords, and I can't figure out why the Adwords section of Analytics is showing all my site visitors at 0% bounce rate. Does that mean the account connection is not done right? Obviously Google ads are not a 0% bounce rate. If I can't get that to work, does anyone know how Google ads appear in Traffic? Is it Direct or Referral? I'm sure there's some simple answer I'm just not aware of, I would appreciate anyone's help. Thanks!
Paid Search Marketing | | Crystalline_150 -
Arabic Keyword Research
Hi All, Can anyone recommend good SEOs who specialise in Arabic? I've had my client's website translated into Arabic but the translation company do not specialise in local keyword research. They've translated literally I think (obviously not being an Arabic speaker, I can't confirm this). I need someone to review the translated site (only 4 pages so far), with a marketing head on, and ensure it includes the relevant local keywords used in UAE countries. Will also require deeper keyword research for a Google.ae PPC campaign and Ad copy written in Arabic. If I fail to find someone here in the moz community I'll head over to oDesk, where I'll find everyone and their mother-in-law proclaiming to be the worlds best Arabic SEO 😕
Paid Search Marketing | | seowoody
I like recommendations! Thanks, Woody 🙂0 -
Is there any reason to add the word "buy" to our Adwords keywords?
Was having a discussion with someone so I am going to write this up as neutral as possible and let you guys decide. We have a large keyword list and they are all setup as phrase. Should we go back and add the word buy in front of all those keywords? Even though they are setup as phrase already. Example: "Widget" (as a phrase) Should we go back and add "Buy Widget" as a keyword?
Paid Search Marketing | | EcommerceSite0 -
Multiple keyword match types - same ad group, or separate ad groups?
Hi guys, Looking at an account that has historically used broad matching, and i'd now like to take some of the better performing keywords and duplicate as phrase and/or exact match to increase the quality of traffic to the landing pages. I know I can add red shoes, "red shoes" and [red shoes] to the same ad group, however I've also read that people are creating separate groups for each match type. Other than easy of management (same group), or more granular targeting of ads (separate groups), should I go with either approach, or a blend of the two? My key objective in this restructure is to drop the currently high bounce rate on the landing pages by improving the relevance of the incoming traffic. Cheers, Jez
Paid Search Marketing | | jez0000 -
Adwords Bulk Discount
Had a few calls recently from agencies offering bulk discount on Google Adwords spends if we pass management over to them and spend more than £5,000 ($7,500) a month, they claim they can offer a 5% discount over what we're currently paying... Can't find anything about this, does Google offer such a deal to agencies?
Paid Search Marketing | | digitalarts0 -
Keyword Domains for PPC
I have a client who wants to buy a lot of long domains with keywords in them, for example, thesandiegopetstore.com (this is fictional) and then set up a PPC landing page for each. They think that when someone types in "san diego pet store" that their domain will be listed high and then they will get a lot of traffic. My concern is that they will own a lot of domains for their company and I thought Google is getting pretty adamant about companies not having a lot of domains, and I thought that keyword domains are not as effective as they used to be -- that branding is more important now. Also, I think the domains they've picked target very competitive keywords and that perhaps they will get a lot unqualified traffic and will still have to pay for the clicks. What do you think? What is the best way to set up PPC landing pages?
Paid Search Marketing | | klkirby0