What's a benefit of negative keywords?

Negative keywords are a critical tool in paid search advertising to refine targeting and optimize campaign performance.

Analysis of Correct Answer(s)

• Negative keywords prevent an otherwise eligible query from triggering an ad that isn't aligned with the search's intent.
  • This is the fundamental benefit of negative keywords. They act as filters, telling the ad system when not to show your ad. If a user's search query includes a negative keyword, your ad will not be displayed, even if other parts of the query might otherwise match your positive keywords.
  • This ensures that your ads are shown to users with relevant search intent, preventing wasted ad spend on unqualified clicks. For example, if you sell new cars, adding "used," "repair," or "free" as negative keywords would prevent your ad from appearing for searches like "used car prices" or "car repair shop," which are not aligned with your business offering.
  • By improving ad relevance, negative keywords contribute to higher Click-Through Rates (CTR) and conversion rates, while lowering Cost Per Click (CPC) and Cost Per Acquisition (CPA).

Analysis of Incorrect Options

• Adding negative keywords can help prevent customers from leaving poor reviews about a business.

  • While showing highly relevant ads can indirectly contribute to a better customer experience, the primary function of negative keywords is to control ad visibility, not to directly manage or prevent customer reviews. Customer satisfaction and review behavior are influenced by product quality, service, and post-purchase experience, not by negative keywords in an ad campaign.

• Marketers can add negative keywords to campaigns to limit the terms their competitors can bid on in an auction.

  • Negative keywords only affect your own ad's eligibility. They do not restrict or influence what competitors can bid on or which terms their ads can appear for. Each advertiser manages their own keywords, including their negative keyword lists, independently.

• A negative keyword strategy is crucial to identifying additional searches that customers may be using to find a business.

  • This describes the role of positive keyword research and broad match keyword analysis, not negative keywords. Positive keywords (and their match types) are used to expand reach and discover new relevant search terms. Negative keywords, conversely, are used to exclude irrelevant searches and refine targeting, not to identify additional terms for inclusion.