A negative keyword review is a recurring decision process, not a one-time list of words to exclude. The aim is to stop clearly irrelevant searches while protecting useful demand. A broad exclusion can hide real buyers, especially when the same word has different meanings across products or locations.
Review actual search terms with the landing page beside you
Open the campaign’s search terms report and review the terms that have enough activity to matter. Google explains that the report includes search terms that triggered ads and can reveal negative keyword ideas; it does not show every search. Compare each term with the ad promise, target market, landing page and actual offer. A term can look irrelevant in isolation but be a valid early-stage question for a high-value customer.
Make a decision log with search term, campaign, spend or clicks, apparent intent, decision, negative match type, reviewer and date. Use three outcomes: exclude, investigate, or keep. This avoids an irreversible-looking bulk upload built from guesswork. Read Google’s search terms and negative keyword guidance before changing match types; negative matching differs from positive keyword matching.
Choose the narrowest useful exclusion
Ask whether the search is irrelevant to one ad group, one campaign, or the whole account. Exclude at the smallest scope that solves the problem. A business selling premium office furniture might exclude “free office chair” from a purchase campaign, but should not automatically exclude “chair” or “office” because those words appear in useful searches. A hiring query should usually be handled differently from a product comparison query.
| Search term | Likely action | Reason to verify |
|---|---|---|
| free office chair plans | Consider a narrow negative | The business sells physical chairs, not plans |
| office chair dimensions for small desk | Keep or investigate | Product fit question could precede purchase |
| office chair repair near me | Exclude if repairs are not offered | Different service intent |
| ergonomic chair bulk quote UAE | Keep | High-fit procurement request |
The terms above are illustrative, not Megvi account data. Check close variants, singulars and plurals where relevant; Google notes that negative keywords do not behave exactly like positive keywords. Test the planned exclusion against recent converting terms before applying it widely.
Use a weekly review rhythm
For a new or changing campaign, review search terms weekly. Prioritise costly terms, new queries, and terms that conflict with sales feedback. Record exclusions in a change log and compare the following period’s spend and qualified enquiries with the prior period. If useful traffic falls after a change, inspect the negative list first. Do not claim an improvement merely because total spend fell; the qualified opportunity rate and volume matter.
Where the wrong query keeps appearing, the problem may be the keyword set, ad copy or landing page rather than the absence of a negative. The wider UAE paid-media guide covers campaign planning. Megvi’s Google Ads service can review a search-term sample, current negative lists and the buyer journey before changing the account.
Google Ads documentation checked 19 October 2026. The decision table is a hypothetical example, not a campaign result.
Ahmed Elneil
https://megvidigital.comAhmed Elneil is a certified digital marketer and entrepreneur with over 5 years of experience helping brands grow through Search Engine Optimization (SEO), paid advertising, and CRM automation.