Negative keywords infographic: an example search terms report with keep and add negative actions, the three negative match types explained with the running shoes example, a note that negatives cover casing and misspellings but not synonyms, plurals or close variants, and three steps on what to do.

Oct 5, 2026

Google Ads Negative Keywords Explained (Infographic)

Q: Do negative keywords cover misspellings and plurals?

They cover casing and misspellings automatically. They don't match close variants, so you need to add synonyms and singular or plural versions yourself. A broad negative of running shoes doesn't block running shoe.

Q: Can you use negative keywords in Performance Max?

Yes, for Search and Shopping inventory. Google calls negatives a highly restrictive control that can harm performance and suggests using them only for brand safety or completely irrelevant terms, with brand exclusions for protecting a brand.

How negative keywords work in Google Ads: broad, phrase and exact negatives with Google's own example, what they don't cover, the limits, and how to find them.

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<a href="https://searchinsider.io/infographics/negative-keywords"><img src="https://searchinsider.io/research/negative-keywords/negative-keywords-infographic.png" alt="Negative keywords infographic: an example search terms report with keep and add negative actions, the three negative match types explained with the running shoes example, a note that negatives cover casing and misspellings but not synonyms, plurals or close variants, and three steps on what to do." style="max-width:680px;width:100%;height:auto;" /></a><p>Source: <a href="https://searchinsider.io/infographics/negative-keywords">Negative keywords infographic</a> by Search Insider.</p>

How do negative keywords work in Google Ads?

The short answer: Negative keywords stop your ads showing on searches you don't want. Broad, phrase and exact negatives block different searches, and unlike normal keywords they don't cover close variants, synonyms or plurals.

Based on Google Ads Help.

What it shows

Negative broad blocks searches containing all the words in any order.
Negative phrase blocks searches containing the words in the same order.
Negative exact blocks only that exact search.
Negatives automatically account for casing and misspellings, but not synonyms, singular or plural versions, or close variants.
Limits: 20 negative keyword lists per account, 5,000 negatives per list, 10,000 per campaign and 1,000 account-level negatives.
Too many negatives can reduce the number of customers your ads reach.

What to do

Weekly: Add irrelevant searches from the search terms report.
Adding: Include singular, plural and synonym versions.
Always: Don't over-block.

The walkthrough

What are negative keywords?

Negative keywords prevent your ads from showing for searches you don't want, so you can focus on the searches that matter to your customers ^[1].

How do negative broad, phrase and exact match differ?

Using Google's example negative keyword running shoes: a negative broad match blocks searches containing all the words in any order, such as blue running shoes; a negative phrase match blocks searches with the words in the same order, so blue running shoes is blocked but shoes running isn't; a negative exact match blocks only the exact search running shoes, so blue running shoes can still show your ad ^[1].

Do negative keywords cover misspellings and plurals?

They cover casing and misspellings automatically ^[1]. They don't match close variants, so you need to add synonyms and singular or plural versions yourself ^[1]. A broad negative of running shoes doesn't block running shoe ^[1].

How many negative keywords can you add?

You can have up to 20 negative keyword lists per account with up to 5,000 negatives per list ^[2], and up to 10,000 negative keywords per campaign ^[3]. Account-level negatives allow up to 1,000 keywords ^[4].

How do you find negative keywords?

Use the search terms report: identify irrelevant search terms and add them as negative keywords to stop your ads showing for those searches ^[5].

Can you use negative keywords in Performance Max?

Yes, for Search and Shopping inventory ^[6]. Google calls negatives a highly restrictive control that can harm performance and suggests using them only for brand safety or completely irrelevant terms, with brand exclusions for protecting a brand ^[7].

Sources

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