Many Australian service businesses waste money on Google Ads every day. The problem starts when people click your ad but never plan to buy. Negative keywords fix these wasted clicks by blocking irrelevant searches and showing your ads to real customers.
At Matter Solutions, we’ve helped businesses build negative keyword lists and save one-third of their ad spend. We’ve handled this issue many times, so we know what improves your campaign performance.
In this article, we’ll cover the impact of negative keywords and how to find the right ones. You’ll also see how these keywords cut costs by filtering out irrelevant clicks.
Read on to find out how to save money while getting more customers.
The Impact of Negative Keywords in Australia
Businesses in Australia lose money every day due to irrelevant searches and mismatched keywords. Luckily, a strong negative keyword plan can fix both issues. The plan helps block wasteful clicks and brings in qualified traffic.
We’ll now explain how negative keywords can help you focus on people who want your service.
Stop Clicks from Irrelevant Terms
When you run Google Ads, every click costs you money, so the quality of those clicks is important. That said, the real problem comes when people click without any plan to buy, and it quickly drains your budget. That’s why you need to check search intent to avoid paying for irrelevant clicks.
Let’s say you bid on a broad term such as ‘electrician’, but Google could also match your ad with ‘electrician training courses’. Each click costs about $8, yet those searchers want to study rather than hire. The intent doesn’t line up, and you pay the price for them clicking your ad.
So frustrating, isn’t it?
Protect Your Budget from Broad Match
Google’s broad match setting tries to show your ads to more people. More people, more clicks, more customers. That’s good, right?
Wrong! Google frequently shows your ads for searches that have zero connection to what you sell. And it happens because broad match often triggers your ads on unrelated searches. That means your ads will reach people who will never become customers.
Know what’s sad? In 2021, Google removed Broad Match Modifier, which broadened matching and reduced relevance for many accounts. Now, broad match can set off your ads on loosely related queries. Even worse, your cost can increase because of that (as if ads weren’t pricey enough already!).
For instance, a keyword that usually costs $1 per click might jump to $5 when Google matches it with random searches. The price goes up due to more competition, and it climbs higher when your ad doesn’t match well.
Pro-Tip: Check your negative keywords regularly for overlaps with your main keywords. Sometimes businesses accidentally block the very terms that bring them the best leads. A quick review saves you from cutting off good traffic by mistake.
Finding and Adding Google Ads Negative Keywords
So how do you stop paying for the wrong clicks before they drain your budget? Google gives you two handy tools: the Search Terms Report and the Keyword Planner. The first one shows what people precisely searched for, while the second one helps you detect bad keywords early, before they cost you anything.
Let’s walk through the simple steps that help you control who sees your ads.
Finding Bad Searches in the Search Terms Report
The Search Terms Report shows the exact words people typed before clicking your ads. You’ll find it in your Google Ads account under Campaigns, then Insights and Reports. This tool is great because it tells you where your money is really going.
Now, if you see searches that don’t match your service, add them to your negative keyword list. That way, you stop paying for clicks that will never bring you real customers (money well saved).
Using the Google Keyword Planner for Ideas
Google Keyword Planner is a free tool inside your Google Ads account. You type in your main keywords, and it shows a list of related searches people often use. Some of these keywords will be helpful, but others… not so much. They can be totally off track.
Like, if you enter “plumber,” the tool might suggest “plumber jobs” or “plumbing courses.” Those searches are useless if you’re trying to get customers. You need to take those terms and add them straight to your negative keyword list before they waste any of your budget.
Applying Negatives at the Ad Group Level
Here’s something interesting… When you add negative keywords to a specific ad group, you block irrelevant searches for that service while keeping other ads running. This method protects individual ads from bad searches while your other services still reach the intended target.
Let us show you how this approach works for Australian service businesses:
- For a Sydney Plumber: You should add negatives like ‘parts’, ‘YouTube’, ‘how to’, ‘DIY’ and ‘review’ in your ‘hot water repair’ ad group. This setup filters out people who want instructions or parts. It also ensures your budget only goes to people who need a professional plumber right now.
- For a Melbourne Lawyer: In your ‘family law’ ad group, include negative terms such as ‘free’, ‘pro bono’, ‘study’, ‘jobs’ and ‘template’. That step will stop you from paying for people who want free advice or career information, so you target potential paying clients.
Understanding Negative Match Type Options
Google gives you three negative match types that work like different filters to block unwanted clicks:
- Broad match blocks searches that have all your negative words in any order (“free advice” also blocks “advice for free”).
- Phrase match stops searches that include your exact negative phrase in the same order (“free advice” only blocks searches with those words in that precise order).
- Exact match only blocks searches that match your negative keyword perfectly (“free advice” blocks just that two-word search).
Frankly, the difference among these types comes down to how strict each filter is. Broad match gives you the most protection but might block some searches you actually want. Phrase match sits in the middle, while exact match gives you laser precision.
Based on our experience, most Australian businesses start with phrase match because it protects your budget without being too strict. Afterwards, they adjust the list based on what shows up in their reports.
Pro-Tip: Keep separate negative keyword lists for different campaigns or services. Sharing one list across everything can backfire, since a word that’s irrelevant in one campaign might be valuable in another.
When to Use Negative Exact Match
Negative exact match is like a sharp tool you use to block one specific search. You can use it when you want to block one bad keyword without losing good ones. (snip, snip… problem gone).
For example, if you block ‘cheap accountant’, Google will stop that exact search but still allow terms like ‘affordable accountant’ or ‘budget accounting services’. That way, you save money on the wrong clicks while keeping the right traffic coming in.
How Negative Keywords Reduce Wasted Spend
A good negative keyword list connects directly to better business results and measurable campaign improvements. When you stop paying for the wrong clicks, your money goes toward people who genuinely want to buy from you.
It’s time to look at how negative keywords boost your conversion rate and fix low CTRs.
Improve Your Search Ad Conversion Rate
When you block irrelevant searches, the quality of your website traffic improves straight away. Instead of tyre-kickers who click and leave, you attract people ready to buy what you sell. This boost means a higher share of visitors become paying customers.
Negative keywords also keep your landing pages more relevant. That relevance increases user trust and makes people more likely to take action.
Solving the Problem of a Low CTR
A low click-through rate (CTR) often means your ads appear in the wrong searches. Negative keywords fix the problem by cutting wasted impressions and pushing your ads into stronger positions.
The average CTR for search ads is 3.17% across industries, but tighter targeting often takes businesses above 5%. What’s more, a higher CTR brings more traffic and also signals to Google that your ads are useful. This kind of signal helps you stay visible against larger competitors.
Take Control of Your Google Ads Budget Today
Let’s recap. Wasted ad spend comes from irrelevant clicks, but a negative keyword strategy can easily solve the problem. In fact, Australian businesses can save thousands of dollars from their Google Ads budget by blocking searches from people who will never make a purchase.
In this guide, we’ve covered how negative keywords protect your budget from broad match settings and irrelevant searches. You’ve also learned how to use Google’s tools to find problem terms and improve both your conversions and click-through rates.
If you’re ready to stop wasting money on clicks that never convert, contact Matter Solutions today for an audit. Our team will help you figure out how much your campaigns might save with effective negative keyword lists.
