When running any type of pay-per-click (PPC) online advertising campaign, most business professionals spend a lot of time planning their keywords. They know what phrases customers use to find them, and they make sure their site is findable with those specific search terms. Unfortunately, these same businesspeople often miss one important element of PPC: defining negative keywords.

Negative, or “excluded,” keywords are the search terms under which you do not want to show up in search results. Google AdWords, Yahoo! Sponsored Search, and MSN adCenter all offer the option of adding negative keywords to your account.

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Why is selecting negative keywords so important to Internet advertising success? Search engines make matching decisions on your behalf, and if you don’t have a list of negative keywords in your PPC accounts, you could end up paying for wasted clicks.

To put the value of negative keywords in perspective, consider the following example. Let’s say you’re in the business of selling fine timepieces like Rolex, Breitling, and Concorde, and each of those brand names is in your keyword campaign. If you only offer authentic, certified watches, you will want to exclude certain words from your account, so you don’t show up in searches that include the words “knockoff,” “discount,” “imitation,” or “fake.” Otherwise, if someone types “fake Rolex” into a search, your business will show up — a bad result for you if the discount searcher clicks through.

If, however, you create a list of negative keywords and include them in your ad campaign, you will not show up on any search results page when someone types those words in. You exclude yourself from “Rolex” searches by those who aren’t looking for the real thing.

To make identifying your negative keywords easier, follow these guidelines:

1. Use the negative keyword tool in Google AdWords. Google AdWords provides a “negative” keyword suggestion tool with its Keyword Tool. The negative keyword function is hard to find, so you have to look for it. (PPC providers don’t want to encourage negative keywords because they make money every time someone clicks on your ad, whether it’s relevant to the search or not.)
2. Check for new negatives by month and season, for trending. Your negative keywords could change every month or season. Thinking in terms of “seasons” will help you expand your positive and negative keyword lists in many ways, since people cook different things, wear different clothes, buy different products, seek different services, and consider major purchases in varying seasonal patterns.
3. Pick your negative keywords carefully. Don’t add negative keywords to your account without carefully considering each one. After all, if your negative keywords are too general, you might miss out on some valid Web traffic. For example, just because someone types in “cheap” doesn’t mean that person wouldn’t buy something expensive.

By utilizing the negative keyword function to the fullest, you will separate yourself from your competitors and make the most of every click you pay for. Advertisers who take advantage of this tactic get better, more qualified visibility for their ads, and ultimately get better conversions for their investment dollar.

— Heather Lutze, owner of the Findability Group

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