{"id":8729,"date":"2026-10-05T08:22:36","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T05:22:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ivitskiy.com\/blog\/?p=8729"},"modified":"2026-10-05T08:22:36","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T05:22:36","slug":"google-shopping-negative-keywords","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ivitskiy.com\/blog\/en\/google-shopping-negative-keywords\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Shopping Negative Keywords: Where to Look"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
In short:<\/strong> block the unwanted query with a negative keyword. Shopping matches the query against product attributes in the feed, above all the title field [title]. A symbol on the same line sets the match type.<\/div>\n\n\n\n

A Shopping campaign does not aim a product ad at a keyword list. A negative keyword only keeps the product ad from showing where you do not want it. It does not add impressions for nearby queries. Without a Shopping campaign, the negative has nowhere to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A query that already triggered an impression shows in that campaign’s search terms report. The weekly routine is in the guide to Google Shopping campaign management<\/a>. The general rules for negatives in Search are in the article on negative keywords in Google Ads<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where a Shopping campaign gets its queries<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Instead of keywords, Shopping ads use the product attributes in your Merchant Center data. Google uses that data when it matches a person’s search to the ad, as the Google Ads help page on Shopping ads<\/a> describes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The product title [title] is used to match the product to the customer’s search. So the queries a product can show for come from the feed, and the title does most of that work. A negative keyword only cuts what you do not want. How to write the title is in the guide to Google Shopping product titles<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sequence:<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Where to read the queries in your account<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Click the Campaigns icon, then open Insights and reports, then Search terms. The report shows terms that a significant number of people searched for and that triggered your ad, including terms close to the product that are not what you sell. The path is the one in the Google Ads help page on negative keyword ideas from the search terms report<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check the boxes next to the search terms you want to block, then click Add as negative keyword. You can send them to an ad group, a campaign, an existing negative keyword list, or a new list. A negative for an ad group or a campaign lands in the ad group or campaign tied to that search term. A new list applies only to the campaigns tied to those search terms, not to the whole account. An existing list has an optional Add to campaigns checkbox, which sends the list to those same campaigns. Then click Save.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no button named after the match type. Which symbol to put on the line is in the match types section below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to add negative keywords in your account<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

These steps are for a Standard Shopping campaign, at campaign level or ad group level. Performance Max is covered under the limits below. The path is in the Google Ads help page on negative keywords for a Shopping campaign<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n
  1. In your Google Ads account, click the Campaigns icon.<\/li>\n\n\n
  2. In the section menu, open Audiences, keywords, and content.<\/li>\n\n\n
  3. Click Search keywords, then Negative search keywords. The menu uses that name even though a Shopping campaign does not use keywords to target ads.<\/li>\n\n\n
  4. Click the plus button.<\/li>\n\n\n
  5. Choose Campaign or Ad group, then pick the campaign or ad group.<\/li>\n\n\n
  6. Enter one negative keyword per line. If you need a match type symbol, put it on that same line.<\/li>\n\n\n
  7. Click Save.<\/li>\n\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Campaign covers the whole Standard Shopping campaign. Ad group covers one group. I use the campaign level when the query is wrong for the whole store, and the ad group level when the query gets in the way of only some products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Negative keyword match types<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    You set a negative keyword match type with a symbol. Negative keywords follow different rules from ordinary keywords: they do not match to variants. Check the match type so you do not stop your ads showing to people who search for your words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
    Match type<\/th>How to write it<\/th>What to do<\/th>Example from the help page<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
    Broad<\/td>The word with no symbol around it<\/td>Also add synonyms, the singular, the plural, and other variations, each on its own line<\/td>cup, glass, glasses<\/td><\/tr>\n
    Phrase<\/td>The words inside quotation marks<\/td>Wrap the keyword in quotation marks<\/td>«wine bottle»<\/td><\/tr>\n
    Exact<\/td>The word inside brackets<\/td>Wrap the keyword in brackets<\/td>[bottle opener]<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    A broad negative does not fill in synonyms or word forms. Type each one on its own line. Cup and glass are only examples of the format. Take the actual words from your own report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When I cannot see which other queries a word will touch, I start with exact or phrase match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What to exclude first<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    In my own work I take the negative from this Shopping campaign’s search terms report, not from a Search campaign. Once a week I open it and read three kinds of rows first. One: a query that has already spent money and has no conversions. Two: a query about a different product from the one the store sells. Three: a query about something free, when the store does not give products away. A list copied from Search blocks queries where the product ad might have shown the right product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A number from my own audits on why to start here: in the search terms of the accounts I analyzed (9.46 million rows, September 2024 to February 2025), generic informational words such as «free», «how» or «online» each burned between $0.4 million and $2.6 million on searches with zero conversions. That is Search campaign data, not Shopping, and these words are review flags, not automatic negatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A word that is junk in one shop is a product name in another, so there is no universal list. The length of a negative list does not, by itself, cut wasted spend. That point is covered in why negative keywords will not cut your waste<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When this does not apply<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    First limit: Performance Max. You can add negative keywords to the campaign and at account level. They apply only to Search and Shopping inventory, as the Google Ads help page on negative keywords in Performance Max<\/a> describes. How Performance Max itself works is in the article on Performance Max<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Second: there is no Shopping campaign yet, so these negatives have nowhere to be added. Third: a list copied from Search, rather than taken from this Shopping campaign’s report. That list can block queries where the product ad would have shown the right product. Fourth: a broad negative when you have not typed synonyms or word forms on their own lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    These weekly search-term checks are the ones I walk through in a short e-book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

    Questions and answers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Why does a Shopping campaign have negative keywords and no keywords for targeting?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Shopping does not use keywords to target ads. The impression is matched against the product data, and a negative only blocks a query you do not want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Does the search terms report show every query?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    No. It shows terms that a significant number of people searched for and that triggered your ad. Do not wait for a click threshold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Which match type should I use when I add a negative from the report?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    If you cannot see which other queries a word will touch, use exact or phrase match. The symbol on the same line sets the type: no symbol is broad, quotation marks are phrase, brackets are exact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Where do I add a negative keyword in Performance Max?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Add it to the campaign and at account level. It applies only to Search and Shopping inventory. Standard Shopping uses the steps above.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A Shopping campaign gets queries from product data, not keywords, and this page shows where to read search terms and how to block an unwanted one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":8731,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[135],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-google-ads-campaign-types","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"yoast_head":"\nNegative Keywords for Shopping Campaigns: How to Add<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Shopping campaign gets queries from product data, not keywords, and this page shows where to read search terms and how to block an unwanted one.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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