Negative & Positive Keywords

Posted: October 24, 2004

This is a very important lesson to learn about Google AdWords. Overture has a similar system, but the amount of negative keywords allowed per keyword is quite limited.

If you have not read matching options yet, you may wish to do so before moving to this pay per click FAQ.

This is a very important lesson to learn about Google AdWords. Overture has a similar system, but the amount of negative keywords allowed per keyword is quite limited.

Keywords are singular or multiple keywords which cause your ad to be displayed to a searcher.

If you bid on the keyword travel. Your ad will be shown for all types of permutations in broad and phrase matching options, including:

free travel
travel trailers
time travel

If you are a travel agency selling travel packages, then the above keywords are not related to your website. To remove these types of listings from occurring in the pay per click results, you need to begin using negative keywords.

In a Google AdWords account, the minus ( - ) sign, stands for negative. In the keyword manager, this will denote a negative keyword

If you bid on:

travel
-free
-time

Your ad would appear for a query on Mexican travel, but not for free travel or time travel.

An account making extensive use of the broad and phrase matching options, should make liberal use of negative keywords.

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