What is a negative keyword in PPC campaigns?

What is a negative keyword in PPC campaigns?

• A. An exact keyword that always performs well.
• B. A keyword for which ads should not be shown to avoid irrelevant clicks.
• C. A keyword that triggers ads only during business hours.
• D. A keyword used to track clicks and conversions.

Answer: (B)

Negative keywords are terms you specify to prevent your ads from showing when a search includes those terms, which helps reduce irrelevant clicks and wasted ad spend. For example, if you sell premium shoes, you might add terms like "free," "cheap," or "discount" as negatives so people looking for bargains don’t see your ads. These can use different match types—broad, phrase, or exact—to control how strictly a search term blocks your ads, and they can be applied at the account, campaign, or ad group level. Use the search terms report to find candidate negatives and organize them with negative keyword lists for easy reuse. Other options describe ad scheduling or conversion tracking, which are separate concepts from excluding terms.

Negative keywords are terms you specify to prevent your ads from showing when a search includes those terms, which helps reduce irrelevant clicks and wasted ad spend. For example, if you sell premium shoes, you might add terms like "free," "cheap," or "discount" as negatives so people looking for bargains don’t see your ads. These can use different match types—broad, phrase, or exact—to control how strictly a search term blocks your ads, and they can be applied at the account, campaign, or ad group level. Use the search terms report to find candidate negatives and organize them with negative keyword lists for easy reuse. Other options describe ad scheduling or conversion tracking, which are separate concepts from excluding terms.