TL;DR
This is the list, not the lecture. 422 negative keywords across 15 copy-paste categories — universal, brand safety, and five industry verticals — plus a ready-made AI prompt that builds a version customized to your business in a couple of minutes.
422
terms, ready to copy
15
categories
1
AI prompt template
3
match types, flagged per list
Quick Answer
What is a comprehensive negative keywords list?
A comprehensive negative keyword list is a ready-to-use set of terms, organized by category, that you paste directly into Google Ads to stop your ads showing on searches that were never going to convert. This page covers 15 categories — 8 universal (free seekers, bargain hunters, job seekers, DIY, research, used goods, reviews, negative sentiment), a dedicated brand safety and adult-content list, and 5 industry-specific lists (B2B/SaaS, eCommerce, lead-gen/local services, local business, education) — each formatted as a single block you can select and paste straight into a negative keyword list or a Google Ads Editor import.
Need the strategy behind these lists first — match types, list organization, how to build your own from the Search Terms report? That is covered in the Negative Keywords Guide. This page skips the theory and gives you the terms.
How to Use These Lists
Every list below is one block of text, one term per line. Click into it, select all, copy, and paste into a Negative Keyword List in Google Ads (Tools → Shared library → Negative keyword lists) or into a CSV for Google Ads Editor. Three steps before anything goes live.
These are starter lists, not a finished account
No generic list — mine included — knows your business. "Free" is a negative for most accounts, but not if you sell a freemium SaaS tool. "Used" is a negative for a furniture brand, but it is the entire query set for a resale marketplace. Check every category against your own offer before it goes live, and watch the Search Terms report for the first two weeks after.
Universal Negative List — 217 Terms, 8 Categories
Relevant to almost every account, regardless of industry. Start here, then add the brand safety and industry lists that apply to you.
1. Free & No-Cost (36 terms)
Negative Broadfree freeware gratis free download free trial free sample free version free alternative no cost at no cost complimentary giveaway free shipping free delivery free consultation free quote free demo freemium open source opensource crack cracked keygen license key free torrent pirated pirate bay warez no charge zero cost cost free get for free obtain for free free forever lifetime free free plan
2. Cheap, Budget & Discount (28 terms)
Negative Broadcheap cheapest low cost lowest price budget on a budget affordable discount discounted clearance closeout bargain sale on sale coupon coupon code promo code voucher deal deals best deal wholesale bulk price factory price dropship price liquidation overstock off-brand
Watch four of these on Negative Broad: "sale" and "on sale" block any query containing that word at all, including "for sale" and "yard sale" — a problem if your own pages use that phrasing. "deal" and "deals" catch "no deal" and "big deal" the same way. Drop any of the four, or move them to Phrase, if that traffic matters for your account.
3. Used, Secondhand & Refurbished (22 terms)
Negative Broadused second hand secondhand pre-owned preowned refurbished reconditioned renewed open box ex-display ex demo salvage scrap parts only for parts ebay used facebook marketplace gumtree vinted thrift thrift store consignment
4. DIY, Homemade & Self-Build (20 terms)
Negative BroadDIY do it yourself make your own homemade home made build your own build it yourself self install self build from scratch handmade craft your own sew your own assembly instructions kit form plans blueprint pattern free template free mold your own
5. Research, Informational & Educational (35 terms)
Negative Phrasewhat is what does mean definition meaning of wikipedia wiki how to how do how does tutorial guide step by step course online course training webinar workshop class lesson learn learn online explained explainer overview introduction to basics of fundamentals for beginners for dummies cheat sheet infographic ebook pdf guide whitepaper case study
Phrase earns its keep on the multi-word entries here — "how to", "step by step", "for beginners" — where it keeps the match to that exact wording. For a single-word term like "guide" or "course", Phrase and Broad behave identically, so do not expect Phrase to narrow anything for those lines.
6. Jobs, Careers & Employment (28 terms)
Negative Broadjobs job career careers hiring now hiring employment employer vacancy vacancies salary salaries wage wages pay scale CV resume cover letter apprentice apprenticeship internship intern work from home remote job freelance job contractor position staffing agency recruitment agency
7. Reviews, Comparison & Forums (24 terms)
Negative Broadreview reviews best top 10 top 5 vs versus compared to comparison alternative to alternatives competitor rating ratings rated reddit forum community forum quora trustpilot complaints board scam report is it legit is it a scam
If you deliberately bid on competitor names, keep "competitor" and "alternative to" out of this block — that is a strategy choice, not a default. Also watch "best", "top 10", and "top 5" on Negative Broad: they block compound searches like "[your product] best price" or listicle-style branded queries — drop them or move to Phrase if that traffic converts for you.
8. Negative Sentiment & Risk (24 terms)
Negative Broadproblem problems issue issues broken not working doesn't work fault faulty defect complaint complaints scam fraud fraudulent fake counterfeit dangerous hazard risk recall lawsuit class action refund policy
Brand Safety & Adult Content Negatives — 40 Terms
This category does not exist in most negative keyword templates I have seen published, so it is worth explaining why it is here. Shopping, Performance Max, and Display-adjacent placements can serve your ads next to inventory you would rather not be near, and search queries themselves sometimes combine an entirely innocent product with an adult modifier — "[product] nude", "[product] naked" — which is a real query pattern for clothing, underwear, fitness, wellness, massage, and photography services, not just for obviously adult categories.
Two separate lists below: adult/NSFW terms, and a short violence/illegal list for accounts where that is also a relevant risk (weapons-adjacent, health, legal, financial verticals).
Adult / NSFW Content (30 terms)
Negative Broadporn porno pornography sex sexy sexual xxx nude nudes naked nudity strip stripper escort escorts adult content adult site adult video hentai erotic erotica fetish onlyfans cam girl webcam sex hookup hookup app dating hookup milf camgirl
One entry here is riskier than the rest: "strip" blocks any query containing that word, including "strip mall", "strip steak", "comic strip", or "strip lighting" — drop it if any of those are relevant to your business.
Violence / Illegal (10 terms)
Negative Broadviolence gore weapon gun for sale illegal drugs drug dealer hate speech extremist terrorism
This list is a supplement, not a substitute
Negative keywords only block the search query itself. For placement-level brand safety on Display and Video (avoiding specific sites or content categories entirely), use Google Ads' own placement exclusions and content exclusion settings at the account or campaign level — the two work together, one does not replace the other.
Generate Your Own List with AI — the 2026 Way
The lists above are generic by design — they apply to almost any account. The fastest way to get a list that actually knows your business is to hand a language model your specifics. Paste the prompt below into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini, fill in the six inputs, and it will return a list organized the same way this page is, with a match type and a reason attached to every term.
Copy this prompt
You are a Google Ads negative keyword specialist. I will give you information about my business — use it to generate a negative keyword list, not a generic one. 1. Business type/vertical: [e.g. "premium furniture eCommerce, mid-range price point"] 2. Products/services I sell (list them): [paste list] 3. Locations I serve: [cities/countries] 4. Locations I explicitly do NOT serve (if relevant): [list] 5. Terms that LOOK negative but are actually relevant to my offer (exceptions — do not suggest these): [e.g. "free shipping" IS something I offer] 6. Campaign type: [Search / Shopping / Performance Max / Local Services] Generate a negative keyword list organized into these categories: universal (free, cheap, jobs, DIY, informational/how-to, used/secondhand, reviews/forums, negative sentiment), brand safety (adult/NSFW, violence, illegal — only if relevant to my product category), industry-specific for my vertical, location (searches for places I do not serve), and competitor brands (list separately — flag that bidding on competitor terms is a legitimate strategy some businesses choose deliberately, so this is my decision, not a default). For every keyword: suggest match type (Broad/Phrase/Exact) with a one-line reason, and a confidence level (High/Medium/Low) — flag anything ambiguous for me to decide. Do not include any word that matches my own product or service names, even partially, unless I've told you it's irrelevant to my offer. Output as a table: Keyword | Match Type | Category | Confidence | Reason
What the model gives back is a draft, not a finished import. Every account I have run this on has produced at least a few suggestions that would have blocked a real buyer if pasted in blind. Run every list — AI-generated or otherwise — through these seven checks first.
7 rules before you add a single AI-suggested term
Industry-Specific Negative Lists — 165 Terms, 5 Verticals
Beyond the universal list, every vertical has its own non-buying traffic. These five go deeper than a short bolt-on list — each one targets the specific way that industry's informational and non-commercial searches actually look.
1. B2B / SaaS — Blocking Consumer Intent (41 terms)
Negative Phrasepersonal use home use for personal single user individual license student discount student license free for students non-commercial non profit discount nonprofit pricing hobbyist hobby project small personal project download apk download exe mod apk cracked version nulled GPL license license generator keygen activation key free bypass license jailbreak root open source alternative self hosted free docker free github free api free tier trial extension hack lifetime deal appsumo one time payment lifetime reseller license white label free developer jobs programmer salary IT career sysadmin jobs
2. eCommerce — Blocking Informational Intent (39 terms)
Negative Phrasesize guide size chart how to measure how to clean how to wash how to style how to wear outfit ideas what to wear with care instructions ingredients list nutritional information material composition product manual instruction manual spec sheet specifications datasheet unboxing unboxing video teardown how it's made manufacturing process supplier manufacturer contact wholesale supplier dropshipping supplier private label manufacturer print on demand sample pack color swatch catalogue pdf lookbook press kit media kit affiliate program become a reseller return policy warranty claim
Owners of already-purchased products search these terms too — that is fine, they are not clicking your ad to buy again. Blocking these keeps the budget on people still choosing what to buy.
3. Lead-Gen / Local Services (36 terms)
Negative PhraseAdd manually (customize first): "DIY [your service]" — e.g. "DIY plumbing repair", "DIY roof repair". Left out of the block below so it never gets pasted with the brackets still in it.
how to fix myself self repair YouTube tutorial free estimate calculator cost calculator average cost of price list price per hour hourly rate day rate license requirements how to become a certification course training course apprenticeship franchise opportunity franchise cost start a business business plan template insurance requirements permit application DIY kit rent equipment equipment for sale tool rental complaint against file a complaint small claims ombudsman regulator trade association union rates apprentice wage subcontractor rates invoice template contract template
4. Local Business — Wrong Location / Wrong Service (25 terms)
Negative PhraseAdd manually (customize first): towns just past your service radius (that is where wasted local spend actually concentrates); names of direct competitors, if you have chosen not to bid on them; "careers at [your company]"; "internship at [your company]". Left out of the block below so nothing with brackets gets pasted blind.
online only remote service virtual appointment nationwide national chain mobile app version delivery only pickup only franchise near me corporate office head office headquarters customer service number complaints line HR department investor relations press inquiries media contact sponsorship request donation request charity request volunteer opportunities board of directors annual report shareholder
5. Education / Career — For Non-Edu Businesses (24 terms)
Negative Broadscholarship student loan financial aid grant application thesis help dissertation help essay writing service homework help exam answers past papers syllabus curriculum lecture notes professor faculty admissions enrollment deadline tuition fees campus tour dormitory student accommodation graduate jobs teaching assistant lecturer position
For anyone NOT running an educational institution — this blocks students and job seekers who wander into unrelated categories (finance, software, local services) while searching around school and career topics.
What Changed in Negative Keywords for 2026
With 422 terms across 15 categories, the question most people ask before pasting any of this in is whether there is room for it. Short answer: yes, by a wide margin. Here is where negatives can live in an account right now, with limits, straight from Google's own documentation.
| Level | Coverage | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Account-level negative list | One list, applied automatically across Search, Shopping, Performance Max, App, Smart, and Local campaigns | 1,000 terms |
| Shared negative keyword list | Applied to campaigns you choose, including — since 2025 — Performance Max | 5,000 terms per list, up to 20 lists per account, each list appliable to up to 1,000 campaigns |
| Performance Max campaign-level | Individual negatives and, since 2025, negative keyword lists directly at the campaign level — self-serve in the interface now; before that it required going through a Google rep or the API | Limit differs from the shared-list limit above — Google's Performance Max negative keywords page does not publish a number, so check it directly before relying on one |
The account-level list is the one to know about
One list set in Account Settings now covers Performance Max automatically — no need to duplicate it into every PMax campaign by hand. Source: Google Ads Help — account-level negative keywords.
The other detail worth remembering while you paste these in: negative match types behave differently from positive ones. Negative Broad does not expand to synonyms the way positive Broad does — block "free" and "gratis" still gets through unless you add it separately. It is not case-sensitive, so you do not need "Free" and "free" as two lines — but close variant matching, the thing that catches typos and misspellings on the positive side, does not apply to negatives at all. If a common misspelling of a term you are blocking matters for your account, add it as its own line. Full behavior and examples are in the Negative Keywords Guide. Sources: match type behavior, Performance Max negative keywords, negative keyword list limits.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I copy this list directly and paste it into my account?▼
Does this list work for Shopping and Performance Max?▼
How is this different from the Negative Keywords Guide?▼
Should I just use AI to generate the whole list instead of this one?▼
How often should I update this list?▼
How much of your budget is leaking to searches that were never going to convert?
Free Search Terms analysis of your account — where the waste actually is, which of these categories apply to you, and what to fix first. No sales pitch, just the numbers.
Related Guides
Negative Keywords Guide
Match types, organization, and how to find your own negatives
Keywords — Complete Guide
From research to keyword optimization
Google Ads Audit Checklist
80+ points for a complete account review
Google Search Campaigns Guide
Building a Search campaign from the ground up
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