Fix negative keywords that don't block the searches you added them for

1. 1Click Campaigns, then Insights and reports, then Search terms. Set the date range to start the day after you added the negative, since older rows prove nothing.
2. 2Find the search you meant to block. Note the campaign and ad group it came from. If those columns or Keyword are not showing, add them from the Columns icon above the table.
3. 3Compare the search with your negative and mark every difference: a plural, a synonym, an extra word or a different order.

1. 1If the search has the singular where your negative has the plural, or the other way round, add that form as its own negative. A dental office that blocks "implant" can still show for "implants" until both are listed.
2. 2Add synonyms the same way: blocking "jobs" does not block "careers". Capital letters and misspellings are covered.
3. 3Square brackets, such as [free consultation], mean exact match: it blocks only that search with no extra words, and the report adds negatives this way. Replace it with the word that makes the search wrong, alone and without symbols, as broad match.
4. 4Quotation marks mean phrase match, which needs the same word order: "divorce lawyer free" does not block "free divorce lawyer". Broad match blocks the words in any order.
5. 5A minus sign inside a negative is ignored along with its word: dark -chocolate is treated as dark. Google also treats café and cafe, or & and the word and, as different negatives, so add both.

To change a negative's text or match type, hover over it, click the pencil icon, make the change and click Save.

1. 1Click Campaigns, open Audiences, keywords, and content, click Search keywords and open the Negative search keywords tab. Find your negative and read which campaign or ad group it belongs to.
2. 2If it belongs to a different ad group or campaign from the one in the report, add it to the campaign that showed the ad, or to a list that campaign uses.
3. 3If the negative lives in a negative keyword list, click Tools, open Shared library, click Exclusion lists and open the Negative keyword lists tab. A list does nothing until it is applied. Tick the list, click Apply to campaigns, tick the campaign from the report and click Done.
4. 4To block a word across the search and shopping ads of every campaign, Performance Max included, click Admin, then Account settings, expand Negative keywords, click the plus button, enter one word or phrase per line and click Save. Google allows 1,000 negatives at the account level.