Categories: Online Marketing

Don’t overlook the importance of being negative

I’m usually a pretty positive person, but there is one instance when it pays to think negative and that is pay-per-click campaigns. Pay-per-click or sponsored search systems let you specify negative keywords at the adgroup or campaign level.

Just add negative keywords or phases to your ad group or campaign means and ads won’t show for search queries containing that phrase. By filtering out unwanted impressions, negative keywords can help you reach the most appropriate prospects, reduce your cost-per-click (CPC), and increase your ROI.

An Example

If you are advertising on the phrase “computer networking” you probably don’t want your ads to appear for “computer networking classes” or “computer networking jobs” unless you: a) offer a class, or b) are hiring. Thus you could place “classes” and “jobs” in your negative keyword list and solve the problem.

Brian Shilling

Brian is our Executive Vice President of Client Operations with experience leading diverse teams of marketers and designers in strategic marketing, content creation, and crafting comprehensive messaging and positioning platforms for our healthcare and tech clients. To learn more about Brian's experiences and qualifications, visit our leadership team page.