Negative keywords are where most contractor Google Ads budgets bleed out.
Not the bid strategy. Not the ad copy. The absence of a list that tells Google: don't show my ad for that.
Most contractors launch with zero negative keywords, watch spend disappear, and conclude Google Ads doesn't work for their trade. The ads were working fine. They were just showing to the wrong people.
See what your current local search presence actually looks like →
Why Negative Keywords Matter More Than You Think
Google's broad match and phrase match aren't surgical. When you bid on "plumber near me," Google may show your ad for:
- "plumber salary near me"
- "plumber hiring near me"
- "plumber school near me"
- "how to fix a leaky faucet near me"
None of those are customers. All of them cost money if they click.
Studies consistently show contractors waste 20-40% of their Google Ads budget on searches that will never convert. Negative keywords are the fix.
Universal Negatives (Every Contractor, Every Trade)
Add these before your first campaign goes live. They apply regardless of what you do.
Intent killers — people not looking to hire:
- DIY
- how to
- YouTube
- video
- free
- cheap (optional — your call based on positioning)
- warranty
- recall
- lawsuit
Job seekers:
- job
- jobs
- hiring
- career
- careers
- salary
- pay
- hourly
- apprentice
- apprenticeship
Training and education:
- school
- class
- classes
- training
- certification
- license (careful — only if "license" means training to you; otherwise keep it)
- course
- online course
- degree
- program
Product-only searches (buyer, not installer):
- buy
- purchase
- Amazon
- Home Depot
- Lowe's
- wholesale
- supplier
- parts (sometimes — check your Search Terms report)
Trade-Specific Negative Keywords
HVAC
Block searches from DIYers, equipment buyers, and product researchers:
- refrigerant
- freon
- capacitor
- compressor (if you don't sell units)
- thermostat (if you don't install)
- filter (often informational)
- window unit
- portable AC
- mini split installation (if you don't do ductless)
- gas leak (if you're not licensed for gas)
- furnace parts
- heat pump brand names (Carrier, Trane, Lennox — unless you want brand keywords)
Plumbing
- pipe (informational queries)
- fittings
- PVC
- copper pipe
- PEX
- toilet parts
- toilet flapper
- snake (DIY drain snakes)
- Drano
- plunger
- garbage disposal parts
- water pressure (informational)
Roofing
- shingles (product searches)
- roofing materials
- underlayment
- flashing (unless you want those searches)
- tar paper
- roof deck
- roof vent (often DIY)
- gutters (if you don't do gutters)
- insurance claim (see note below)
Note on roofing and insurance: "Insurance claim" searches are a gray area. If you work with insurance adjusters and want those jobs, keep it. If you don't, block it.
Electrical
- wire
- wiring (often DIY)
- outlet (DIY product search)
- breaker (often product-related)
- fuse
- junction box
- electrical panel (price research vs. installation intent — monitor and decide)
- solar (if you don't do solar)
- EV charger (if you don't do EV installs)
- smart home (if you don't do that work)
- Alexa
- smart switch
Tree Service
- chainsaw
- pole saw
- wood chipper
- mulch (if you don't sell mulch)
- firewood
- lumber
- arborist certification (job seeker)
- arborist school
- tree identification
Landscaping
- seed
- seeds
- fertilizer
- soil
- mulch delivery (if you don't deliver mulch separately)
- plants
- nursery
- garden center
- lawn mower
- irrigation parts (if you don't sell supplies)
General Contractor
- permits (often informational)
- building codes
- blueprints
- architect (if you don't provide this)
- structural engineer
- subcontractor (job seeker / vendor)
- bid (if used as "how to bid" — informational)
Blocking Competitor Confusion
Unless you're running explicit competitor campaigns, add competitor names as negatives to prevent wasted impressions on brand searches:
- Your direct local competitors' business names
- Large national brands in your trade (often people are looking for brand-specific service, not a local contractor)
Check this over time. The competitor landscape in your market is local knowledge — add them manually as you see them show up in your Search Terms report.
Geographic Negatives
If you serve a defined territory, add the cities and neighborhoods you don't cover. If you're a plumber in Cleveland who doesn't go to Columbus, block "Columbus" and every Columbus suburb.
Radius targeting in Google Ads helps but isn't perfect. Blocking city names you can't serve removes the exception cases.
How to Run a Search Terms Audit
- Go to your Google Ads account
- Insights and Reports → Search Terms
- Set the date range to the last 30 days
- Sort by cost (highest first)
- Work through the list: every term you wouldn't want to pay for → add to negative keyword list
Do this weekly for the first 90 days. The first audit is always the biggest one — you'll find dozens. After 90 days, monthly is usually enough.
What you're looking for:
- Product searches (buy, price, Amazon)
- Informational searches (how, what, why)
- Job seeker signals (jobs, hiring, career)
- Wrong geography (cities outside your area)
- Wrong service (trades adjacent to yours)
- Brand names that aren't your brand
Negative Match Types
Same match types apply to negative keywords:
- Negative exact
[DIY water heater]— only blocks that exact phrase - Negative phrase
"DIY"— blocks any search containing "DIY" in any order - Negative broad
DIY— blocks any search related to DIY (use cautiously — sometimes too aggressive)
For most of the terms above, use negative broad match. It's the most protective. For terms that could be ambiguous (like "repair" — you want repair, just not "repair yourself"), use phrase match to be more surgical.
The Ongoing System
Negative keywords aren't a one-time setup. They're a weekly habit in the first 90 days.
The list above gives you the foundation. The Search Terms report gives you the ongoing data. The combination stops the budget bleed that makes Google Ads look like it doesn't work when it actually just needs tighter controls.
This is also exactly the kind of thing an AI-powered brand system catches automatically — monitoring spend efficiency, flagging wasted clicks, maintaining the negative list without you checking a dashboard every week.
See what your current local search presence looks like with a free audit →
Google Ads Series
This is part of a series on paid search for contractors:
