As a PPC account manager, negative keywords are both the finest and worst weapon at your disposal. Relying on search query analytics to locate negatives for your account is more reactive than proactive, and it can be difficult to determine the negative phrases that will have the intended effect on your account (more qualified traffic, greater click-through rate, and lower CPL). In other words, by the time a negative keyword appears in your search query report, it has already wormed its way through the walls of your search term structure, lowering your click-through rate and increasing your CPL. Make sure to watch Bethany’s video article on improving your negative keyword approach, where she covers this topic in detail.

The objective of this essay is to build upon the basis for a comprehensive strategy for negative keywords that Bethany has previously built. In this article, I will suggest some more areas to search for potential drawbacks that you may not have thought of before. While we could all use more targeted and qualified visitors, it isn’t always easy to come up with lists of phrases on your own. Spending some time listening to what people are saying about your brand, products, and services online seems like a no-brainer.

This isn’t as time-consuming as it may sound, as there are a lot of fantastic (and free) programmes available to help you monitor most popular search phrases, but also similar terms that people are using to find you. As an added plus, you may easily monitor your rivals using this method.

Let me show you how social media monitoring may help you locate the right negative keywords, and then I’ll tell you about several tools that can make your search easier. A major perk of social media monitoring is the ease with which you can examine the most commonly used keywords in relation to a phrase you’re tracking. This is somewhat similar to the suggested search terms section at the bottom of Google search engine results pages (SERPs), except it’s better organised and doesn’t need as much scrolling. You may use the following keyword tool to not only retrieve relevant keywords but also the newest mentions of your target term in online debates, blogs, etc.

Initially, I thought it would be simple to find relevant negative keywords for one of my clients who sells wedding favours because so many couples give to charity as “favours” for their guests at weddings. This is very helpful information because it’s not something I would have thought of on my own, and now I have a whole bunch of new negatives to add to my account because individuals looking for charity to make donations on behalf of their guests are unlikely to click on my advertising for different products. Knowing that a sizeable percentage of individuals are familiar with charity gifts as a potential method to express thanks to their wedding guests is helpful for the development of future ad copy.

These are some excellent, no-cost options for keeping tabs on what people are talking about on social media:

Social Mention is a simple interface that allows you to quickly retrieve the most recent mentions of your organisation, product, subject, or keyword across blogs, comments, etc. In addition to your primary search term, you will also be provided with trending hashtags and related keywords. The left-hand column of Social Mention’s UI only displays the top 10 related terms, but you may download the entire list in the right-hand column under CSV ­Data. You can also set up an RSS Feed or email alert for each search you conduct on Social Mention.