What is negative keywords?

Why it matters for a contractor.

For contractors this is the difference between paying for buyers and paying for people who wanted a repair, a job, a DIY tutorial, or a company three states away.

The recurring offenders are predictable once you look: repair against replacement, cheap and free and DIY, jobs and salary and hiring, plus competitor names and towns you do not serve. A replacement contractor with no negative list funds a steady stream of clicks from homeowners who wanted a single pane fixed.

It is not a set-once task. The search terms report shows what people actually typed, as opposed to what you bid on, and reviewing it monthly is where the list comes from. An account nobody has added a negative to in a year is an account leaking money on a schedule.

The clearest test of whether a vendor is doing the work is simply asking to see the list. It takes them ten seconds to produce if it exists, and the answer when it does not is usually a long one.

What to ask a vendor about it.

• Show me the negative keyword list on my account.
• When was the search terms report last reviewed, and by whom?
• Are we excluding repair terms if we sell replacement?
• Are we excluding job seekers and towns outside the service area?