Negative Keywords for Local Service Businesses: A Starter List

A roofer in Evanston opens his Google Ads account after a month and finds he paid for clicks on "roofing jobs Calgary," "how to fix a roof leak yourself," "roofing nails Home Depot" and "roofer salary Alberta." None of those people were ever going to hire him. Every one of them cost money.

That's what negative keywords are for. They tell Google which searches you don't want your ads to show on. Below is a starter list that fits most local service businesses, how the match types work for negatives (they behave differently from normal keywords), and a simple routine for keeping the list current.

01What negative keywords actually do

When you bid on a keyword like "roof repair," Google doesn't only show your ad for that exact phrase. With broad match especially, it shows your ad for searches it thinks are related. Some of those are great. Plenty aren't.

A negative keyword is a filter on top of that. Add "jobs" as a negative and your ad stops appearing on any search containing "jobs." You don't pay for those impressions or clicks, and your budget goes further on the searches that matter.

Your keywords decide who you're trying to reach. Your negatives decide who you stop paying for.

Negatives are also one of the cheapest fixes in a small account. Adding them costs nothing, and the effect starts on the next auction.

02How match types work for negatives

This is where most owners get tripped up. Regular keywords now match close variants, synonyms and related meanings. Negative keywords don't. They match much more literally, so you have to add the versions you care about yourself.

Negative match type	How you write it	What it blocks
Negative broad	free estimate	Searches that contain all those words in any order, like "estimate free roof"
Negative phrase	"free estimate"	Searches that contain those words in that order, with other words around them
Negative exact	[free estimate]	Only that exact search, with no extra words

For single words, negative broad and negative phrase behave the same: the word anywhere in the search is blocked. The difference matters for multi-word negatives.

Watch out

Because negatives don't catch variants, "job" won't block "jobs," and "course" won't block "courses." Add singular and plural, common misspellings and obvious alternate words (for example "hiring," "career," "employment") as separate entries.

03The starter list: universal negatives

These cover the searches that waste money in almost every local service account. Not all will fit you, so read through and delete any that describe real customers. A cleaning company that also hires might want different rules than a plumber, for example.

Jobs and careers

jobs, job, hiring, career, careers, salary, wage, wages, employment, apprentice, apprenticeship, resume, indeed, internship, "how to become"

Training and education

course, courses, training, certification, school, college, SAIT, ticket, exam, "red seal" (keep this one off if customers search for red seal tradespeople by name)

DIY and how-to

diy, "how to," tutorial, youtube, video, yourself, instructions, manual, diagram, parts (only if you don't sell parts)

Free and bargain hunting

free, freebie, "for free," donate, donation, used, second hand, kijiji, marketplace, craigslist

Retail and materials

"home depot," lowes, rona, "canadian tire," amazon, wholesale, supplier, supply, buy, price list (only if you install rather than sell)

Research and info-only

definition, meaning, wiki, wikipedia, reddit, statistics, history, "what is"

Try this

Don't add "cost" or "price" as negatives on autopilot. People searching "furnace replacement cost Calgary" are often close to buying. Check what those searches actually produced in calls and forms first.

04Location negatives for Calgary businesses

Location targeting controls where the searcher is. But people in Calgary also search for other places, like "plumber Red Deer" or "roofer Edmonton." If you don't serve those areas, add the city names as negatives so you don't pay for searches about them.

A reasonable starting point for a Calgary-only business: Edmonton, Red Deer, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Banff, Canmore, Vancouver, Kelowna, Saskatoon, Regina. If you serve Airdrie, Cochrane, Okotoks, Chestermere or Strathmore, obviously keep those off the list. Location settings themselves matter even more, which we cover in getting your Calgary service area right.

05Service-specific negatives

The universal list handles the obvious waste. The bigger savings usually come from negatives specific to what you do and don't offer. Think about the jobs you turn down.

Plumber who doesn't do commercial: commercial, industrial, restaurant, "strata"
HVAC company that only services furnaces: boiler, "in floor," radiant, geothermal, car (to block "car AC repair")
Roofer who doesn't do flat roofs: flat, torch, membrane, tpo, "commercial roof"
Cleaner who doesn't do move-outs or carpets: "move out," carpet, upholstery, "pressure washing"
Landscaper who doesn't do snow: snow, plowing, "snow removal"

Also block brand names of competitors only if those clicks aren't converting for you. Some businesses do fine bidding near competitor names; others just pay to annoy people who wanted someone else.

06Where to add them: list, campaign or ad group

Google Ads lets you add negatives at a few levels. Using the right one keeps things tidy.

Shared negative keyword list for the universal stuff (jobs, DIY, free, training). Build it once in the shared library and apply it to every Search campaign.
Account-level negatives for words you never want anywhere, like obvious brand-safety terms. Google offers this in account settings, and it also covers some automated campaign types.
Campaign-level negatives for services you don't offer, or cities a particular campaign shouldn't cover.
Ad group-level negatives to stop your own ad groups competing. If you have a "furnace repair" group and a "furnace install" group, add "install" as a negative in the repair group and "repair" in the install group.

If you run Performance Max, its negative keyword options have been expanding, but they work differently from Search campaigns. Check what's currently available in your account rather than assuming your Search negatives carry over.

07Keep it current: a search terms routine

A starter list only covers the obvious. The searches that cost you money are in the search terms report, which shows what people actually typed before clicking your ad (Google hides some low-volume terms, but you'll see most of the spend).

Open the search terms report. In your Search campaign, find the search terms view under insights and reports. Set the date range to the last 7 or 14 days.
Sort by cost. Start with the terms that spent the most and produced no conversions.
Ask one question per term. Would this person ever hire us? If clearly not, add it, or the key word in it, as a negative.
Pick the right level and match type. A single bad word usually goes on the shared list as broad. A bad phrase that contains a good word goes on as phrase or exact.
Repeat weekly for a month. Then every two to four weeks, and again any time you add keywords or loosen match types.

This only works if you can see which clicks became calls and forms. Without that, you're guessing which terms are good. Set up conversion tracking for calls and forms first if you haven't.

Quick win

If you've never touched negatives, do the universal list today, then review the last 30 days of search terms. Owners are often surprised by how much went to job seekers and DIYers. It's one of the first things we check, and it appears on our list of common Google Ads mistakes for good reason.

Don't overdo it

It's possible to block too much. A negative like "cheap" or "best" might stop real customers who just phrase things differently. If a campaign's traffic suddenly drops after a round of negatives, review what you added. The goal is fewer wasted clicks, not fewer clicks overall. More on how click spend adds up in our guide to Google Ads costs in Calgary.

08Where Sidekick fits

When we set up a Google Ads account as part of our website and Google Ads package ($1,285 CAD), it starts with a shared negative list built for your trade and service area, plus call and lead tracking so the search terms report means something. If you already run ads yourself, the list above and a weekly search terms check will get you most of the way. See what the package includes or book a free call if you'd like a second set of eyes on your account.

Frequently asked questions

What are negative keywords in Google Ads?

Negative keywords are words or phrases you tell Google not to show your ads for. If you add "jobs" as a negative, your ad won't appear for searches like "plumber jobs Calgary."

Do negative keywords match plurals and misspellings?

No. Unlike regular keywords, negatives don't expand to close variants, synonyms or misspellings. Add "job" and "jobs," or "course" and "courses," separately.

Should I use broad, phrase or exact match for negative keywords?

Single-word negatives like "free" or "salary" usually work well as broad match. Use phrase or exact match when a word is fine in some searches but not others, so you don't block good traffic.

How often should I add negative keywords?

Check the search terms report weekly for a new campaign, then every two to four weeks once it settles. Any time you add new keywords or loosen match types, check again sooner.

Can negative keywords block good customers?

Yes, if you're careless. A negative like "cheap" might block price-conscious buyers who still book. Look at what a search term actually produced before you exclude it.