On this page
The short answer
A negative keyword can switch off a keyword somebody added on purpose. The keyword still exists, still says enabled, still shows a Quality Score, and its own searches never reach it. Oppy tests every live keyword against the negatives that apply to it.
Why it matters
It is the most quietly expensive fault in a Search account, because nothing reports it. Google does show a conflict warning in some places, but most accounts never open it.
It usually happens when a negative list is pasted in from another account or another year, or when a negative added for one search is wider than meant. A broad negative for cheap can block every keyword containing cheap, including the ones you wanted.
How Oppy decides
The check reads every live keyword and the negatives that apply to it, from its campaign, its shared lists and its ad group.
It also reads Google's account-level negative keywords, so a keyword blocked from there is caught too.
Checks that weigh money or clicks judge what they find on your own account's numbers, not on one figure applied to every account, so what counts as a problem on a small account is not the same on a large one. Checks on settings read how the account is set up.
When there is too little to go on, the check says so instead of guessing. A finding always comes with the rows behind it, so you can read the evidence before you decide.
| This check | |
|---|---|
| Step of the audit | Structure |
| What it reads | Keywords, negatives and listing groups |
| Needs trustworthy conversions | No. It does not wait for the tracking step. |
| What happens next | Reported in the audit with the rows behind it. The decision stays with you. |
Check it yourself in Google Ads
- In Google Ads, list your negative keywords at ad group and campaign level, and the shared lists under Tools, then Shared library.
- For each negative, check which of your keywords contain its words, given its match type.
- A broad negative blocks any search containing all its words. A phrase negative blocks searches containing the phrase. An exact negative blocks only that search.
- Note any enabled keyword that one of its own negatives would block.
What to do about it
Decide which one was meant. If the keyword matters, narrow or remove the negative, for example by making a broad negative exact. If the negative is right, pause the keyword so nobody wonders why it never serves.
Before pasting a negative list into an account, compare it with the account's keywords.
Terms on this page
Other checks in this area
The checks next to this one in Keyword research, each with its own page.
- Keywords that used to convert and are switched off
- Keywords with no impressions in 30 days
- Keywords Google rates well that have not spent in months
- One match type is paying more for the same intent
- Searches that already make money and have no keyword of their own
- The same keyword bought at two very different prices