The Simple 3-Step Process to Adding Negative Keywords to Your Google Ads Performance Max Campaigns
Do you want to keep control over your Google Ads campaigns? One effective way is by adding negative keywords. Unfortunately, you can’t manually add them to Performance Max campaigns. But don’t worry, there’s another way! In this blog post, we will show you a simple 3-step process to add negative keywords to your Performance Max campaigns, without the need for a Google rep.
The first option is to ask your Google rep, but not everyone has one. Also, emailing your rep every time you want to add a little negative keyword can be a hassle. The second option is to use account-level negatives, but once added, they will be applied to every campaign in your account. This functionality is useless if you want to add a negative keyword to a specific pMax campaign, but not other campaigns in your account.
Now, let’s dive into the simple 3-step process that will allow you to add negative keywords to Performance Max from within the Google Ads interface, without needing a Google rep.
Step 1: Create a negative keyword list specifically for Performance Max
Creating a new negative keyword list is super simple. Just create a new negative keyword list specifically for pMax, add one or more negative keywords, and hit save. Unfortunately, you can’t add the list to Performance Max campaigns yourself, and your campaigns won’t show up if you search for them. This is when you proceed to step 2 and reach out to Google support.
Step 2: Contact Google support and ask them to apply the list to your campaigns
Since you can’t add the list to your pMax campaigns manually, you need to reach out to Google support. Don’t ask your Google rep, just email ‘regular’ support. Tell them you want to add your new negative keyword list(s) to your pMax campaigns. They will ask you for specific campaign names, negative keyword lists, and a one-time permission to make changes to your account. Just provide them with the necessary information, and wait until they’ve added your negative keyword lists to your campaigns.
Step 3: Add negative keywords inside the Google Ads interface
That’s it! You can now add new negative keywords to your existing lists whenever necessary, without needing to reach out to your rep/support for every little negative keyword you want to add. Don’t forget to ask support to add your negative keyword lists whenever you create a new pMax campaign (whenever relevant, of course).
Quick note on negatives and Performance Max campaigns:
Adding too many negatives could potentially harm performance, so use them wisely. Negative keywords are crucial to refining your target audience and improving campaign performance, but overuse may result in missing out on potential traffic.
In summary, adding negative keywords to your Performance Max campaigns is simple and straightforward. By following this easy 3-step process, you can take control of your campaigns and maximize their performance without the need for a Google rep. With this knowledge, you can optimize your campaigns and drive more traffic to your site, making your advertising efforts more effective and efficient.