Adding negative keywords to Performance Max campaigns

Generally, I’m not a fan of Performance Max campaigns. Whenever I set up Google Ads for my clients, I tend to either not use them at all, or allocate 20%-40% to them. That is mainly because I want to have more control over when and who sees the ad. And, as you probably know, Performance Max campaign settings are quite limited. When it comes to excluding specific words or phrases, you have only two default options:

1. use negative keywords at the account level.
2. use brand exclusions at the campaign level.

Both methods are fine, but there are a couple of “buts.” Let’s consider the following example: you need to exclude your branded keywords from the PMax campaign because you have a dedicated branded search campaign. That makes using the account-level negative keywords option a clear no-go. That does look like something brand exclusions are designed to help with, right? Well, unfortunately, that’s not the case, at least not always, and I’m telling it from my own experience. Brand exclusion does not work perfectly: Google doesn’t always understand all branded terms accurately, especially when brand names are not very unique. Some companies have simple names like “Pro + Service Name” or “City + Service Name,” which might be even risky to exclude. Ultimately, I want to have more control over what exactly I’m excluding.

Luckily, there is a better way to use negative keywords in Performance Max, at least as I’m writing this post. But first, let me cover the default options.

#1: Use account negative keywords

It’s very straightforward: you click on the Admin menu item, then go to Account Settings, and select Negative Keywords from the list of settings.

It’s worth noting that you are limited to 1,000 negative keywords, which should be sufficient. A more significant reason not to use account-level negative keywords is if you have a branded campaign, or you plan to launch one.

#2: Use brand exclusions

This method does not add negative keywords directly, but works similarly. Or at least is supposed to.

Adding brand exclusions is not as straightforward as adding account negative keywords.

1. Navigate to PMax campaign settings and find “Brand Exclusions” at the very bottom of the settings list.
2. Click “New brand list” to start creating the exclusion.
3. Give your list a name (can be changed later) and select your brand name.
4. In case there is no brand name in the list (quite likely), you’ll need to request one. It’s fairly easy, but it takes time until Google adds the new brand to its library (4-6 weeks).

Make sure to check search terms (search categories) in your PMax campaign insights. I’ve seen occurrences when Google wasn’t picking up all brand terms properly, which leads us to the third option. The ultimate one.

#3: Unlock negative keywords

The last one is a bit tricky and you won’t find it within your Google Ads account or campaign settings. Basically, it’s an option for those who knows. I know it, and now you will know it too.

There is a campaign modification request form, which can be found here:

• https://support.google.com/google-ads/contact/pmax_implementation

Here’s what you should do:

1. Create a negative keyword list (or lists) in your Google Ads account.
2. Download the request template (.xlsx file).
3. Open the file and select the “Keyword List” tab.
4. Fill out the account ID, campaign name, and negative keyword list name cells.
5. Open the form, fill it out and attach the .xlsx file with your edits.

Here’s how the properly filled file should look like:

Within a couple of days after the form is sent, you should receive an email from Google, informing you that the changes have been made, and you will see the cherished picture:

Conclusion

In the accounts I manage, I typically use the combination of Brand Exclusions and Negative Keyword Lists. But honestly, I think negative keyword lists alone would do the job just as well.

The beauty of the latter is that it is:

• Fast: it doesn’t take weeks, like brand exclusions.
• Precise: you have full control over what terms are being excluded.
• Scalable: once the list is applied, you can freely add new negative keywords.

That being said, I encourage everyone to use it, at least while we have a chance. Who knows, maybe in the future this road will be closed.