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Starter negative keywords by industry, with the exceptions

By Abhishek Pal, performance marketer (apships.com). Last updated 2026-11-01.

Use industry negative-keyword lists as candidates to review against your own search terms. No list fits every business. Pasting a list blindly can lose sales by blocking demand you serve. The examples below give each industry 15 candidates, with the exceptions that would make those searches valuable.

Start with the offer: what you sell, whom you serve and what the campaign is meant to do. Google warns that negatives overlapping with regular keywords can stop ads showing. Check that conflict before adding anything. See Google's negative keyword instructions.

Each group below is an example for review. Look for the full query in your export, check its context and then choose the wording to exclude. Use the export guide to get the data and the match-types guide to choose the reach of an exclusion. These candidate phrases are not an import file.

Plumbers: protect searches for the service

For a plumber, repair is the service. Do not add repair as a negative keyword. A search for fixing a leak or a broken pipe may be exactly what the business wants. The examples below separate other intentions without treating all repair demand as unwanted.

Jobs and training

Candidates: plumber jobs; plumbing apprenticeship; plumbing course.

Exception: keep these available if the campaign recruits staff, takes apprentices or sells training. A plumbing company can have both customer and recruitment campaigns. Check the campaign's purpose before carrying exclusions from one into the other.

DIY and free information

Candidates: diy pipe repair; plumbing diagram; free plumbing tutorial.

Exception: these may matter if you sell parts, offer paid instruction or use educational content to attract customers. A query about doing the job can also lead to someone seeking help. Read the full search and its results before rejecting the theme.

Wholesale and B2B supplies

Candidates: wholesale plumbing supplies; pipe fittings distributor; plumbing supply warehouse.

Exception: keep them if the business supplies tradespeople or runs a merchant counter. Supplying products and installing them are different offers. Also avoid turning a supply-related exclusion into a blanket rejection of commercial plumbing work that you accept.

Wrong service

Candidates: car radiator repair; washing machine repair; air conditioner repair.

Exception: a business offering appliance or heating and cooling repairs should check those services separately. Confirm the advertised service list with the operator. Keep the unrelated object in any exclusion you approve; do not shorten these candidates to repair.

Wrong location type

Candidates: plumbing supply showroom; plumbing parts outlet; plumbing trade counter.

Exception: these can be useful when customers can visit a shop or collect parts. A mobile service without retail premises has a different offer. The wording suggests a type of destination; it does not tell you where the searcher is physically located.

Dentists: protect nearby patient demand

For a dentist, near me is buyer intent. Do not add near me as a negative. Likewise, do not assume that every price-conscious query is irrelevant. Check the clinic's services, appointment goals and offer before using a candidate below.

Jobs and training

Candidates: dental assistant jobs; dental hygienist course; dentist salary.

Exception: a recruitment or training campaign may want these searches. Keep the patient-acquisition decision separate from staffing needs. If the same account advertises a dental school or courses, a shared employment or education list needs an especially careful review.

DIY and free resources

Candidates: diy tooth whitening; free dental textbook; tooth model printable.

Exception: an education provider, resource publisher or store selling relevant products may want this traffic. For a clinic seeking appointments, inspect whether the query fits that goal. Do not expand these examples into a general exclusion for free when the clinic advertises a free consultation.

Wholesale and B2B equipment

Candidates: dental chair wholesale; dental instruments supplier; dental equipment distributor.

Exception: these belong in consideration for an equipment seller or distributor. A clinic acquiring patients may have no reason to buy the traffic, but an account representing both businesses needs separate campaign decisions. The industry label alone cannot resolve that.

Wrong service

Candidates: dog teeth cleaning; horse dentist; veterinary dental clinic.

Exception: these may be wanted by an advertiser providing animal dental care. For a human dental clinic, the species is the mismatch to review. Do not reduce a candidate to teeth cleaning or dental clinic and remove searches for the clinic's own services.

Wrong location type

Candidates: dental equipment showroom; dental supply warehouse; dental trade counter.

Exception: retain these for a supplier with premises that customers visit. For a patient campaign, verify that the search is looking for equipment rather than treatment. Avoid excluding a town name just because a search for a supplier there was irrelevant.

Ecommerce: check the catalogue and buying model

For an ecommerce store, wholesale is a negative candidate only if the store does not sell B2B. A consumer storefront can still accept trade orders. Review the full offer, including services and collection options, before approving these examples.

Jobs and training

Candidates: warehouse jobs; retail apprenticeship; ecommerce course.

Exception: keep these for recruitment or education offers. A merchant selling courses is still an ecommerce business. Decide from the catalogue and campaign objective, rather than treating a word as irrelevant because it often appears on a generic list.

DIY and free resources

Candidates: free download; printable template; diy tutorial.

Exception: digital shops, craft suppliers and stores offering educational downloads may value these searches. Check whether the free resource supports a product the store sells. A physical-goods assumption can misclassify a store that also sells files or supplies for DIY projects.

Wholesale and B2B

Candidates: wholesale supplier; bulk distributor; trade account.

Exception: keep them when the store serves business customers or accepts bulk orders. Ask whether that offer is promoted in a separate campaign. A consumer campaign's exclusion should not quietly remove demand from the business-sales campaign as well.

Wrong service

Candidates: repair technician; installation service; equipment rental.

Exception: stores may sell installation, maintenance or rentals alongside products. Check those offers before excluding service intent. If only a particular service is unavailable, preserve that detail in the decision instead of removing every search containing service or repair.

Wrong location type

Candidates: factory outlet; warehouse pickup; local showroom.

Exception: keep these when there is an outlet, a collection point or a showroom. Online ordering does not prove the business is online-only. Confirm what a buyer can do before treating an in-person destination as a mismatch.

For each accepted candidate, record the observed search, business reason, match type and destination. Google lets shared lists affect multiple campaigns, so check where the list is applied before editing it. See Google's shared-list guidance.

Compare candidates with your CSV using the free browser check, which runs in your browser without uploading. Use the search-term review for the full report and suggested negative-keyword file. Review each suggestion against the business before adding it.

Questions

Can I paste these industry lists straight into Google Ads?
No. They are candidates to compare with your offer and actual search terms. Choose the wording, match type and destination only after review. No starter list fits every business.
Should a plumber exclude repair searches?
No. Repair is the service a customer may be trying to buy. Review specific queries for unrelated repairs, such as vehicle work, without excluding the word repair itself.
Should a dentist exclude near me?
No. Near me expresses a search for a nearby provider. Review the service requested and whether the clinic serves that customer before considering an exclusion.
Should an ecommerce store exclude wholesale?
Consider wholesale as a negative only when the store does not serve business buyers. Keep it available for B2B offers, trade accounts or bulk orders that the store actually wants.

Sources

Have an export ready? The search-term review finds the wasted spend in it for free. The full report is $39. Run it on your file.

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