Setting up negative keywords in recruitment campaigns

Google search advertising is a powerful channel for reaching active job seekers and hiring managers. However, without strict control over search queries, a significant portion of media spend is lost on searches that will never convert into a placement or client engagement. Negative keywords serve as the primary defensive layer against this budget waste.

When a recruitment agency bids on 'Java Developer', Google's matching algorithm frequently matches queries such as 'Java developer internship', 'Java developer average salary', or 'free Java developer course'. Each click on these queries incurs a fee, yet the searcher is not a qualified, employable professional. By systematically implementing negative keywords, you protect your budget and maximize campaign return on investment.

The financial impact of negative keywords

In search engine advertising, you pay on a cost-per-click basis. When broad or phrase match types are used, the algorithm interprets user intent generously. Without exclusions, 15 to 35 percent of your total click volume can consist of irrelevant queries.

Consider an agency investing 2,500 euros per month in search ads for specialized engineers, with an average cost per click of 2.50 euros. This generates 1,000 clicks. If 20 percent of these clicks come from students seeking internships or individuals looking for salary benchmarks, 500 euros is wasted each month across 200 unqualified clicks. By excluding these search terms, those 200 clicks are redirected to ready-to-hire professionals, significantly lowering the overall cost per hire.

Five essential negative keyword categories for recruitment

An effective negative keyword strategy starts with structured, categorized lists. In recruitment marketing, five core categories should be maintained:

• Education and entry level: internship, intern, thesis, trainee (when irrelevant), junior (for senior searches), course, training, certification, bootcamp.
• Informational and exploratory: what is, definition, salary scale, salary benchmark, sample resume, cover letter template, interview questions.
• Free and self service: free, open source, template, sample, download, pdf, portal, portal login, timesheet.
• Incompatible contract types: volunteer, freelance (if placing permanent only), part time (for full time roles), student job, summer job.
• Competitors and generic job boards: indeed, monsterboard, stepstone, glassdoor, staffing agency x (unless running a deliberate competitor conquesting campaign).

Applying match types correctly to negative keywords

Similar to standard keywords, Google Ads supports multiple match types for negative keywords. Using them correctly prevents you from accidentally blocking relevant candidate searches.

With negative broad match, your ad will not show if all excluded terms are present in the search query, regardless of order. Excluding 'internship amsterdam' as broad match blocks 'developer internship amsterdam', but will not block 'developer internship rotterdam'.

With negative phrase match, the exact phrase must appear in the query in the specified order. This is ideal for multi-word phrases like 'how to become' or 'what does a'. Ads can still show for queries containing those individual words in different structures.

With negative exact match, the ad is blocked only when the query matches the exact term with no extra words. This is useful when a standalone keyword is unqualified, but becomes highly relevant when combined with specific modifiers.

Account structure: shared lists versus ad group level

Structuring negative keywords properly saves operational time and prevents errors. Build centralized negative keyword lists in Google Ads that can be attached across multiple campaigns simultaneously.

• Shared account lists: Contain universal terms that apply across all hiring campaigns, such as login queries, timesheet forms, and resume templates.
• Campaign level lists: Contain exclusions tailored to a specific discipline or industry, filtering out irrelevant sub-specialties or certification levels.
• Cross-ad group negative keywords: Prevent ad groups in the same account from competing against one another. For example, exclude 'senior' from junior ad groups and vice versa.

Making search query mining a recurring weekly routine

Setting up negative lists once is not enough. Search behavior continuously shifts, and Google regularly introduces new keyword variations. A structured weekly search terms review is necessary to keep campaigns clean.

Inside Google Ads, navigate to the 'Search Terms' report weekly. Sort by spend and click volume. Review every query that received impressions or clicks. As soon as a query does not match your target candidate profile, extract the core irrelevant term and add it to your master negative keyword list.

How Leadstars solves this for you

Building and maintaining profitable search campaigns requires specialized knowledge of both paid advertising and recruitment dynamics. Through Job Marketing Campagnes and the Job Acquisition Machine (JAM), Leadstars deploys comprehensive, data-driven recruitment funnels for staffing and search agencies. We handle negative keyword taxonomy, continuous search term audits, and audience segmentation to ensure your media budget is spent exclusively on qualified talent.

Ready to eliminate ad waste and secure a predictable flow of qualified candidates? Schedule an introductory strategy call to discover the growth opportunities for your agency.

Want to go deeper? Read more about our recruitment marketing glossary and our recruitment marketing services and our client results.