What are Negative Keywords and Why are They So Important for Lawyer’s PPC Campaigns?

An integral part of any successful law firm PPC campaign is incorporating the right keywords into your strategy. Equally as beneficial to your digital marketing efforts is a negative keyword list.

What is a Negative Keyword?

Negative keywords exclude specific terms to help your law firm focus on more relevant keywords for your practice. This helps ensure that your digital marketing efforts are tailored toward searchers who are genuinely looking for your services.

These negative keywords can be utilized in various ways, and using negative keywords in PPC campaigns is especially helpful. Ultimately, negative keywords can help you prevent wasting money on clicks that won’t generate quality conversions for your business.

How Do Negative Keywords Work?

You can begin to understand what related keywords you should exclude through detailed research for your practice area and an established campaign and goals.

When a negative keyword is used, it ensures that your ad doesn’t show up in the search results, saving your digital marketing budget for more relevant terms that you want to target.

What Are The Types of Negative Keywords?

Not all negative keywords are the same. There are three general types: broad match, phrase match, and exact match. What do they mean exactly, and how are they different?

Broad Match Negative Keyword

Broad match keywords are used if you want to exclude all queries containing certain words. Let’s say you are a Law Firm that that doesn’t deal with bankruptcy cases. So, if you add “bankruptcy” to your negative keywords list, all searches, including this word, won’t trigger your ads. However, if you add a phrase like “injury lawyer” as a broad match, then your ads will still show if people look for “injury” or “lawyer” separately, but not if they are in a different order. This is a default option in Google’s PPC.

Phrase Match Negative Keyword

If you want to exclude the exact phrase in the exact order, you need to use phrase match negative keywords. Same example, “injury lawyer.” With phrase match, only searches with this exact phrase in this exact order won’t show your ads.

Exact Match Negative Keyword

This is the most precise option. Exact match negative keywords are used if you want your ads not to be shown only if a person searches for this query. So, if your negative word is still “personal injury,” then your ads won’t appear only in “personal injury” search results. If the user somehow modifies the search to, let’s say, “personal injury lawyer” or “personal injury nearby,” then your ad will still appear.

Why Is It So Important for Law Firms to Have a Negative Keyword List?

Finding success through digital marketing can be a complicated task as it is, and choosing the right keywords to target is only half the battle. By evaluating your advertising campaigns and seeing what works, you can develop a sound strategy with a strong investment return.

If your law firm doesn’t have the right negative keyword list in place, it may result in using your budget on low-intent terms. The goal of any digital marketing campaign is to get your message in front of the right audience, and negative keyword lists can help you do so.

How to Create Negative Keywords List for Your Law Firm PPC Campaign

Conducting keyword research is the first step in establishing a negative keyword list. Keyword research helps target specific practice areas such as personal injury lawyers, criminal lawyers, etc.

To conduct keyword research, utilize Google Ads Keyword Planner tools to help you find biddable keywords. Seeing these keywords is also a good starting point to begin thinking of related negative keywords.

The right tools and the right digital marketing agency can make finding the right negative keywords a breeze.

For example, if you are a personal injury lawyer creating accident ads but don’t handle boating accidents, consider adding boating-related terms to your negative keyword list.

Where Do You Implement Your Negative Keywords?

Campaign Level

Negative keywords at the campaign level mean these terms allow your ad to be triggered. This helps save your PPC budget for more meaningful engagement.

Ad Group Level

Negative keywords at the ad group level ensure that your budget isn’t spent on broad terms across your different ad groups.

For example, if your law firm only offers free consultations for certain practice areas, you’ll want to establish negative keywords for the word “free” in particular ad groups.

Conclusion

Using your digital marketing budget wisely is integral to your return on investment. If you’re frustrated with spending your budget on low-intent keywords, consider leaning on a professional marketing agency for help.

Our team at Comrade Digital Marketing can help you establish attainable goals and execute a strategy that allows your business to reach new heights. Request a free consultation to see how we can help you outperform your biggest law firm competitors.