PPC BUDGET PROTECTION | AUSTRALIAN SERVICE BUSINESSES
Stop paying $25+ a click for DIYers, TAFE students, job seekers, and interstate browsers. Copy and paste our battle-tested, 200+ term negative keyword list engineered specifically for Australian tradies, local clinics, and service providers.
If you run a trade, home service, legal, or medical business in Australia, you already know how expensive Google Ads clicks have become. In competitive metro areas like Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, a single click for keywords like “emergency plumber” or “solar installation” can easily cost between $18 and $65 AUD.
When clicks cost that much, you cannot afford to pay for traffic that will never convert into a booked job.
Yet, when our team audits accounts for clients transitioning to our Google Ads management services, we consistently find that 25% to 40% of their monthly ad spend is disappearing into completely irrelevant search queries. Someone looking for a plumbing apprenticeship at TAFE, a free DIY roof leak fix, or an electrician in Perth when you only service Western Sydney clicks your ad, costs you $30, and bounces in three seconds.
This guide solves that leak immediately. Below, you will find the exact Google Ads Negative Keyword Master List we deploy across Australian service accounts—categorised by intent, ready to copy and paste directly into your account today.
(Note: If you haven’t already reviewed the broader structural leaks in your campaigns, pair this list with our guide on the 7 fixes for wasted Google Ads budget.)
A common misconception among business owners is that using Phrase Match or Exact Match protects you from irrelevant searches. Over the past few years, Google has aggressively expanded “close variants” to include synonyms, implied intent, and loosely related queries.
For example, if you bid on "hot water system replacement", Google’s algorithm may match your ad to:
Negative keywords act as your campaign’s bouncer. When you add a term as a negative keyword, you instruct Google: “Never show my ad if the user’s search contains this word or phrase.”
Before pasting our master list, make sure you apply the right negative match type inside Google Ads:
| Negative Match Type | Syntax | How It Works | Best Used For |
| Negative Broad Match | free | Blocks your ad if the search contains the word free anywhere in the query (e.g., “free plumbing quote” AND “plumbing free advice”). Warning: Does not block synonyms or plurals. | Universal junk modifiers like jobs, tafe, salary, youtube, diy. |
| Negative Phrase Match | "free quote" | Blocks your ad only when the exact words appear together in that exact order, even if other words come before or after. | Multi-word exclusions like "how to", "near me" (if national), or competitor brand names. |
| Negative Exact Match | [plumber] | Blocks your ad only if the user types that exact single word with nothing else attached. | Overly broad single-word queries where you only want multi-word high-intent buyers. |
Content: To use this master list, copy the blocks below that apply to your business model. Important: Read through each block before pasting—for instance, if your business actively advertises “Free Quotes”, do not include free in your list (use "free advice" or "free training" instead).
Essential for every trade, medical, and professional service business. Blocks students, job hunters, and resume writers.
job
jobs
career
careers
employment
hiring
vacancy
vacancies
apprentice
apprenticeship
apprenticeships
traineeship
tafe
rto
course
courses
training
certification
certificate iii
certificate iv
diploma
degree
university
uni
salary
salaries
wage
wages
pay rate
award rate
resume
cv
cover letter
interview questions
seek
indeed
jora
work experience
subcontractor work
Blocks people trying to fix the problem themselves on a Saturday afternoon rather than hiring a professional.
diy
do it yourself
how to
how do i
tutorial
tutorials
guide
step by step
youtube
video
videos
wiki
wikihow
reddit
whirlpool
forum
advice
tips
diagram
wiring diagram
manual
instructions
troubleshoot
troubleshooting
Filters out non-commercial intent and bargain hunters who rarely convert into profitable jobs.
free
freebie
cheap
cheapest
discount
discounts
coupon
promo code
pro bono
volunteer
charity
centrelink
government grant
rebate calculator
second hand
secondhand
used
gumtree
facebook marketplace
ebay
Crucial for trades (plumbers, sparkies, builders, landscapers) so you don’t pay for clicks from people looking to buy parts off the shelf.
bunnings
mitre 10
total tools
sydney tools
reece
tradelink
ikea
kmart
target
big w
amazon
catch
kogan
temu
ali express
aliexpress
ebay
supercheap auto
repco
harvey norman
the good guys
officeworks
Blocks researchers, journalists, and people looking up Australian Standards documents rather than hiring a contractor.
definition
meaning
what is
history of
statistics
stats
pdf
template
sample
example
australian standard
as/nzs
legislation
act
law
regulation
whitepaper
case study
Even when you set your Google Ads location targeting to “Presence: People in or regularly in your targeted locations”, Google occasionally serves your ads to people searching for services in another state—especially if they are travelling, using a mobile carrier IP routed through another capital city, or researching property interstate.
If you are a Melbourne-based HVAC technician, you should immediately add all other Australian states, territories, and major non-serviced cities to your negative keyword list.
Delete your own state/city from the list below before pasting into your account:
nsw
new south wales
sydney
newcastle
wollongong
central coast
byron bay
vic
victoria
melbourne
geelong
ballarat
bendigo
qld
queensland
brisbane
gold coast
sunshine coast
cairns
townsville
toowoomba
wa
western australia
perth
fremantle
bunbury
sa
south australia
adelaide
tas
tasmania
hobart
launceston
act
canberra
nt
northern territory
darwin
alice springs
Adding a master negative keyword list is your foundational shield, but Google’s search landscape shifts daily. Roughly 15% of all daily Google searches have never been seen before, meaning new junk variations will always slip through.
Follow this exact 4-step workflow to install your list and maintain a leak-free account:
If you are seeing high spend on irrelevant terms despite having negative keywords in place, your campaign structure or match-type bidding strategy may be over-broad. Read our breakdown on 7 fixes for wasted Google Ads budget or reach out to our team for a complete Australian PPC account audit.
Most well-optimised local Australian service accounts maintain between 250 and 600 negative keywords across shared lists and campaign-specific exclusions. Starting with a foundational master list of 150–200 universal junk terms (jobs, TAFE, DIY, Bunnings, and interstate locations) immediately blocks the majority of wasted spend from day one, while weekly Search Term Report audits naturally build out the remaining niche exclusions over time.
Universal exclusions—such as job seekers (jobs, tafe, apprenticeship), DIY terms (how to, youtube), and interstate locations—should be added to a Shared Library Negative Keyword List so they protect every campaign simultaneously. Campaign-specific negatives (for example, blocking "gas hot water" in a campaign dedicated exclusively to "heat pump hot water") should be applied at the individual campaign or ad group level.
There are three common reasons:
Singular vs. Plural Gaps: Google Ads does not automatically block plurals or close variants of negative keywords. If you block course, you must also block courses.
Match Type Syntax: Using [negative exact match] only blocks that exact phrase with zero extra words. Broad junk terms like diy or salary should be added without brackets (negative broad match).
Location Settings: If your campaign location setting is left on Google’s default “Presence or interest”, people overseas or interstate researching your city will still see your ads. Switch it to “Presence: People in or regularly in your targeted locations.”
No—in fact, they actively improve your account performance. By preventing your ads from showing to non-buyers (like students or DIYers) who either ignore your ad or bounce immediately, your Click-Through Rate (CTR) increases. Higher CTR is one of the strongest positive signals for Google’s Quality Score, which lowers your Cost-Per-Click (CPC) over time.
Yes. While you cannot add ad-group-level negatives inside Performance Max directly, you can apply Account-Level Negative Keywords (under Account Settings → Negative keywords) or submit a negative keyword list through your Google Ads representative or account-level exclusion settings to prevent PMax Search inventory from wasting budget on junk queries.