One of the most common drains on a marketing budget isn’t just targeting the wrong people—it’s failing to exclude the people who will never buy from you. At mbial business, we have spent years diving deep into ads management, and we’ve identified a simple but powerful tweak that can immediately protect your profit margins and improve your brand’s digital health.
Why Your Ads Are Attracting "Window Shoppers"
When you run search ads (such as Google Ads or Bing Ads), you pay for every single click. The platform’s algorithm is designed to find volume, which means search engines often show your ads to anyone using keywords remotely related to your product.
If you sell premium e-commerce consulting or high-quality products through mbial.com, you don’t want clicks from people looking for handouts. This is where negative keywords come into play.
A negative keyword acts as a filter, telling the search engine: “Do not show my ad if the user’s search query contains this specific word.” Without this filter, you are essentially leaving your wallet open on a busy street corner.
The Two Most Expensive Words: "Free" and "Cheap"
If your goal is to build a sustainable, profitable brand, you need customers who value quality and are prepared to invest in it. By adding “free” and “cheap” to your negative keyword list, you achieve three critical competitive advantages:
Higher Conversion Rates:
You funnel your traffic so that you only attract users with “high purchase intent.” These are people looking to buy, not just browse.
Drastic Cost Reduction:
You stop paying for clicks from users who will bounce the moment they see a price tag. This saves money that can be reinvested into higher-performing keywords.
Enhanced Quality Score:
When your ads are only shown to relevant audiences, your click-through rate (CTR) naturally improves. Search engines reward this relevance by lowering your overall cost-per-click (CPC), making your entire account more efficient.
Strategic Implementation at Mbial Business:
At Mbial Business, we recommend a “proactive” approach to your exclusion lists. While “free” and “cheap” are the low-hanging fruit, a truly professional campaign requires a deeper dive. To move your brand beyond the budget-hunting mindset of fiverr, consider adding these categories to your negative list:
Educational Queries:
Words like course, tutorial, what is, or how to. Unless you are specifically selling an e-book, these users are looking for information, not a service provider.
Employment Seekers:
Words like job, salary, resume, or hiring. These clicks come from people looking for a paycheck from you, rather than wanting to give you one.
Low-Value Competitors:
If you are positioning yourself as a premium alternative to fiverr, you might exclude terms related to “discount” or “budget” services to ensure your brand’s perceived value remains high.
The Impact on Your Bottom Line:
| Keyword Type | Search Query Example | Resulting Action |
| Standard Keyword | “e-commerce consulting” | Your ad appears to a potential lead. |
| Negative Keyword | “free e-commerce consulting” | Your ad is hidden, saving you money. |
Key Takeaway: Success in e-commerce isn’t about how many people see your ad; it’s about the right people seeing it. It is significantly better to have 10 clicks from motivated buyers than 100 clicks from people looking for a freebie.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
1. how do i know which negative keywords to add besides "free" and "cheap"?
The best way to identify these words is by regularly auditing your “search terms report” within your advertising dashboard. This report shows you the actual phrases people typed before clicking your ad. At mbial business, we look for patterns in this data; if you see terms like “repair,” “review,” or “diy” popping up and resulting in zero sales, those are prime candidates for your negative keyword list to prevent further wasted spend.
2. will adding too many negative keywords hurt my ad reach?
While it is true that negative keywords reduce your total number of impressions, they are designed to reduce bad impressions, not good ones. The goal of a growing business on mbial.com should be “qualified reach” rather than “maximum reach.” As long as you aren’t accidentally excluding your core services, a robust negative keyword list actually helps the search engine’s algorithm find your ideal customer faster by narrowing the field of play.
3. should i use "broad match" or "exact match" for my negative keywords?
For most small business owners, “phrase match” or “broad match” for negatives is the most effective way to catch unwanted traffic. For example, if you add “free” as a broad match negative, it will block “free e-commerce help,” “e-commerce free tools,” and “free consulting.” At mbial business, we generally advise against using too many “exact match” negatives because they are too specific and might let similar, equally wasteful search queries slip through the cracks.
4. how often should i update my negative keyword lists?
Negative keyword management isn’t a one-time task; it should be a part of your weekly or monthly maintenance routine. As consumer trends change and new competitors enter the market, new irrelevant search terms will inevitably appear. By consistently refining these lists, you ensure that your marketing budget at mbial.com is always being used as efficiently as possible, allowing you to scale without a proportional increase in wasted costs.
Ready to Scale Your Business the Right Way?
Managing ads is just one piece of the puzzle. To truly move away from the limitations of fiverr and build a standalone empire, you need a cohesive strategy that covers setup, management, and optimization.
At Mbial Business, we specialize in helping entrepreneurs bridge that gap. We don’t just “run ads”—we build profitable systems that stand the test of time.
Stop guessing with your marketing budget. Book a consultation at mbial.com today and let’s refine your strategy for maximum growth.
