The playbook
Negative Keywords: Checklist
Use this negative keywords checklist before a new release, a handoff, or a scheduled review. Its purpose is to verify the decisions that affect irrelevant spend reduced without losing useful demand. Check an actual campaign or conversion record; a box marked complete without evidence does not show that the customer journey works.
Put the task in context
Review the full query before excluding a term. A word such as “free” may appear in both irrelevant searches and a legitimate query about an advertised free consultation. Choose exclusion scope carefully and inspect useful demand that could be blocked.
Before you use the checklist
Name the exact item being checked and its purpose. Gather search term, reason, negative term, scope. If one of those details is unknown, mark it as unknown and assign a way to resolve it. An invented value makes the checklist look complete while weakening every later decision.
Working checklist
| Check | Evidence to keep | Responsible role |
|---|---|---|
| Review search terms alongside lead quality | A dated observation showing how search term was verified | campaign lead |
| Identify patterns that clearly do not match the offer | A dated observation showing how reason was verified | creative or tracking owner |
| Check exclusion scope and possible useful matches | A dated observation showing how negative term was verified | budget owner |
Check the failure path
- Look specifically for this failure: blocking a broad word that also appears in valuable queries.
- Use precise exclusions and review their effect. Record the actual correction, not just the intention to make it.
- Repeat the affected task after the correction and check scope.
- Make sure the next owner can find the decision and supporting evidence.
Use three outcomes for each check
Mark an item as complete only when the expected behavior or information has been observed. Mark it as incomplete when a required condition is absent. Use not applicable when the condition genuinely does not belong to the chosen scope, and write a short reason. These states keep a review useful without forcing every process into an identical mold.
For example, if the check is “Review search terms alongside lead quality,” a meeting about the subject is not the evidence itself. Retain the relevant search term and reason, the decision made from them, and the result of checking that decision. The record should allow someone who missed the meeting to understand what changed.
Decide what must be resolved first
An incomplete item that prevents exclude irrelevant searches while preserving useful demand deserves attention before a cosmetic improvement. Assign an owner and a next action to that issue. Keep optional refinements visible, but do not let them obscure a failure in the core process.
Close the review
Recheck corrected items and note anything still uncertain. The checklist is finished when the next owner understands what was verified and what remains open. Follow irrelevant spend reduced without losing useful demand using a consistent definition so later reviews can connect execution quality with useful results.
Choose an observation period that reflects the buying process. Immediate clicks, later inquiries, and completed sales happen at different times. Keep the attribution window and any incomplete outcomes visible when comparing campaigns.
Skip the manual steps. Let AgentixFLO run this for every client.
Start now