Running paid search campaigns for healthcare services can be highly effective—when done correctly. One of the most overlooked yet crucial elements of managing Google Ads or Bing Ads is the use of negative keywords. For healthcare providers, not using a refined negative keywords list can result in wasted ad spend, irrelevant leads, and poor user engagement.
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In this guide, we’ll explore how negative keywords work, why they’re essential for healthcare campaigns, and provide a practical negative keywords list tailored to the medical sector.
Understanding Negative Keywords in Healthcare Campaigns
Negative keywords are search terms you add to your PPC campaigns to prevent your ads from being triggered by irrelevant or low-intent queries. In simple terms, they tell search engines when not to show your ad.
For example, if you run a private dental clinic, you wouldn’t want your ads to appear when someone searches “free NHS dental treatment”. Adding “free” and “NHS” as negative keywords would help avoid these mismatched impressions.
By refining your targeting through a strong negative keyword list, you ensure your ads only appear to users who are genuinely interested in your services.
Why Negative Keywords Matter for On-Page SEO Strategy
While negative keywords are typically associated with paid search, they also support your broader on-page SEO and content strategy by:
- Helping align ad traffic with relevant landing pages
- Reducing bounce rates from unqualified visitors
- Improving your website’s conversion rate
- Maintaining high Quality Scores in PPC, which supports better rankings and lower CPC
Using negative keywords effectively helps bring more qualified traffic to your website and improves the user experience by ensuring your content matches searcher intent.
Core Categories of Negative Keywords for Healthcare Campaigns
To build a useful negative keywords list for healthcare, start by categorising common irrelevant search themes. Below are some of the most important categories for healthcare advertisers:
- Free or Low-Cost Services
Unless you offer publicly funded services, exclude users looking for free or NHS options.
- free
- cheap
- low cost
- NHS
- bulk billing (common in Australia)
- Medicaid (US-specific)
- Medicare
- Employment and Careers
People searching for jobs or training shouldn’t be seeing your ads.
- jobs
- vacancies
- careers
- employment
- training
- course
- certification
- apprenticeship
- Academic or Research Queries
Unless you’re affiliated with a university or research centre, exclude these terms.
- thesis
- dissertation
- research paper
- journal
- case study
- review article
- academic
- DIY or Home Remedies
These users are typically looking for advice, not professional medical help.
- at home
- DIY
- natural
- herbal
- remedies
- how to treat
- home cure
- Informational-Only Searches
Filter out users who are not ready to book or pay for a service.
- symptoms of
- side effects
- what is
- causes of
- can I get
- is it normal to
- why do I have
- Non-Target Services
If you’re a GP clinic, you don’t want to pay for traffic related to unrelated specialities.
- plastic surgery (if you don’t offer it)
- chiropractor (if you’re a physiotherapist)
- eye clinic (if you’re a dentist)
- vet / veterinary
- pet clinic
- Locations You Don’t Serve
Avoid paying for traffic in areas outside your reach.
- city names or regions outside your service area (e.g. “Birmingham” if your clinic is only in Leeds)
- country-specific terms (e.g. “USA” or “India” if your services are UK-based)
How to Build and Apply Your Negative Keywords List
- Start With Broad Negatives
Use broad match negatives like “free” or “job” to filter common themes early on. Be careful not to block useful terms unintentionally. - Use Google Ads Search Terms Report
Check the Search Terms Report regularly to discover irrelevant queries that are triggering your ads. Add these to your negative keyword list. - Segment by Campaign
Use different negative keyword lists for each campaign, especially if your services vary (e.g. dental vs physiotherapy). - Apply to Ad Groups or Campaign Level
You can apply negative keywords at the campaign or ad group level depending on how specific you want the exclusions to be. - Update Regularly
As your campaigns evolve, so should your negative keyword lists. Periodically review for new low-performing terms.
Sample Negative Keywords List for a UK-Based Private Clinic
- free
- NHS
- bulk billing
- NHS dentist
- job
- careers
- employment
- training
- medical school
- natural treatment
- home remedy
- home cure
- what is
- side effects
- symptoms of
- causes of
- why do I
- how to treat
- veterinarian
- pet doctor
- USA
- Canada
- Australia
- India
- university
Best Practices for Managing Negative Keywords in Healthcare PPC
- Don’t go overboard too early. Blocking too many terms can restrict your campaign’s reach.
- Use phrase match and exact match negative keywords to preserve relevant traffic.
- Keep negatives updated across all campaigns, especially when launching new services or locations.
- Use shared negative keyword lists in Google Ads to manage exclusions at scale.
Final Thoughts
Creating a robust negative keywords list for healthcare campaigns is one of the simplest ways to improve PPC performance. It helps eliminate wasted spend, drive more qualified traffic to your site, and ensure your on-page SEO strategy aligns with real user intent.
By reviewing your campaigns regularly and refining your exclusions based on real search behaviour, you’ll gain more control, lower your cost per lead, and attract the patients that matter most.
