The 12 Negative Keywords Every Home-Service Google Ads Account Needs On Day One
A new home-service Google Ads account should exclude these 12 terms from day one, before a single dollar is spent: jobs, salary, how to, DIY, free, training, apprentice, certification, course, wholesale, near me jobs, and franchise. None of them are hypothetical — every one of them regularly triggers ads for real home-service accounts that never added a starter negative list.
Why these specific 12
| Term | Why it wastes spend |
|---|---|
| jobs | Job-seekers looking for employment, not service |
| salary | Same — people researching pay for the trade, not hiring |
| how to | DIY researchers, not people looking to hire |
| DIY | Same intent, different phrasing |
| free | Price-shoppers unlikely to convert on a paid service |
| training | People looking to learn the trade, not hire it done |
| apprentice | Job-seeking or industry-education intent |
| certification | Same — people entering the trade, not hiring |
| course | Educational intent, not commercial |
| wholesale | Trade/supplier searches, not homeowner intent |
| near me jobs | A common job-search phrasing pattern specifically |
| franchise | People researching buying into a franchise, not hiring a local provider |
Why a starter list isn't enough by itself
This list catches the obvious, universal waste — but it's a floor, not a ceiling. Every account still needs its search terms report reviewed regularly, because the specific junk traffic that shows up depends on your exact keywords, your trade, and even your geography. A generic list plus no ongoing review still leaks money; it just leaks less of it.
What this actually costs if skipped
A single mismatched broad-match keyword can quietly absorb a meaningful share of a small account's monthly budget before anyone notices — not because the keyword is wrong exactly, but because match type without negatives lets it catch far more than intended. For a business spending $1,500–$3,000/month, that's real money going to clicks that were never going to become customers.