Your Google Ads budget is paying for people who will never buy

Most of the money a South African business spends on Google Ads goes to people who were never going to buy. That is not an opinion. I measured it.

I pulled the Google Ads keyword data for 26 service verticals in this country, then measured every off-intent branch sitting around each one. Four hundred queries. What came back was roughly 1.9 million searches a month that look like demand and are not.

The list below is what came out of that work. 173 negative keywords, free, no email required. Copy them, paste them into your account, and stop paying for searches that were never yours.

The clearest example is accounting

There are about 15,000 searches a month in South Africa from people looking for an accountant.

SARS eFiling on its own is 823,000 a month. In July, when filing season opens, it hits 2.24 million.

Those people are filing their own returns. They are not shopping for an accountant. But if your campaign runs broad or phrase match, some of them are your clicks, and you paid for every one.

Security works the same way. PSIRA registration pulls 135,000 searches a month. People shopping for a guarding company pull about 12,000. The regulator’s paperwork is eleven times the size of the market.

Pest control sells the same story. Species names and rat poison outsearch the exterminator by about ten to one.

What that number does not mean

A tightly built phrase match campaign will not see most of this. Bed bugs cannot match pest control near me on phrase match, and it never will.

So the 1.9 million is not a bill you are paying. It is the size of the pool your keywords sit in, and the size of the search terms report you have to police if you run broad match or Performance Max.

The list exists because almost nobody polices it.

Why the American lists do not work here

The negative keyword lists ranking on page one were written for the United States. They block Zillow, HomeAdvisor and Apartment Therapy. Useful if you advertise there. Pointless here.

The noise in a South African account is institutional. Learnerships, bursaries, NSFAS, SETA, tenders, SARS, CIPC, UIF, PSIRA. Nobody typing those is buying your service, and no American list contains them.

Then there is the language layer, which most South African accounts ignore completely. You target English, but the query language follows the searcher’s own settings, not your campaign. Naby my is near me. Hoeveel kos is how much does it cost. Werksgeleenthede is job opportunities. Those land in your campaign and get billed like everything else.

What these negative keywords are actually blocking

Grouped by the intent behind the search, not alphabetically. That is how you read a search terms report, so that is how the list is laid out.

Employment (15 terms)

People looking for a job in the industry, or checking what one pays.

Keyword	Match type	What it stops
salary	Phrase	someone hunting a salary, a vacancy or an application form in the advertiser’s industry
salaries	Phrase	someone hunting a salary, a vacancy or an application form in the advertiser’s industry
vacancies	Phrase	someone hunting a salary, a vacancy or an application form in the advertiser’s industry
vacancy	Phrase	someone hunting a salary, a vacancy or an application form in the advertiser’s industry
jobs in	Phrase	someone hunting a salary, a vacancy or an application form in the advertiser’s industry
job opportunities	Phrase	someone hunting a salary, a vacancy or an application form in the advertiser’s industry
how to apply	Phrase	someone hunting a salary, a vacancy or an application form in the advertiser’s industry
cv template	Phrase	someone hunting a salary, a vacancy or an application form in the advertiser’s industry
internship	Phrase	someone hunting a salary, a vacancy or an application form in the advertiser’s industry
ccma	Phrase	an employee or employer looking up labour law, a notice period or a CCMA process
labour law	Phrase	an employee or employer looking up labour law, a notice period or a CCMA process
notice period	Phrase	an employee or employer looking up labour law, a notice period or a CCMA process
retrenchment	Phrase	an employee or employer looking up labour law, a notice period or a CCMA process
payslip template	Phrase	an employee or employer looking up labour law, a notice period or a CCMA process
leave form	Phrase	an employee or employer looking up labour law, a notice period or a CCMA process

Study, training and bursaries (24 terms)

Learnerships, bursaries, SETA courses, past papers. In South Africa this is the single biggest source of junk on service keywords.

Keyword	Match type	What it stops
learnership	Broad	someone looking for a learnership, bursary or SETA-funded course, not a supplier
learnerships	Broad	someone looking for a learnership, bursary or SETA-funded course, not a supplier
learnership programme	Phrase	someone looking for a learnership, bursary or SETA-funded course, not a supplier
bursary	Broad	someone looking for a learnership, bursary or SETA-funded course, not a supplier
bursaries	Broad	someone looking for a learnership, bursary or SETA-funded course, not a supplier
nsfas	Broad	someone looking for a learnership, bursary or SETA-funded course, not a supplier
seta	Broad	someone looking for a learnership, bursary or SETA-funded course, not a supplier
scholarship	Broad	someone looking for a learnership, bursary or SETA-funded course, not a supplier
matric	Broad	someone looking for a learnership, bursary or SETA-funded course, not a supplier
assignment	Phrase	a student searching for notes, past papers, case material or help completing coursework
assignments	Phrase	a student searching for notes, past papers, case material or help completing coursework
past papers	Phrase	a student searching for notes, past papers, case material or help completing coursework
exam papers	Phrase	a student searching for notes, past papers, case material or help completing coursework
study notes	Phrase	a student searching for notes, past papers, case material or help completing coursework
dissertation	Phrase	a student searching for notes, past papers, case material or help completing coursework
mcq	Phrase	a student searching for notes, past papers, case material or help completing coursework
textbook	Phrase	a student searching for notes, past papers, case material or help completing coursework
university of	Phrase	a learner or parent comparing institutions, short courses or online platforms
tvet	Phrase	a learner or parent comparing institutions, short courses or online platforms
college courses	Phrase	a learner or parent comparing institutions, short courses or online platforms
udemy	Phrase	a learner or parent comparing institutions, short courses or online platforms
coursera	Phrase	a learner or parent comparing institutions, short courses or online platforms
online course	Phrase	a learner or parent comparing institutions, short courses or online platforms
short course	Phrase	a learner or parent comparing institutions, short courses or online platforms

Tenders and government paperwork (20 terms)

SMME owners trying to sell to the state, and people doing their own registrations and compliance.

Keyword	Match type	What it stops
tender	Phrase	an SMME owner checking how to sell to the state, not buy a service
tenders	Phrase	an SMME owner checking how to sell to the state, not buy a service
government tender	Phrase	an SMME owner checking how to sell to the state, not buy a service
tender award	Phrase	an SMME owner checking how to sell to the state, not buy a service
rfq	Phrase	an SMME owner checking how to sell to the state, not buy a service
bid documents	Phrase	an SMME owner checking how to sell to the state, not buy a service
supplier database	Phrase	an SMME owner checking how to sell to the state, not buy a service
how to register	Phrase	someone working out how to register, deregister or check a business, or settle a tax or UIF matter themselves
requirements for	Phrase	someone working out how to register, deregister or check a business, or settle a tax or UIF matter themselves
cipc	Phrase	someone working out how to register, deregister or check a business, or settle a tax or UIF matter themselves
sars	Phrase	someone working out how to register, deregister or check a business, or settle a tax or UIF matter themselves
uif	Phrase	someone working out how to register, deregister or check a business, or settle a tax or UIF matter themselves
tax clearance	Phrase	someone working out how to register, deregister or check a business, or settle a tax or UIF matter themselves
sassa	Phrase	someone looking for a social grant, a municipal service or a traffic fine they owe the state
sassa grant	Phrase	someone looking for a social grant, a municipal service or a traffic fine they owe the state
social grant	Phrase	someone looking for a social grant, a municipal service or a traffic fine they owe the state
home affairs	Phrase	someone looking for a social grant, a municipal service or a traffic fine they owe the state
traffic fine	Phrase	someone looking for a social grant, a municipal service or a traffic fine they owe the state
pay traffic fine	Phrase	someone looking for a social grant, a municipal service or a traffic fine they owe the state
grant application	Phrase	someone looking for a social grant, a municipal service or a traffic fine they owe the state

Price lists, catalogues and PDFs (20 terms)

The searcher who wants the document, not the service. PDF queries convert at close to zero on a lead generation page.

Keyword	Match type	What it stops
specials	Phrase	a shopper or reseller looking for a catalogue, specials sheet or price list document
catalogue	Phrase	a shopper or reseller looking for a catalogue, specials sheet or price list document
price list pdf	Phrase	a shopper or reseller looking for a catalogue, specials sheet or price list document
prices pdf	Phrase	a shopper or reseller looking for a catalogue, specials sheet or price list document
layby	Phrase	a shopper or reseller looking for a catalogue, specials sheet or price list document
clearance	Phrase	a shopper or reseller looking for a catalogue, specials sheet or price list document
black friday	Phrase	a shopper or reseller looking for a catalogue, specials sheet or price list document
second hand	Phrase	a shopper or reseller looking for a catalogue, specials sheet or price list document
tweedehands	Phrase	a shopper or reseller looking for a catalogue, specials sheet or price list document
gumtree	Phrase	a shopper browsing classifieds or a marketplace for an item, not a supplier of a service
junk mail	Phrase	a shopper browsing classifieds or a marketplace for an item, not a supplier of a service
olx	Phrase	a shopper browsing classifieds or a marketplace for an item, not a supplier of a service
facebook marketplace	Phrase	a shopper browsing classifieds or a marketplace for an item, not a supplier of a service
for sale	Phrase	a shopper browsing classifieds or a marketplace for an item, not a supplier of a service
te koop	Phrase	a shopper browsing classifieds or a marketplace for an item, not a supplier of a service
pawn shop	Phrase	a shopper browsing classifieds or a marketplace for an item, not a supplier of a service
compare prices	Phrase	a searcher comparing prices across suppliers instead of choosing one to contact
price comparison	Phrase	a searcher comparing prices across suppliers instead of choosing one to contact
cheapest	Phrase	a searcher comparing prices across suppliers instead of choosing one to contact
quote comparison	Phrase	a searcher comparing prices across suppliers instead of choosing one to contact

Free stuff (20 terms)

Anyone hunting a free version, a template, a download or a trial.

Keyword	Match type	What it stops
crack	Broad	someone looking for a cracked or pirated copy of software, or a free download of a paid product
cracked	Broad	someone looking for a cracked or pirated copy of software, or a free download of a paid product
nulled	Broad	someone looking for a cracked or pirated copy of software, or a free download of a paid product
torrent	Broad	someone looking for a cracked or pirated copy of software, or a free download of a paid product
keygen	Broad	someone looking for a cracked or pirated copy of software, or a free download of a paid product
free download	Phrase	someone looking for a cracked or pirated copy of software, or a free download of a paid product
for free	Phrase	a searcher who has decided in advance that the job will not cost money
free template	Phrase	a searcher who has decided in advance that the job will not cost money
free tool	Phrase	a searcher who has decided in advance that the job will not cost money
free pdf	Phrase	a searcher who has decided in advance that the job will not cost money
free course	Phrase	a searcher who has decided in advance that the job will not cost money
free software	Phrase	a searcher who has decided in advance that the job will not cost money
gratis	Broad	a searcher who has decided in advance that the job will not cost money
apk	Phrase	someone after a file, form or template they can fill in and submit themselves
pdf download	Phrase	someone after a file, form or template they can fill in and submit themselves
docx	Phrase	someone after a file, form or template they can fill in and submit themselves
sample letter	Phrase	someone after a file, form or template they can fill in and submit themselves
affidavit	Phrase	someone after a file, form or template they can fill in and submit themselves
application form	Phrase	someone after a file, form or template they can fill in and submit themselves
form template	Phrase	someone after a file, form or template they can fill in and submit themselves

Doing it themselves (36 terms)

How-to and research queries from people who intend to solve it without paying anyone.

Keyword	Match type	What it stops
how to	Phrase	a home or business owner trying to understand the job well enough to do it or price it themselves
how do i	Phrase	a home or business owner trying to understand the job well enough to do it or price it themselves
what is	Phrase	a home or business owner trying to understand the job well enough to do it or price it themselves
meaning of	Phrase	a home or business owner trying to understand the job well enough to do it or price it themselves
step by step	Phrase	a home or business owner trying to understand the job well enough to do it or price it themselves
diy	Phrase	a home or business owner trying to understand the job well enough to do it or price it themselves
do it myself	Phrase	a home or business owner trying to understand the job well enough to do it or price it themselves
list of	Phrase	a researcher or telesales operator building a list of suppliers or companies
list of companies	Phrase	a researcher or telesales operator building a list of suppliers or companies
top 10	Phrase	a researcher or telesales operator building a list of suppliers or companies
contact list	Phrase	a researcher or telesales operator building a list of suppliers or companies
email list	Phrase	a researcher or telesales operator building a list of suppliers or companies
reddit	Phrase	a searcher using Google to reach a forum, video or dictionary rather than a supplier
quora	Phrase	a searcher using Google to reach a forum, video or dictionary rather than a supplier
youtube	Phrase	a searcher using Google to reach a forum, video or dictionary rather than a supplier
wikipedia	Phrase	a searcher using Google to reach a forum, video or dictionary rather than a supplier
meaning	Phrase	a searcher using Google to reach a forum, video or dictionary rather than a supplier
synonym	Phrase	a searcher using Google to reach a forum, video or dictionary rather than a supplier
translate	Phrase	a searcher using Google to reach a forum, video or dictionary rather than a supplier
free credit report	Phrase	someone checking their own credit record, blacklisting status or judgements without paying for advice
itc check	Phrase	someone checking their own credit record, blacklisting status or judgements without paying for advice
transunion	Phrase	someone checking their own credit record, blacklisting status or judgements without paying for advice
experian	Phrase	someone checking their own credit record, blacklisting status or judgements without paying for advice
blacklisted	Phrase	someone checking their own credit record, blacklisting status or judgements without paying for advice
judgements	Phrase	someone checking their own credit record, blacklisting status or judgements without paying for advice
debt review	Phrase	someone checking their own credit record, blacklisting status or judgements without paying for advice
vat calculator	Phrase	a small business owner doing their own tax, VAT and payroll admin with a calculator or template
tax calculator	Phrase	a small business owner doing their own tax, VAT and payroll admin with a calculator or template
payroll template	Phrase	a small business owner doing their own tax, VAT and payroll admin with a calculator or template
invoice template	Phrase	a small business owner doing their own tax, VAT and payroll admin with a calculator or template
quote template	Phrase	a small business owner doing their own tax, VAT and payroll admin with a calculator or template
provisional tax calculator	Phrase	a small business owner doing their own tax, VAT and payroll admin with a calculator or template
is it a scam	Phrase	a suspicious searcher checking whether a business or an offer is a scam before doing anything
scam	Phrase	a suspicious searcher checking whether a business or an offer is a scam before doing anything
complaints	Phrase	a suspicious searcher checking whether a business or an offer is a scam before doing anything
legit	Phrase	a suspicious searcher checking whether a business or an offer is a scam before doing anything

Afrikaans and isiZulu queries (23 terms)

Language follows the searcher’s own settings, not your campaign. These land in an English campaign and get billed like everything else.

Keyword	Match type	What it stops
naby my	Phrase	an Afrikaans-first searcher using the same buying words in a language the landing page cannot answer
hoeveel kos	Phrase	an Afrikaans-first searcher using the same buying words in a language the landing page cannot answer
wat kos	Phrase	an Afrikaans-first searcher using the same buying words in a language the landing page cannot answer
prys	Phrase	an Afrikaans-first searcher using the same buying words in a language the landing page cannot answer
goedkoop	Phrase	an Afrikaans-first searcher using the same buying words in a language the landing page cannot answer
werksgeleenthede	Phrase	an Afrikaans-first searcher using the same buying words in a language the landing page cannot answer
opleiding	Phrase	an Afrikaans-first searcher using the same buying words in a language the landing page cannot answer
kursus	Phrase	an Afrikaans-first searcher using the same buying words in a language the landing page cannot answer
regering	Phrase	an Afrikaans-first searcher using the same buying words in a language the landing page cannot answer
malini	Phrase	an isiZulu or isiXhosa-first searcher whose query cannot be served by English-only copy
eduze kwami	Phrase	an isiZulu or isiXhosa-first searcher whose query cannot be served by English-only copy
umsebenzi	Phrase	an isiZulu or isiXhosa-first searcher whose query cannot be served by English-only copy
imfundo	Phrase	an isiZulu or isiXhosa-first searcher whose query cannot be served by English-only copy
usizo	Phrase	an isiZulu or isiXhosa-first searcher whose query cannot be served by English-only copy
ek soek	Phrase	an Afrikaans-first searcher phrasing a request the English landing page cannot answer
waar kan ek	Phrase	an Afrikaans-first searcher phrasing a request the English landing page cannot answer
hoe laat	Phrase	an Afrikaans-first searcher phrasing a request the English landing page cannot answer
het nodig	Phrase	an Afrikaans-first searcher phrasing a request the English landing page cannot answer
kontak my	Phrase	an Afrikaans-first searcher phrasing a request the English landing page cannot answer
ngifuna	Phrase	an isiZulu-first searcher whose query the English-only site cannot serve
ngicela	Phrase	an isiZulu-first searcher whose query the English-only site cannot serve
imali	Phrase	an isiZulu-first searcher whose query the English-only site cannot serve
siza	Phrase	an isiZulu-first searcher whose query the English-only site cannot serve

Outages and schedules (5 terms)

Households checking a power or water schedule rather than buying anything.

Keyword	Match type	What it stops
eskom	Phrase	a household checking a power or water outage schedule rather than buying equipment or a service
load shedding	Phrase	a household checking a power or water outage schedule rather than buying equipment or a service
load shedding schedule	Phrase	a household checking a power or water outage schedule rather than buying equipment or a service
load shedding today	Phrase	a household checking a power or water outage schedule rather than buying equipment or a service
water outage	Phrase	a household checking a power or water outage schedule rather than buying equipment or a service

Other metros (10 terms)

Only for geo-restricted campaigns. Read the warning above this section before you touch it.

Keyword	Match type	What it stops
cape town	Phrase	a searcher naming a metro the campaign’s service area does not cover
johannesburg	Phrase	a searcher naming a metro the campaign’s service area does not cover
sandton	Phrase	a searcher naming a metro the campaign’s service area does not cover
pretoria	Phrase	a searcher naming a metro the campaign’s service area does not cover
port elizabeth	Phrase	a searcher naming a metro the campaign’s service area does not cover
gqeberha	Phrase	a searcher naming a metro the campaign’s service area does not cover
bloemfontein	Phrase	a searcher naming a metro the campaign’s service area does not cover
east london	Phrase	a searcher naming a metro the campaign’s service area does not cover
stellenbosch	Phrase	a searcher naming a metro the campaign’s service area does not cover
centurion	Phrase	a searcher naming a metro the campaign’s service area does not cover

The terms that look like negatives and must stay

This is the part that separates a list from a trap. Every term below shows up in a search terms report looking like junk, and blocking it removes a buyer.

Term	Why it must stay	What blocking it costs
free consultation	The free-intent family blocks free as a Phrase; a bare broad free would also remove this, which is how most South African service businesses open a conversation	Removes the entry point of the funnel for any advertiser that quotes after a free consultation
free quote	Quote-seeking is buying intent with a price objection already resolved; free quote is a high-converting long tail	Removes the highest-intent price enquiry in trades, transport and professional services
price	Price is a comparison modifier used by buyers, not by researchers; blocking it removes the most qualified traffic in the account	Removes buyers who are already deciding between suppliers
cost	Cost queries are the standard first commercial search in lead generation and convert better than generic head terms	Removes early-stage but genuinely commercial demand
near me	Proximity is the strongest local buying signal in Google Search; near me queries are the ones that ring a phone	Removes the core local lead source for any service business
south africa	The country name is the market, not noise; blocking it removes the advertiser’s own service area	Removes all in-market national demand
durban	The advertiser’s home metro; in a KwaZulu-Natal campaign this is a converting term, not a wrong-geography term	Removes the advertiser’s strongest local market
rand	Currency and payment language correlates with intent to transact, not with research	Removes buyers who already have a budget in mind
eft	Payment-method queries come from people ready to transact; EFT is how South African buyers expect to pay	Removes ready-to-pay searchers
emergency	Urgency is the highest-value intent in trades and medical services and carries a price premium	Removes same-hour, full-price jobs
same day	Same-day language signals a job that must be done now, which is the most profitable segment in services	Removes urgent, premium-priced work
services	Services is a category word buyers type when they are ready to choose a supplier	Removes category-level commercial demand
consultant	Consultant searches are buyers looking for exactly the advertiser’s role	Removes direct demand for the advertiser’s job title
guarantee	Guarantee queries come from buyers who have chosen and are checking terms before committing	Removes late-stage buyers one step from enquiry
best	Best is a shortlisting modifier used by buyers comparing suppliers, not by researchers	Removes shortlist-stage demand, which converts above head terms

If your list blocks price or near me, you have deleted the two highest intent modifiers in South African lead generation. That is not a negative keyword strategy. It is a subsidy for your competitors.

How to import it

Two routes, both under a minute.

• Shared list, the route that always works. Tools, then Shared library, then Negative keyword lists, then the plus button. Paste the text file below. The quotes and brackets are already in it, so Google reads the match types correctly. Save it, then tick the list against every campaign that needs it.
• Google Ads Editor. Keywords and targeting, Negative keywords, Make multiple changes, then paste the CSV contents.
• Account level. If you want it everywhere at once, add the terms to the account level list instead. You have a 1,000 term cap there, which this list fits inside.

Two files: the pastable text file, and the CSV for Google Ads Editor. The protected terms are in the table above, so you don’t need to download them.

Paste-ready text file  ·  Google Ads Editor CSV

The part almost nobody does

A list is a snapshot. Search behaviour moves, and a list that was right in June is over-negated by December.

Once a month, open the search terms report, sort by cost, and look at anything that spent money and produced nothing. Add the obvious junk at campaign level. Ten minutes.

That habit will out-earn any list, including this one. If your leads are still poor after you clean the search terms, the problem has moved to the landing page, and I wrote about that here.

If you would rather not do this yourself

I run Google Ads for South African businesses, and I audit accounts that have been spending for years without anyone reading the search terms report. If yours looks like a list of people who were never going to buy, that is the first thing I would fix.

Start with the budget calculator if you want to sanity check what your spend should be buying. If you would rather have somebody else read the search terms report, send me a message and I will look at it with you.