How We Save Thousands With Negative Keywords For MSP Google Ad Campaigns

Google Ads is one of the most powerful inbound lead generation channels available to managed service providers. There are few better moments to introduce your brand than when someone is actively searching for “IT company near me” or “managed IT services for law firms.”

But here’s the part too many MSPs miss: just because someone is searching for IT support doesn’t mean they’re your customer.

You’re paying for every click. And if you’re not using negative keywords strategically, you’re probably paying for clicks from job seekers, students, DIY hobbyists, or tire-kickers looking for free advice. All of that adds up quickly.

In this post, we’ll explain how negative keywords work, why they’re absolutely critical for MSPs running Google Ads, and how smart filtering can save you thousands in wasted ad spend and years of frustration.

Google Support Article On Negative Keywords

Free Download: MSP Keywords That Convert On Google Ads
We’re so confident that the ingredients for success in Google Ads have are so much more than just the keywords you’re targeting that we will literally give away all the secrets!

Below is a completely free list of keywords that have a documented history of generating sales ready leads on Google Ads for MSPs. Click the image below to download a free list of keywords that convert on Google Ads for MSPS.

The Hidden Drain On Your MSPs Google Ads Budget

Negative keywords tell Google which search terms you don’t want your ads to appear for. It’s the difference between getting a call from a business owner needing a new MSP and getting one from someone asking how to reset their Wi-Fi router.

Here are just a few types of searches that can burn through your budget if left unchecked:

• “Free IT support for small business”
• “IT support resume template”
• “How to start an IT business”
• “College IT program”
• “DIY cybersecurity tools”

Every time someone clicks your ad after typing one of these phrases, you’re paying for noise, not pipeline. Unless you’re actively managing your negative keywords, you’re handing money to Google in exchange for unqualified traffic. Some of the most common types of negative keywords we are actively working to block out from our customers ads campaigns and that tend to chew up a ton of budget are:

• Competitor brand names
• vendor brand names
• general business consulting and support
• consumer and residential IT searches
• irrelevant location searches

Remember you can always remove negative keywords so it’s best to be as aggressive as possible and dial back negatives as needed when you need to scale up. Your first priority should be creating a high quality search terms report though to make sure you are getting clicks from the highest quality searches so that you can tune your account’s machine learning with conversion volume.

Most MSPs Aren’t Adding Negative Keywords

Despite its importance, negative keyword optimization is often an afterthought. Many MSPs either set up their own Google Ads campaigns and ignore this step or they outsource to agencies who don’t specialize in the MSP sector and aren’t familiar with the nuances of MSP buyer intent. There are also plenty of agencies who simply don’t do this activity and just collect a check and pray for the best for your account, a recipe for failure.

Without careful oversight, your campaigns end up targeting people who will never become customers. The result is bloated budgets, poor ROI, and a creeping sense that Google Ads just doesn’t work.

Building a Negative Keyword Strategy That Works

To avoid this, you need a disciplined and proactive approach to negative keyword management. Here’s how we recommend getting started:

• Audit your search terms report weekly. See what actual queries are triggering your ads and filter out the irrelevant ones.
• Think in terms of intent. If a search indicates learning, applying for jobs, or DIY troubleshooting, it probably doesn’t belong.
• Preemptively block common traps. Words like “free,” “courses,” “salary,” “how to,” “degree,” and “entry level” are almost always bad news for MSPs.

At Tortoise and Hare Software, we’ve developed roughly 15 negative keyword lists tailored specifically to the MSP industry. We apply these lists to new client accounts right away because we know the damage irrelevant searches can do.

Some of our more seasoned clients now have negative keyword lists with over 10,000 entries, built over time through meticulous management and campaign optimization. It would take most MSPs years to build that level of filtering on their own. And they’d spend tens of thousands of dollars on clicks that never convert in the process.

Some example negative keyword lists we use to save MSPs thousands and avoid wasted spend include:

• Countries of the world – avoid poor location targeting
• US States – avoid poor location targeting
• US Cities – avoid poor location targeting
• Cheap Skates – avoid tire kickers
• Consumer IT – avoid consumer searches
• Inquisitive – avoid people with low commercial intent
• International Spam – avoid people trying to sell into your MSP from overseas
• IT Consulting – avoid people looking for consulting and break fix work
• Not Sold Items – things such as “property management” that MSP keywords tend to match on
• Seeking Employment – avoid job seekers
• Software,App,Web Dev – avoid people searching for software and web dev work
• Vendor Names – common vendors name people are looking for support from
• Websites and Domains – people trying to browse to websites
• And more…

Robust Negative Keyword Lists: From Wasted Spend to Predictable Pipeline

We’ve seen firsthand how robust negative keyword strategies can transform campaign performance. By blocking out noise, your ads reach the right people—those who are actively looking for the kinds of services you offer and are ready to take action. While negative keywords are no guarantee of success they are a critically important piece of the puzzle that can help you avoid guaranteeing failure.

A robust negative keywords strategy doesn’t just reduce cost-per-click. It improves your lead quality, lowers your cost per lead, and accelerates your sales cycle. You spend less time qualifying junk leads and more time closing real deals.

Conclusion: Start Attracting the Right Clicks

Google Ads isn’t about buying attention. It’s about buying the right attention. That starts by being as intentional about who you don’t want to reach as you are about who you do.

Negative keywords are a critical, often overlooked tool in any serious MSP’s Google Ads strategy. Done well, they protect your budget, sharpen your targeting, and keep your campaigns focused on high-value opportunities.

If you’re running Google Ads and haven’t reviewed your negative keyword list in a while, or if you’re starting from scratch and want to avoid the most common and costly pitfalls, let’s talk.

We’ll show you what’s missing, apply our pre-built lists, and help you turn your Google Ads account into a real growth channel without the years of trial and error. Learn more about our MSP Google Ads management services today.