Why generic lists fall short
Downloadable lists of negative keywords are a reasonable starting point, but they are built for an average account that does not exist. A term that is irrelevant for one firm may be valuable for another. "Free" is a good example: some firms want to exclude it, while others offer free consultations and see strong inquiries from searchers who include it.
A better approach is to understand the categories of irrelevant intent that appear in legal search, then build and maintain exclusions from the account's own search-term data.
Common categories of irrelevant legal searches
The specifics vary by practice area, but most wasted legal search traffic falls into recognizable groups:
- Careers and education — salaries, jobs, paralegal programs, law school questions
- Records and forms — police reports, court records, form downloads
- Do-it-yourself intent — templates, how to file without a lawyer
- Other side of the matter — employers in employee-side employment law, for example
- Out-of-scope matter types — practice areas the firm does not handle
- Out-of-area locations — cities or states where the firm cannot take cases
- Free legal aid — when the firm does not offer pro bono or reduced-fee representation
Use shared lists, but keep them organized
Google Ads lets you maintain shared negative keyword lists and apply them to multiple campaigns. Organizing those lists by purpose — careers, records, out-of-area locations, out-of-scope practices — makes them easier to maintain and safer to apply. A firm that later adds a practice area can remove one list from one campaign instead of hunting through hundreds of terms.
Match types matter for negatives too
Negative keywords behave differently from positive keywords. They do not automatically include close variants, so plural and misspelled forms may need to be added separately.
| Negative match type | What it blocks |
|---|---|
| Broad | Searches containing all of its words, in any order |
| Phrase | Searches containing that exact sequence of words |
| Exact | Only that exact query |
Choosing the narrowest match type that solves the problem reduces the risk of blocking searches the firm actually wants.
The risk of over-excluding
Aggressive negative lists can quietly suppress valuable traffic. Excluding "cost" might remove people asking what a lawyer costs — often a sign of hiring intent. Excluding a city name to block out-of-area searches might also block in-area searchers who mention it. Every negative should have a reason, and lists should be reviewed when campaigns change.
Make the search terms report a routine
New irrelevant queries appear constantly. Reviewing search terms on a regular schedule — more often in a new or high-spend account — is the most reliable way to keep waste down without blocking opportunity. Recording why each exclusion was added makes future reviews faster and decisions easier to revisit.
This review is part of our ongoing law firm PPC management.
