Where should you add negative keywords if you want to help prevent Standard Shopping ads from appearing when you do not want them to?
Correct Answer
The campaign
Key takeaways
Negative keywords are added at campaign or ad group level in Google Ads.
They are the only direct query control in Shopping.
They apply immediately, without a feed change.
Why is this the correct answer?
Negative keywords are added to the campaign, in Google Ads. They are the only direct query control a Shopping campaign has, and they take effect without any change to the feed — which makes them both precise and immediate. Merchant Center and the feed hold product data and have no concept of search queries, so nothing about exclusion can happen there.
Why are the other options wrong?
The Merchant Center
Merchant Center validates product data and holds no query controls.
The product feed
The feed describes products. It has no mechanism for excluding searches.
The ad
Shopping ads have no editable ad text, so there is nowhere in the ad to add keywords.
Frequently asked questions about this topic
Can I share one negative list across campaigns?
Yes. Shared negative keyword lists live under Tools and the shared library, and can be applied to several campaigns at once. That is the practical way to maintain a standing exclusion list such as competitor names or the word free.
Topics in this question
About the Shopping Ads Certification
The Shopping Ads Certification checks that you can run retail campaigns end to end: product data in Merchant Center, linking it to Google Ads, and choosing between Standard Shopping and Performance Max to drive sales and value.
Exam guide and all 407 Google Ads Shopping questions →Related Google Ads Shopping questions
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