Negative keywords for home services companies
General home services ads attract a wide mix of DIYers, job seekers, and trade students. This list helps filter that noise across any home services niche.
Why negative keywords matter for home services companies
Because "home services" covers everything from handyman work to cleaning and repairs, the search terms report tends to pick up a huge range of irrelevant queries, from job postings to tutorial videos to trade school research. These searches look topical but don't represent people ready to hire.
A general negative list like this one gives home services businesses a strong baseline to layer onto any campaign, cutting the most common sources of wasted spend before you even dig into your own search terms report.
The full list
53 terms. Review each one before adding — remove anything you actually sell.
Jobs and careers
- jobs
- careers
- hiring
- salary
- how to become a
- job openings
- employment
- resume
- internship
- apprenticeship
- handyman jobs near me
- home services salary
- contractor hiring
- field technician jobs
DIY and free
- diy
- free
- how to do it yourself
- at home remedy
- cheap
- homemade
- without calling
- myself
- tutorial
- free consultation
- diy home repair
- how to fix it yourself
- home improvement tutorial
- free diy guide
Education and training
- school
- certification
- training course
- license requirements
- degree
- classes
- textbook
- study guide
- contractor license course
- trade school programs
- home repair certification
- apprenticeship program near me
Wrong service
- hardware store near me
- home improvement store hours
- tool rental near me
- home depot locations
- lowes return policy
- home warranty plans
- moving company services
- pest control only
- lawn equipment for sale
- appliance repair manual pdf
- home services app reviews
- service contract terms
- home maintenance checklist pdf
Competitors (add your own)
Add the names of local competitors you don't want to pay for. Review these case by case.
If you offer a maintenance plan, keep an eye on "home maintenance checklist pdf" since some of those searchers compare plans before buying.
How to add these in Google Ads
- Sign in to Google Ads and open the campaign you want to protect.
- Go to Keywords, then Negative keywords, and click the blue plus button.
- Choose whether to add them to this campaign, an ad group, or a negative keyword list you can share across campaigns.
- Paste the terms, one per line. Remove any you actually want to show for first.
- Click Save. Check the search terms report again after a week or two to see what's still getting through.
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Frequently asked questions
Is this list specific enough for a single trade like plumbing?
No, this is a general-purpose list; a trade-specific list will filter more precisely.
Can I combine this with an industry-specific list?
Yes, combining a general list with a niche-specific one gives the broadest coverage.
How do I know if this list is working?
Check your search terms report after a few weeks to confirm fewer irrelevant queries are triggering your ads.
Related guides and tools
- Negative keyword list generator — A ready-to-copy negative keyword list for your industry.
- How to add negative keywords in Google Ads — Step-by-step: how to add negative keywords in Google Ads at the ad group, campaign or list level, and how to avoid blocking good traffic by mistake.
- Which Google Ads search terms are wasting your money — How to find the search terms wasting your Google Ads budget, group them into patterns, and exclude them with negative keywords without blocking real customers..
- Google Ads audit for home services businesses — DIY, career, wrong-service and out-of-area searches are the common leaks.
Sources
Last updated · Written by the Claritad team (Kyle Edward Gilligan LLC). Claritad is independent software and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Google.