Negative keywords for physical therapy clinics
Physical therapy ads compete with free YouTube exercise routines and a cluster of adjacent providers — chiropractors, massage therapists, pain clinics — that patients search for using similar language. This list narrows traffic down to people looking for an actual clinic visit.
Why negative keywords matter for physical therapy clinics
PT clinics hire constantly, and searches like 'physical therapist jobs' or 'PTA jobs near me' share enough wording with patient searches that broad match will pull in some job-seeker clicks if left unchecked.
Patients in pain also search heavily for free exercises and home remedies before booking, and many searches that look PT-related actually belong to chiropractors, massage therapists, or pain management clinics — different providers entirely.
The full list
39 terms. Review each one before adding — remove anything you actually sell.
Jobs and careers
- physical therapist jobs
- pt assistant jobs
- physical therapy careers
- pta jobs near me
- rehab technician jobs
- physical therapist salary
- physical therapy aide jobs
- clinic hiring physical therapist
- home health pt jobs
- sports medicine jobs
DIY and free
- diy physical therapy exercises
- home exercises for back pain
- free stretching routine
- diy knee rehab
- free physical therapy app
- youtube physical therapy exercises
- diy posture correction
- home remedies for sciatica
- free pain relief exercises
- diy shoulder rehab
Education and training
- how to become a physical therapist
- dpt program requirements
- physical therapy school
- pta certification program
- physical therapy continuing education
- exercise science degree
Wrong service
- chiropractor
- massage therapy only
- personal training gym
- orthopedic surgeon
- acupuncture
- occupational therapy
- pain management clinic
- sports medicine doctor
- podiatrist
- urgent care
- nutritionist
- yoga studio
- workers comp lawyer
Competitors (add your own)
Add the names of local competitors you don't want to pay for. Review these case by case.
If your clinic also provides massage therapy as part of treatment, remove 'massage therapy only' and keep plain massage-related keywords.
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
Why do PT ads attract chiropractor searches?
Patients often don't distinguish between providers for back and joint pain, so both show up in similar search queries.
Should I block all exercise-related searches?
No, only the free and DIY-flavored ones; keep condition-specific keywords like 'knee pain treatment' active.
Is 'workers comp lawyer' really relevant to exclude?
Yes — injury-related searches sometimes surface legal intent alongside treatment intent, and those clicks won't book an appointment.
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 physical therapy clinics — DIY exercise searches, condition research and specialties you don't offer are the usual 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.