Negative keywords for salons
Salon ads run into a steady mix of stylist job seekers, DIY hair and nail tutorials, and beauty services like tattoo parlors or medical spas that use similar language but aren't a salon appointment. This list filters all three out.
Why negative keywords matter for salons
Salons hire stylists, colorists, and nail technicians at a high rate, and 'hair stylist jobs' or 'salon jobs near me' searches often read nearly identically to someone searching for a salon to book with.
Beauty is also an extremely DIY-driven category, with at-home color kits and tutorial videos pulling huge search volume, and several adjacent categories — barbershops, medical spas, tattoo studios — use overlapping vocabulary without being a traditional salon service.
The full list
39 terms. Review each one before adding — remove anything you actually sell.
Jobs and careers
- hair stylist jobs
- salon jobs near me
- nail tech jobs
- barber jobs
- salon manager careers
- esthetician jobs
- salon receptionist jobs
- hairdresser salary
- salon hiring
- cosmetologist jobs
DIY and free
- diy haircut at home
- how to dye hair yourself
- diy manicure
- at home hair treatment
- diy nail art
- free hairstyle tutorial
- diy facial at home
- home hair color kit
- diy balayage
- free makeup tutorial
Education and training
- cosmetology school
- how to become a hairstylist
- nail technician certification
- barber license requirements
- esthetician school
- cosmetology license exam
Wrong service
- barbershop only
- tattoo parlor
- spa massage only
- medical spa botox
- wig shop
- beauty supply store
- makeup artist only
- lash extensions only
- waxing studio only
- hair transplant clinic
- nail supply wholesale
- salon furniture supplier
- hair extensions wholesale
Competitors (add your own)
Add the names of local competitors you don't want to pay for. Review these case by case.
If your salon also offers lash extensions or waxing, remove those specific wrong-service terms and keep them as active 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.
Find the searches wasting your budget — free audit
You approve your plan. Claritad builds your account, ads and tracking, then optimizes within agreed limits. No contract, cancel anytime. You pay Google directly for clicks.
$299$49/month launch offer
Launch offer: $49/month (regularly $299/month). Locked in for as long as you stay. Ends Dec 31, 2026.
58 days :11 hours :18 minutes
Ends Dec 31, 2026 at 11:59 PM Eastern
No contract, cancel anytime. You pay Google directly for clicks.
The plan preview is free, no card needed. Managed has a flat monthly fee; cancel anytime.
Frequently asked questions
Why would a salon exclude 'barbershop only'?
Barbershops typically focus on men's cuts and grooming, a distinct service from full-service salons, unless you offer both.
Should I exclude all hair color searches?
No, only the DIY and at-home variants — keep plain 'hair color' or service-specific keywords active.
What about wholesale supply searches?
Exclude those — they're from other businesses sourcing product, not consumers booking 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 hair and beauty salons — DIY tutorials, product shopping and career 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.