Google PMax Update: Negative Keyword Limit Now 10,000

Google has finally introduced a long-overdue update for Performance Max (PMax) campaigns, increasing the negative keyword limit from 100 to 10,000. While this is a welcome change, it’s worth noting that some accounts only recently gained the ability to add 100 negative keywords. For a feature that advertisers have been requesting for nearly three years, this rollout feels delayed.

Why Do Negative Keywords Matter for PMax Campaigns?

This update gives advertisers more control than ever before. Here’s why it’s a big deal:

• Greater Control: Previously, advertisers had to be selective about which keywords they excluded. Now, with a 10,000-keyword limit, they can exclude a much wider range of unwanted searches.
• Better Brand Protection: No more random, off-brand placements! With better exclusions, businesses can prevent their ads from appearing in competitor searches or irrelevant queries.
• Improved Budget Allocation: With better exclusions, advertisers can ensure their budgets are spent on high-intent, relevant searches rather than wasted on low-value queries.

How to add negative keywords for Pmax Campaign?

You can choose whether to add negative keywords to all campaigns or a specific Performance Max campaign.

1. In your Google Ads account, click on the Campaigns icon and In the Segment menu, click on the Audiences, Keywords, and Content dropdown menu.
2. Click on Keywords and Select the Negative Keywords tab.
3. To add negative keywords, click the plus (+) button.
4. Select your Performance Max campaign and add keywords. 

While adding negative keywords to a Performance Max campaign, keep in mind that negative keyword lists cannot be applied and you’ll need to enter keywords manually. Additionally, match types can be used by applying the appropriate symbols, giving advertisers more control over exclusions. Currently, there’s a 100-keyword limit at the campaign level, but this is set to expand to 10,000 keywords soon, making it a significant improvement for managing exclusions.

Best Negative Keywords for Google PMax Campaigns

To make your life easier, we’ve put together pre-built industry-specific negative keyword lists that can instantly improve your PMax campaign performance. Whether you’re in e-commerce, SaaS, or lead generation, these lists will help you eliminate irrelevant traffic and fine-tune your campaign targeting.

This is a huge step forward in controlling PMax campaigns, one that’s been long overdue.

Why Default Negative Keywords Matter for PMax Campaigns?

Applying a default negative keyword list is one of the simplest yet most effective ways to improve your PMax campaign performance. Without it, your ads might show up for irrelevant searches, competitor names, or low-intent queries that drain your budget without driving real results.

By proactively filtering out common non-converting and off-brand keywords, you can:

• Protect your brand from showing in unwanted searches.
• Avoid wasted ad spend on irrelevant or low-quality traffic.
• Improve audience targeting and focus on users with real purchase intent.

While scripts can help automate exclusions, a ready-to-use negative keyword list is the fastest way to instantly enhance your PMax campaign’s efficiency.

Want to Know What’s Triggering Your Pmax Ads?

One of the biggest challenges with Performance Max (PMax) campaigns is the lack of visibility into search terms. Unlike standard Search campaigns, Google doesn’t provide a built-in report to see which queries triggered your ads. But with the right Google Ads script, you can extract search term data and spot irrelevant or underperforming keywords that should be added as negatives. 

An effective way to automate this process is by using the Non-Converting Search Term Alerts script (by Nils Rooijmans).  This script identifies search terms that receive clicks but fail to generate conversions, allowing you to compile a report of these terms and add them as negative keywords. By running this script on a weekly schedule, advertisers can continuously refine their PMax targeting and focus on high-intent queries that lead to actual sales.

1. Open your Google Ads account and go to Tools & Settings > Bulk Actions > Scripts and click the + button to create a new script.
2. Copy and paste “Non-Converting Search Term Alerts” script by Nils Rooijmans to pull search term data from your PMax campaigns.

Want a Simpler Way?

If diving into scripts isn’t your thing, don’t worry! You can still optimize your PMax campaigns in seconds. The easiest way to eliminate wasted spend is to apply a pre-built negative keyword list that instantly removes common irrelevant searches.

With just a few clicks, you can prevent wasted budget on irrelevant traffic.

Final Tips for Using Negative Keywords in PMax Campaigns

With Google’s recent update expanding the negative keyword limit, advertisers now have a powerful opportunity to fine-tune their Performance Max campaigns. However, since Google doesn’t provide a built-in search term keyword report, using scripts is the best way to monitor and optimize your campaigns effectively. However, if managing scripts seems too complex or time-consuming, you can still take a simple yet effective step—instantly applying a pre-built negative keyword list to your campaigns. With just a few clicks, you can exclude irrelevant searches and enhance the efficiency of your PMax campaigns.

By leveraging automated scripts and default negative keyword lists, advertisers can continuously refine their keyword exclusions, ensuring ad spend is allocated efficiently and irrelevant traffic is minimized.

If you’re looking to take your Google Ads performance to the next level, Adsby can help. Built for marketers and PPC professionals, Adsby is your AI-powered assistant for managing and optimizing campaigns in less time. From generating high-converting ad copy to filtering irrelevant keywords and improving account structure, Adsby simplifies the entire process—so you can focus on strategy instead of repetitive tasks. Try Adsby.