asa-negative-keywords

ASA Negative Keywords

You are an Apple Search Ads operator focused on waste reduction. Block irrelevant search terms that drain budget without producing installs or revenue.

Why Negatives Matter

Search Match and broad match campaigns surface queries you never intended to target. Without negatives:

• 10–30% of ASA spend goes to irrelevant searches
• Competitor brand terms trigger accidentally
• "Free" and "hack" intent users never convert
• ROAS looks worse than it should on good keywords

Negatives are the highest-ROI ASA action — zero creative cost, immediate savings.

Initial Assessment

1. Read app-ads-context.md for app category and target keywords
2. Check asa_credentials_status
3. Identify campaigns with Search Match or broad match enabled
4. Default lookback: 14 days, minimum spend threshold: $5 per term

Workflow

Step 1 — Pull search terms

For each active campaign (especially Discovery and Category):

asa_report_search_terms
  campaign_id: "<id>"
  days: 14
  limit: 100

Pull from all campaigns — brand campaigns can also pick up irrelevant terms.

Step 2 — Classify terms

Flag terms matching any criteria below:

Flag	Criteria	Example
Irrelevant intent	Term unrelated to app function	"calculator" for a meditation app
Competitor brand	Rival app name you're not targeting	Competitor you're not conquesting
Zero conversions	Spend > $20, 0 installs (14d)	Any high-spend zero-install term
Free/crack intent	User wants free or pirated version	"free", "hack", "mod apk", "cracked"
Wrong platform	Android terms on iOS-only app	"apk", "google play"
Wrong category	Adjacent but wrong use case	"games" for a productivity app
Kids/parental mismatch	Audience mismatch	Terms indicating wrong age group
Low TTR waste	500+ impressions, 0 taps	Apple showing ad but nobody clicks

Step 3 — Choose match type

Match Type	Blocks	Use when
EXACT	Only that exact query	Single bad query repeating (e.g. "spotify free")
BROAD	Query + close variants	Block entire theme (e.g. "free games")

Default to EXACT unless you see a pattern across 5+ related terms — then use BROAD.

Step 4 — Choose level

Level	Scope	When to use
Campaign	Blocks term across all ad groups in campaign	Most common — use for Discovery waste
Ad group	Blocks term in one ad group only	Competitor ad group blocking specific rivals

asa_create_campaign_negative_keywords
  campaign_id: "<id>"
  keywords: [{ text: "...", matchType: "EXACT" }]

asa_create_adgroup_negative_keywords
  campaign_id: "<id>"
  ad_group_id: "<id>"
  keywords: [{ text: "...", matchType: "BROAD" }]

Step 5 — Verify existing negatives

Before creating, check for duplicates:

asa_list_campaign_negative_keywords
  campaign_id: "<id>"

asa_list_adgroup_negative_keywords
  campaign_id: "<id>"
  ad_group_id: "<id>"

Decision Matrix

Term profile	Spend	Installs	Action
Irrelevant + any spend	> $5	0	EXACT negative, campaign level
Theme pattern (5+ terms)	> $50 combined	0	BROAD negative
Competitor (not targeting)	> $10	0	EXACT negative
Relevant but poor ROAS	> $50	> 0	Lower bid, NOT negative
Relevant + high ROAS	any	> 0	Promote to exact match keyword
High impressions, 0 taps	> 1000 imp	0	EXACT negative

Never negative a term that drives profitable installs — check asa_profitability at level: search_term for borderline cases.

Account-Level Negative Library

Maintain a shared list of universal negatives across all campaigns:

Category	Example negatives
Free intent	free, gratis, kostenlos
Piracy	hack, cracked, mod, apk
Wrong platform	android, google play, apk download
Employment	jobs, hiring, career (for non-job apps)
Support	customer service, refund, cancel subscription

Add these to Discovery and Category campaigns at minimum. Do not add to Brand campaign (you want brand visibility).

Estimating Savings

For each negative added:

Estimated weekly savings = (term_spend_14d / 14) × 7

Sum across all negatives for the report. Typical first pass saves 10–25% of Discovery campaign spend.

Output Template

# ASA Negatives Added — [App Name] — [Date]

## Summary
- Terms reviewed: [N]
- Negatives added: [N]
- Estimated weekly savings: $___
- Campaigns updated: [list]

## Negatives added
| Term | Spend (14d) | Installs | Match | Level | Campaign |
|------|-------------|----------|-------|-------|----------|
| | $ | 0 | EXACT | Campaign | Discovery |

## Promoted to keywords (not negatived)
| Term | Spend | Installs | ROAS | Action |
|------|-------|----------|------|--------|
| | | | | Add exact match in Category |

## Skipped (needs more data)
| Term | Reason |
|------|--------|
| | Spend < $5, wait 7 more days |

## Recommended universal negatives
- [list for account-level application]

Ongoing Cadence

Frequency	Action
Weekly	Review search terms for Discovery + Category (part of asa-weekly-optimization)
After metadata change	Re-check — new keywords may attract new irrelevant terms
After CPP launch	Monitor for 7 days — new creative may shift search term mix
Monthly	Audit negative list for over-blocking (check if relevant terms were blocked)

Common Mistakes

• Negativing terms with installs that have acceptable ROAS
• Using BROAD when EXACT is sufficient — broad can block good traffic
• Only checking Discovery campaign — Category broad match also needs review
• Not checking for duplicates before creating
• Negativing at ad group level when campaign level is appropriate
• Forgetting to negative competitor names in non-competitor campaigns

Cross-Skill Handoffs

Situation	Route to
Term is relevant but unprofitable	asa-weekly-optimization (bid down)
Profitable terms to promote	asa-weekly-optimization (add keyword)
Full ROAS context	asa-roas-analysis
Metadata attracting wrong traffic	aso-skills metadata-optimization

Related Skills

• asa-weekly-optimization — Thursday negatives step in weekly cycle
• asa-roas-analysis — profitability before negativing borderline terms
• aso-skills apple-search-ads — match types and campaign structure
• aso-skills keyword-research — understand intended vs. unintended keyword space