When we audit a dental Google Ads account, the fastest win is almost never a new campaign. It is the search terms report. Open it, sort by cost, and read what people actually typed. In most accounts a meaningful slice of the budget went to searches that had no chance of producing a patient.
Here is what shows up again and again.
1. Job seekers
“dental assistant jobs”, “hygienist salary”, “dental office hiring near me”. These are common and they are expensive because they look topically perfect to the ad platform. Block job, jobs, career, careers, hiring, salary, resume, employment, internship.
2. Students and training
“dental school”, “how to become a dental hygienist”, “dental assistant program”. Block school, schools, course, courses, training, degree, certification, classes, university, college, exam.
3. Free and low cost seekers
“free dental clinic”, “low income dentist”, “dental school clinic near me”, “charity dental care”. These people have a genuine need and you may want to help them, but they are not going to accept a treatment plan. Block free, cheap, charity, low income, medicaid if you do not accept it, and grant.
4. DIY and home remedies
“how to fix a chipped tooth at home”, “home remedy for toothache”, “how to pull a tooth”. Someone looking for a way to avoid you is not a lead. Block diy, home remedy, at home, yourself, myself.
5. Definition and research searches
“what is a root canal”, “root canal procedure explained”, “is a crown painful”. These are excellent blog topics and terrible ad targets. Block what is, meaning, definition, explained, procedure steps, wikipedia, reddit, youtube.
6. Products rather than services
“whitening strips”, “best electric toothbrush”, “denture adhesive”, “aligner kit”. Block strips, toothbrush, toothpaste, adhesive, kit, amazon, walmart, cvs, buy.
7. Services you do not provide
The most costly category, and it is different for every practice. If you do not do orthodontics, block braces, aligners, invisalign, orthodontist. If you do not place implants, block implants and all-on-four. Go through your own service list and block the inverse honestly. Pride costs money here.
8. The wrong geography
City names outside your draw area, plus the names of towns you do not serve that happen to be nearby. Location targeting is not a substitute for this, because Google will show your ads to people it believes are interested in your area regardless of where they are, and because someone searching “dentist in Denver” from Colorado Springs is not driving to you.
9. Competitor names, usually
Bidding on the practice down the street is legal and occasionally strategic, but it is expensive, it produces poor quality scores, and it invites retaliation. Unless you have a specific reason and a specific budget for it, block competitor practice names and let them keep their own patients.
The habit that matters more than the list
A negative keyword list is not a one time project. New search terms appear every week, especially since match types loosened and the platform started interpreting intent rather than matching words. Put a recurring fifteen minute appointment in your calendar, or your provider’s calendar, to read the search terms report and add negatives. Weekly if you spend meaningfully, monthly at minimum.
Practices that do this consistently tend to cut wasted spend by a double digit percentage in the first two months without touching bids, budgets or creative. It is the least glamorous work in the account and reliably the most profitable.
