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Negative keywords for law firm ads, by practice area
Starter negative keyword lists for personal injury, employment, immigration, family, criminal, estate, workers' comp, lemon law, bankruptcy and business. Free.
What is this for?
A negative keyword stops your ad showing when someone types that word. Google says negative keywords let you exclude search terms from your campaigns. For a law firm that keeps job seekers, students and people shopping for a product out of your spend.
Start with the shared list, add your practice’s list, then let your own search terms report add to them. Never add a word you have not checked against signed clients, and do not block a word such as free if you offer a free consultation.
Jump to: For every practice, Personal injury (car accident, truck accident, slip and fall), Employment, Immigration, Family law, Criminal defense, Estate planning, Workers' compensation, Lemon law, Bankruptcy, Business law.
Every week
- Open the search terms report for each campaign.It lists what people typed before they saw your ad.
- Add every wrong term to the right list.Use the shared list and your practice’s list below, then add your own.
- Check that no good term has been blocked.Search for any term that led to a signed client before you block a word that contains it.
Every month
- Match the terms you added against signed clients.Keep what signs. A term that looks poor can still be the one that signs.
- Look at the share of spend that went to terms that never led to a signed client.Move that spend, or fix the ad and the page, before you add more words.
The starter lists
For every practice
Not a client: job seekers, students and people looking for a form
- jobs
- salary
- career
- internship
- how to become a lawyer
- law school
- course
- free legal forms
- template
- pro bono
- legal aid
- definition
- meaning
Personal injury (car accident, truck accident, slip and fall)
Not a client: shopping for a product or insurance
- insurance quote
- car insurance
- repair shop
- used car
- accident report copy
- truck for sale
- truck driving jobs
- cdl school
- ice melt
- non slip shoes
Employment
Not a client: job seekers and employers
- job openings
- resume
- hiring
- staffing agency
- payroll
- hr software
- employee handbook template
- salary calculator
Immigration
Not a client: travel, forms and news
- visa lottery
- jobs abroad
- translation service
- passport photo
- flights
- immigration news
- citizenship test practice
- free green card form
Family law
Not a client: forms, calculators and unrelated searches
- divorce papers free
- divorce form pdf
- marriage license
- wedding
- dating
- therapist
- child support calculator
- baby names
Criminal defense
Not a client: records lookups and job seekers
- inmate search
- jail roster
- arrest records
- mugshots
- background check
- police scanner
- criminal justice degree
- police jobs
Estate planning
Not a client: forms and unrelated products
- free will template
- obituary
- funeral
- life insurance quote
- cemetery
- genealogy
Workers' compensation
Not a client: employers and insurers shopping for cover
- workers comp insurance quote
- workers comp insurance cost
- classification codes
- claim forms for employers
- safety training course
- osha jobs
Lemon law
Not a client: car shoppers and parts buyers
- used car for sale
- car dealership
- car loan
- auto parts
- tire
- car wash
- recall lookup
- vin check
Bankruptcy
Not a client: lenders and loan shoppers
- loan
- payday loan
- credit card offers
- debt consolidation loan
- credit repair software
- student loan forgiveness application
- mortgage rates
- bankruptcy forms pdf free
Business law
Not a client: do-it-yourself and software searches
- llc formation service
- free llc
- business name generator
- logo design
- incorporate online
- business license renewal
- trademark search
- domain name
- tax software
How was this built?
What it covers. Starter negative keyword lists for eleven groups: every practice, personal injury (car, truck, slip and fall), employment, immigration, family, criminal defense, estate planning, workers’ compensation, lemon law, bankruptcy and business law.
Method. Each list holds words that show someone is not looking to hire a lawyer in that practice: job seekers, students, form hunters and product shoppers. Start with the shared list, add your practice’s list, then let your own search terms report add more.
Limits. A starter, not a finished list. A word that looks wrong can be the one that signs, so check each against signed clients before you add it. Do not block a word such as free if you offer a free consultation.
Related
Questions people ask
What is a negative keyword?
A word you tell Google Ads not to show your ad for. For a law firm it keeps ads away from job seekers, students and people who are not looking to hire a lawyer.
Can I paste these lists in as they are?
Use them as a starter. Check each word against the clients you have signed before you add it, because a word that looks wrong can be the one that signs.
Should I block the word free?
Not if you offer a free consultation. Blocking it would hide your ad from people searching for exactly that.
Sources
- Google Ads Help: About negative keywordsAccessed October 26, 2026
- Google Ads guide for law firmsAccessed October 26, 2026
- The Probative Standard: how we count leads, signed cases and costAccessed October 26, 2026
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How we checked this page
- Sources
- 3 sources listed on this page, 1 of them official (government, courts, state bars or the platform’s own published policy), each with the date we read it.
- Checked by
- Our data desk, with a second person checking every number against its source (who does what).
- Last checked
- What it covers
- The open data and rules named on this page. It shows what they say; it never says an ad passes or fails, and it is not legal advice.
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- Email hello@probativegrowth.com. Every fix goes in our corrections log.