Waste clearance ads attract more irrelevant searches than most trades. People look for the council tip, a free collection, a skip or a job. Each click costs money. Add the lists below as negative keywords before your campaign goes live.
Council and free services
council, bulky waste, bulky collection, bin collection, bin day, tip, household waste recycling centre, recycling centre, opening times, book a slot, permit, free, free collection, free removal, free pickup
These are the largest group. Many searchers want the council service and do not intend to pay a private firm.
Charity and donation
charity, donate, donation, British Heart Foundation, furniture collection charity, free furniture collection, give away, Freecycle
Scrap and selling
scrap, scrap metal, scrap yard, cash for, we buy, sell, selling, second hand, house clearance buyers, antiques valuation
Keep "house clearance buyers" as a negative only if you do not buy contents.
Skips and hire
skip, skip hire, skip bag, hippo bag, mini skip, van hire, tipper hire, grab hire
Leave these out of the negative list if you offer skips or grab lorries.
Jobs and licences
jobs, vacancy, driver jobs, salary, self employed, start a business, franchise, licence, waste carrier licence apply, how to become
DIY and information
how to, where to, what is, can I, rules, law, fine, fly tipping report, penalty
"Fly tipping report" searches are people reporting dumped waste to the council.
Moving house
removals, house removals, moving, man and van removals, storage, packing
In the UK "removals" means moving home. Keep "rubbish removal" as a keyword and block "house removals".
Materials you cannot take
Add any of these you are not licensed or equipped for: asbestos, chemicals, paint, gas bottles, tyres, clinical waste, hazardous.
Products
bags, rubble sacks, bins for sale, wheelie bin, compactor, shredder
How to apply the list
- In Google Ads, create a shared negative keyword list.
- Paste the terms. Use phrase match for multi-word terms and broad for single words you are sure about.
- Apply it to every search campaign.
- Check that you have not blocked your own keywords. For example, adding "clearance" would stop "house clearance".
Keep going after launch
Open the search terms report weekly. Sort by cost. Add anything irrelevant. In this trade the list grows quickly in the first two months.
Cross-negatives between ad groups
Add "garden" as a negative in the house clearance group and "house" in the garden waste group, so each search triggers the right ad and page.
Common questions
Will negatives reduce my leads? They reduce clicks. Leads usually hold steady or rise, because the budget goes on relevant searches.
How often should I update the list? Weekly for the first two months, then monthly.
Related guides
- Junk Removal Advertising: What Works in the UK
- Rubbish Clearance Leads from Google Ads
- Marketing a Junk Removal Business
- How Much Does It Cost to Advertise on Google in the UK?
Next step
AdsFlair runs Google Ads for UK trades and local service businesses. Ask for a free Google Ads audit and we will show you where your budget is going and what to fix first. There is no cost and no obligation. See our page on Google Ads for junk removal companies for how we work.