Keyword research for Yandex Direct — phrases and negative keywords

In Direct, every extra word costs money. An impression on an off-target query is a click you paid for and shouldn't have. That's why keyword research for ads is stricter than for SEO: you need to gather the right phrases, and just as important, cut out everything the ad shouldn't show for. Two halves of the same job — keyword phrases and negative keywords.

Which phrases to use

Ads need commercial queries — the ones that signal readiness to buy: "buy", "price", "order", "with delivery", "cheap". Informational ones ("how to choose", "DIY", "what is") drain budget in most campaigns — they usually go into negative keywords. How to tell the two apart — in the chapter on keyword research.

Negative keywords

Negative keywords are queries you don't want to show up for. Classic candidates: "free", "DIY", "reviews", "jobs", "essay", other brands' names. Without them, a broad phrase like "plastic windows" picks up both job seekers and people looking for a repair tutorial.

Match operators

Direct, like Wordstat, has operators: quotes lock in the phrase, an exclamation mark locks in the word form, a minus sign excludes a word. They help you avoid overpaying for overly broad impressions. The operator breakdown is in the dedicated chapter.

Campaign structure

Don't dump the gathered phrases into one group — cluster them the same way you'd build a keyword cluster — one ad group per intent. That way you can write a precise ad for each group instead of a generic "we have everything".

What's next

If the campaign is local, pull demand for the right region in the chapter on search-query statistics. All chapters of the guide are in the overview.

You can build phrases, negative keywords and a campaign structure from a cluster in one conversation in the Twelver chat — Wordstat and ad copywriting in one window. First generations are free after you sign up.