---
title: Managing Keywords and Negative Keywords
framework: Apple Ads Platform API
role: article
role_heading: Article
platforms: [apple ads platform api 1.0+]
path: apple-ads-platform-api/keywords-and-negative-keywords
---

# Managing Keywords and Negative Keywords

Create and manage keywords and negative keywords for ad groups and campaigns.

## Overview

Overview Keywords define which user searches trigger your ad. Negative keywords prevent your ad from appearing for searches you want to exclude. Explore the Endpoints The following endpoints create, retrieve, update, and delete keywords and negative keywords:  |  |   |  |   |  |   |  |   |  |   |  |   |  |   |  |   |  |   |  |   |  |  Configure a Keyword A keyword belongs to an ad group and associates a search term with a bid. When a user’s search query matches a keyword, the ad group becomes eligible to enter the auction for that query. Each keyword requires: text: The keyword term to target. For CATEGORY match type on Maps campaigns, this must be a Maps business category identifier (for example, dining.restaurant). matchType: How the keyword matches user queries. The EXACT and BROAD types apply to App Store campaigns using the Search results placement. The PHRASE and CATEGORY types apply to Apple Maps campaigns. See KeywordMatchType. adGroupId: The ad group this keyword belongs to. The bid field is optional on create. When provided, it overrides the ad group’s BidStrategy bid for that specific keyword. Maximize Conversions bid strategy campaigns don’t use the bid field. To enable or pause individual keywords without removing them, use KeywordStatus. A paused keyword remains in the ad group but doesn’t participate in auctions. Configure a Negative Keyword A negative keyword prevents your ad from serving when a user’s search matches the excluded term. You can scope negative keywords to either a campaign or an ad group: Campaign-level: Applies across all ad groups in the campaign. Set campaignId and omit adGroupId. Ad group-level: Applies only within a specific ad group. Set adGroupId and omit campaignId. Negative keywords use the same text and matchType fields as keywords but don’t have a bid field, though CATEGORY match type doesn’t apply to negative keywords. Choose a Match Type The matchType field controls how a keyword’s text matches a user’s search query. See the table below for each type’s placement and behavior:  |  |   |  |   |  |   |  |   |  |  Use BROAD as the recommended starting point for Search results campaigns on the App Store when you’re building out a keyword list. To control spend on specific high-value terms, use EXACT. For Maps campaigns, use CATEGORY to reach users searching for a type of business rather than a specific name. Perform Bulk Operations For bulk create, update, and delete across keywords and negative keywords, see Bulk Operations Endpoints.

## See Also

### Keywords

- [Keywords Endpoints](apple-ads-platform-api/keywords-endpoints.md)
- [Negative Keywords Endpoints](apple-ads-platform-api/negative-keywords-endpoints.md)
- [Keywords Data Objects](apple-ads-platform-api/keywords-data-objects.md)
- [Negative Keywords Data Objects](apple-ads-platform-api/negative-keywords-objects.md)
- [Keywords Shared Data Types](apple-ads-platform-api/keywords-shared-data-types.md)