How to Build Keyword and Negative-Keyword Lists for Social Lead Monitoring

The quality of your social leads depends heavily on the words you monitor. Track keywords that are too broad and you'll drown in noise. Track keywords that are too narrow and you'll miss the people who describe their problem in their own words.

A good monitoring setup uses two lists: keywords that pull in intent, and negative keywords that push out everything else. This guide shows how to build both, then walks through a full example for one business.

Start with how buyers talk, not how you talk

Most businesses start by monitoring their product category: "CRM," "bookkeeping," "landscaping." The problem is that buyers often don't use your category name. They describe their situation.

A small business owner rarely posts "I need bookkeeping services." They post "I'm three months behind on receipts and tax season is coming."

So build your list around four kinds of phrases.

1. Problem phrases

These describe the pain your business solves.

• "behind on..."
• "keeps breaking"
• "can't keep track of..."
• "wasting hours on..."
• "doesn't work anymore"

2. Request phrases

These signal someone is actively looking.

• "can anyone recommend"
• "looking for someone who"
• "need help with"
• "who do you use for"
• "any suggestions for"

3. Comparison phrases

These show someone weighing options, often close to a decision.

• "[competitor] vs"
• "alternative to [competitor]"
• "switching from"
• "is [product] worth it"
• "cheaper than"

4. Location words

For local businesses, location is often the strongest filter.

• City and neighborhood names
• Nearby towns in your service area
• Local nicknames and abbreviations
• Regional subreddit or group names

Combine these with your service terms. "Recommend" on its own is too broad. "Recommend" plus "plumber" plus a neighborhood name is a lead.

Build your negative-keyword list

Negative keywords remove posts that match your keywords but aren't leads. Without them, a lot of your review time goes to things that were never going to convert.

Common categories to exclude:

Job posts and hiring

• "hiring"
• "we're looking to hire"
• "job opening"
• "apply"
• "salary"
• "full-time position"

If someone posts "looking for a graphic designer," it might be a client or a full-time job listing. Negative keywords help separate them.

Memes, jokes and entertainment

• "meme"
• "lol"
• "funny"
• "when your..."

Self-promotion from others

• "check out my"
• "DM me for"
• "we offer"
• "promo code"

DIY and learning posts (sometimes)

• "tutorial"
• "how I built"
• "course"

Be careful with this last group. Someone asking "how do I fix this myself?" may become a customer when the DIY attempt fails. Exclude these only if they clearly aren't a fit for your business.

Test, review, adjust

No keyword list is right the first time. Plan to adjust it weekly for the first month.

A simple routine:

1. Run your lists for a few days.
2. Look at every lead you marked as not relevant. What word pulled it in? Add a negative keyword if there's a pattern.
3. Search manually for a few posts you would have wanted. Did your list miss them? Add the phrase they used.
4. Remove keywords that only ever bring in noise.

A rule of thumb: if more than half of what you review is irrelevant, your list is too broad. If you go several days with nothing at all, it may be too narrow.

Worked example: a residential cleaning company

Let's build a list for a small house cleaning business serving three neighborhoods in one city.

Service terms

• house cleaning, home cleaning, cleaner, maid, deep clean, move-out clean, move-in clean

Problem phrases

• "house is a mess"
• "no time to clean"
• "landlord inspection"
• "getting deposit back"
• "cleaner cancelled"
• "last cleaner was"

Request phrases

• "recommend a cleaner"
• "looking for a cleaning"
• "who do you use for cleaning"
• "need a deep clean"

Comparison phrases

• "cleaning service vs"
• "worth paying for a cleaner"
• "how much do cleaners charge"

Location words

• The three neighborhood names, the city name, and the local subreddit and Facebook group names

Negative keywords

• "hiring cleaners," "cleaning job," "cleaner position," "now hiring"
• "cleaning hacks," "cleaning tok," "satisfying"
• "carpet cleaning machine," "best vacuum"
• "commercial cleaning" (if they only do homes)

Now compare two posts:

Anyone in Riverside have a cleaner they trust? Our last one cancelled twice and we're moving out end of the month.

This matches a location word, a request phrase, a problem phrase ("cancelled"), and a timing signal. Strong lead.

Now hiring cleaners in Riverside, flexible hours, apply below.

This matches the location and "cleaners," but "now hiring" and "apply" filter it out. Correct.

How Reach Your Customer helps

Reach Your Customer monitors public posts on Reddit, X, Facebook groups, YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn based on what you're looking for. It scores each lead's fit so the strongest posts rise to the top, and drafts a reply with AI. You review and approve every reply before anything is posted.

Scoring helps catch the cases where a post matches your keywords but isn't actually a fit, so your keyword list doesn't have to be perfect.

For more on defining who you're looking for, read How to Build an Ideal Customer Profile for Social Lead Monitoring.

Key takeaways

1. Build keywords around how buyers describe problems, not just your category.
2. Use four groups: problem, request, comparison and location phrases.
3. Add negative keywords for job posts, memes, self-promotion and irrelevant topics.
4. Review your results weekly and adjust both lists.
5. Combine terms: a request phrase plus a service plus a location beats any one word alone.

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Want to monitor buying intent without building searches by hand? Try Reach Your Customer and start reviewing scored leads.