How to Stop Job Seekers Clicking Your Dental Google Ads

Access One is the healthcare-only Google Ads agency in Dubai and a Google Partner. This is the order we check a UAE dental account in when this problem comes up. By Youssef Hajri, Founder.

Quick diagnosis checklist

If you see CVs in your enquiry inbox or calls asking "are you hiring?", run through this list.

Diagnostic flowchart

The likely causes, ranked

1. No negative keywords for jobs. The most common cause by far. "Dental nurse jobs Dubai" contains "dental" and "Dubai", so a broad keyword happily matches it.
2. Broad match on short keywords. "Dentist" and "dental clinic" in broad match reach anything dentistry-related, including careers.
3. Performance Max and AI Max expansion. Automated campaigns find "relevant" searches on their own. Campaign negatives in Search do not cover them unless you add account-level negatives.
4. Your own site invites applicants. A "Careers" sitelink or a careers page that Performance Max can send traffic to.
5. Counting CVs as leads. If job applications submit your contact form, Google counts them as conversions and finds more people like them.

How to fix it, step by step

1. Find the job searches you already paid for

Go to Campaigns > Insights and reports > Search terms, set the last 90 days, and search the table for "job", "vacanc", "salary", "hiring", "exam" and "licen". Google's search terms report lists every search that triggered your ads. Total the cost. That number is your case for fixing it.

2. Build the shared negative list

Under Tools > Shared library > Exclusion lists, create a list called "NEG: Jobs and licensing" (Google's guide). Start with:

Negatives do not match close variants, so add singular and plural forms yourself (about negative keywords). Remove anything you actually offer, such as "hygienist" if you sell hygiene appointments; block "hygienist job" instead. Attach the list to every Search campaign.

3. Cover Performance Max and AI Max

Add the same job words as account-level negative keywords. Google says account-level negatives apply to all Search and Shopping inventory, including Performance Max (Google's page). For a specific Performance Max campaign, go to Campaigns > Keywords, open the Negative keywords tab and add them to that campaign.

4. Tighten match types

Replace broad "dentist" and "dental clinic" with phrase and exact keywords tied to treatments and areas: "dental implants dubai", [emergency dentist jlt]. Broad match can come back later, once negatives are solid and bookings are tracked.

5. Close your own doors

• Remove any "Careers" or "Join us" sitelink.
• In Performance Max, exclude the careers URL: open the campaign settings, then Asset optimisation, and under Final URL choose to exclude URLs (Google's steps).
• Turn off the Display Network on Search campaigns in the campaign's Networks setting.

6. Keep CVs out of your conversions

Add a line to your contact form: "Looking for a job? Email careers@yourclinic.ae". Put the careers email on a separate page. Check form leads weekly and, if job applications still count as conversions, move that form to a secondary conversion until it is clean.

UAE and DHA specifics

• UAE licensing searches are huge and constant. DHA, DoH and MOHAP licences, DataFlow checks and exams generate year-round searches from dentists, nurses and assistants. Our negative keywords guide has the full healthcare lists.
• Multilingual job searches. Job seekers search in English and Arabic. If you advertise in Arabic, add the Arabic job words above.
• DHA expectations. Your dental ad copy must still follow the DHA advertising standard. Do not "fix" job seekers by adding claims like "Dubai's top dental clinic"; that breaks the DHA standard.

Fix it yourself, or have it fixed

Doing this right takes a bilingual negative list, account-level negatives for automated campaigns, a weekly search terms review and a form that keeps CVs out of your data. It is not hard, but it has to happen every week, forever.

If you would rather not police search terms every week, Access One does this every day for UAE dental clinics. The free audit shows how much of your spend went to job seekers.

Frequently asked questions

Can I block job seekers completely?

Not completely, but you can cut most of it. Negatives, phrase and exact match and a weekly search terms review remove the bulk. A few will still slip through on unusual wording.

Will negative keywords block patient searches?

Only if you choose them carelessly. Block "hygienist job", not "hygienist", if you sell hygiene appointments. Check the search terms report after adding a new list.

Do negative keywords work in Performance Max?

Yes. Account-level negatives apply to Search and Shopping inventory, including Performance Max, and you can now add negatives to a Performance Max campaign directly.

Why do job seekers call my clinic number from the ad?

Call assets show your number on the ad, so anyone who sees it can call. Fix the searches that show the ad, and the calls follow.

Sources

• Google Ads Help: About the search terms report
• Google Ads Help: Negative keyword lists
• Google Ads Help: About negative keywords
• Google Ads Help: Negative keywords in Performance Max campaigns
• Google Ads Help: About Final URL expansion in Performance Max
• DHA: Standards for Medical Advertisement Content on Social Media (PDF)

Published 28 Oct 2026 · Access One