How to find wasted search terms in Google Ads

Published September 29, 2026

Open Campaigns, then Insights and reports, then Search terms. Pick a date range, add Cost and Conversions with the Columns icon, filter to terms with zero conversions, and sort by cost, highest first. The terms at the top that don't match what you sell are candidates for negative keywords.

Why the search terms report

Keywords are what you bid on. Search terms are what people typed. The search terms report shows the searches that triggered your ads, with the keyword that matched each one and how closely it matched. Broad match and AI Max can match searches you never chose, so this report is where spend on unrelated searches shows up.

Google leaves out searches with too little activity, for privacy. The report shows most of your spend, not all of it.

Find the wasted terms, step by step

1. In Google Ads, open the Campaigns menu, then Insights and reports, then Search terms. To see terms for only some keywords, tick those keywords on the Keywords page first, then select Search terms.
2. Choose the date range in the upper right corner. Use at least 30 days, and longer for a small account, so a term has time to convert.
3. Select the Columns icon above the table and make sure Cost, Conversions and Clicks are in the view.
4. Select the filter button above the table, choose Conversions, set it to equal 0 and select Apply.
5. Select the Cost column header to sort the table. Select it again to reverse the order, so the costliest terms are at the top.
6. Read down the list. Mark the terms that don't match what you sell, such as a jobs search, a free version or a product you don't offer.

A term with no conversions isn't always waste. A cheap term with a few clicks proves little; a term that has cost more than your usual cost per conversion with nothing to show is worth acting on.

Add negatives from the report

1. Tick the boxes next to the terms you want to exclude.
2. Select Add as negative keyword.
3. Choose where to save them: the Ad group or Campaign each term came from, an existing Negative keyword list, or a new list.
4. Check the match type. Negatives added from the report are negative exact match by default. Put a word in quotation marks for phrase match, such as "jobs", to block every search containing it.
5. Select Save.

Make sure a negative doesn't overlap a keyword you want to keep, or that keyword's ads stop showing. Look at the report again a week or two later to see that the terms have stopped appearing.

Do it on an exported file instead

If you would rather not filter by hand, download the report and let a free check do it. Select the download icon above the table, then Download, then a CSV format, from the English interface.

• The waste estimator adds up spend on search terms with no conversions that cost more than your average cost per conversion, or that got 10 or more clicks when the account had no conversions. It projects that over 12 months and lists the recurring words behind it.
• The AI Max check splits the same spend into searches your keywords matched and searches AI Max chose, when the report includes the Source column. It lists the costliest searches with no leads and builds a negatives file.

The negatives file format

The AI Max check's download is a CSV file for Google Ads Editor with four columns:

• Campaign: the campaign the search term came from.
• Ad group: left blank.
• Keyword: the term or recurring word to exclude.
• Criterion Type: Negative exact for a single search, or Negative phrase for a recurring word.

Nothing changes in Google Ads until you import the file into Google Ads Editor, review it there and post the changes. Solimarketer never edits the account.

What this can't tell you

• One download only covers the dates you chose and can't tell whether a term converted later or offline.
• It can't see searches Google leaves out of the report.
• If conversion tracking is broken, every term looks like waste. Check tracking before adding many negatives.
• A single file shows no trend. Connecting Google Ads gets you a weekly digest instead of a one-off snapshot. Solimarketer never changes anything in the account.

Try it on your file

Run the waste estimator for the total, then the AI Max check for the AI Max split and the negatives file. Both need no sign-in and don't keep your file.