Find wasted spend in your search terms.
The search terms tool in Odak Ads lists the searches that spent money and brought nothing, ranked by cost, next to the searches that convert but are not your keywords yet. Exclude or add each one from its row.
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In the last 30 days $2,817 went to 12 searches that brought no conversions.
| Search term | Campaign | Spend | Clicks | Conv. | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| free dental check up | Implants – Generic | $349.80 | 111 | 0 | |
| dentist jobs near me | Brand – Search | $324.04 | 102 | 0 | |
| how to whiten teeth at home | Invisalign – Search | $277.30 | 87 | 0 | |
| dental school requirements | Implants – Generic | $263.86 | 83 | 0 | |
| toothache home remedy | Emergency dentist | $239.59 | 76 | 0 |
Try it · nothing is sentSample data from Odak’s built-in sample project.
How it works
01What counts as wasted?
A search term is what someone actually typed before your ad showed. Odak judges each one by its own campaign’s goal: in a conversion campaign, a search that cost money and brought no conversion is wasted; in a click campaign, one that is shown again and again without a click, or clicked at well above the campaign’s usual price.
A search that converted is never called wasted. Without conversion tracking, every campaign is judged by clicks.
02Exclude it in one click
Exclude a search as a negative keyword in exact, phrase or broad match; exact is the default. It goes to the campaign the search came from. Select several and exclude them together.
Every exclusion is logged in History and can be undone.
03Add the searches that convert
Opportunities are searches that bring results but are not keywords yet. Add one to the ad group it came from; Odak recommends exact match when the search converted and phrase match otherwise.
04Your keywords, without a trip to Google Ads
Change a keyword’s match type, pause it or remove it on the same page, and download any list as CSV. Each change has an Undo.
The search terms tool at a glance
| Views | All · Wasted · Opportunities · My keywords |
|---|---|
| Wasted means | By the campaign’s goal: spend with no conversions, or clicks that never come or cost too much |
| Excluding | Exact, phrase or broad · campaign level · one by one or in bulk |
| Adding | Into the ad group the search came from; exact or phrase recommended |
| Undo and export | Every exclusion and addition can be undone · CSV download |
| Plans | Every plan · Pricing |
Search terms questions
What is a negative keyword?
A negative keyword stops your ad from showing for searches that contain it. Excluding a wasted search term as a negative keyword means you stop paying for that search.
Which match type should I use to exclude a search?
Exact match blocks only that search, which is the safe default. Phrase match blocks every search that contains those words in that order; use it for clear misses such as “jobs” or “free”. Broad match blocks any search with all of the words, in any order.
Are exclusions added at campaign or ad group level?
At campaign level, in the campaign the search came from. Odak does not manage shared negative keyword lists.
Can I undo an exclusion?
Yes. Each exclusion is a change in History with an Undo, which removes the negative keyword from the campaign again.
Related
Safe changes
Confirm before money moves, undo any change, a history anyone can read.
Read moreFeatureRecommendations
Only the Google Ads issues that need you today, each with one action.
Read moreGuideHow to Find Wasted Spend in Google Ads
A search terms audit in six steps: what counts as waste, where to find it and how to stop paying for it.
Read the guideFind the money that leaks.
Start your free trial and look at the sample project’s wasted searches before you connect your own account.
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