Help Center/Negative Keywords Tool

Negative Keywords Tool

Upload a Google Ads Search Terms Report and identify low-performing words. Build a negative keyword list in Exact, Phrase, or Broad match format for upload into Google Ads.

What Is the Negative Keywords Tool?

The Negative Keywords Tool helps you clean up your Google Ads traffic by identifying words that appear in your search terms but do not convert well. Instead of reviewing thousands of individual search terms, the tool breaks them into single words and aggregates performance metrics — so you can spot patterns like the word "free" or "meaning" dragging down your account across many search terms.

How It Works

The tool follows a three-step workflow: upload, analyze, and export.

  1. Upload — Export a Search Terms Report from Google Ads (as CSV) and upload it to WonderAds. The tool detects columns automatically for common Google Ads exports, or you can map them manually.
  2. Analyze — The tool splits every search term into individual words and aggregates impressions, clicks, transactions, costs, and CPA per word. Words that appear in many low-performing search terms will have high costs and low (or zero) conversions.
  3. Export — Mark the underperforming words as Exact, Phrase, or Broad negatives. Download the formatted list as a CSV or copy it to your clipboard, then upload it into Google Ads as a negative keyword list.

This tool runs entirely in your browser — no data is sent to or stored on the server. Your search terms data stays private and disappears when you close the tab.

Uploading Your CSV

Navigate to "Negative Keywords" under "Tools" in the sidebar. Click "Upload CSV" and drop your Search Terms Report file.

  1. In Google Ads, go to Insights & Reports > Search terms. Set your date range and download the report as CSV.
  2. In WonderAds, click "Upload CSV" and drop the file or click to browse.
  3. The tool auto-detects common column names (Search term, Impressions, Clicks, Conversions, Cost, CPC). If it cannot detect a column, map it manually using the dropdowns.
  4. Preview the first 5 rows to verify the mapping looks correct.
  5. Click "Process" to analyze the data.

The required columns are Search Term, Impressions, Clicks, Transactions, and Costs. CPC is optional. Make sure your CSV includes these metrics.

Understanding the Word Table

After processing, the tool shows a table of all unique words extracted from your search terms. Each word row shows the sum of impressions, clicks, transactions, costs, and the calculated CPA (cost per transaction) across every search term where that word appears.

Click the magnifying glass icon next to any word to see the full list of original search terms that contain it. This helps you verify whether the word is truly low-performing or just appearing in a mix of good and bad terms.

Filtering the Results

Use the filter bar above the table to narrow down the word list. Each filter has three parts: a metric (Impressions, Clicks, Transactions, Costs, or CPA), an operator (More than, Less than, or Equals), and a value. You can combine multiple filters — they are joined with AND logic.

  1. Click "Add Filter" to create a new filter row.
  2. Example: "Transactions Equals 0" shows only words with zero conversions.
  3. Example: "Costs More than 50" combined with "Transactions Equals 0" shows expensive words with no conversions — prime negative keyword candidates.
  4. Click "Clear Filters" to reset and see all words again.

Marking Negative Keywords

On the right side of each word row, you will find three buttons: E (Exact), P (Phrase), and B (Broad). Click one to mark the word as a negative keyword with that match type. The row turns red to indicate it has been selected. Click the same button again to deselect it.

  1. Exact (E) — The word is added as [word]. Only blocks searches that match this exact word.
  2. Phrase (P) — The word is added as "word". Blocks searches that contain this word as a phrase.
  3. Broad (B) — The word is added as word (no brackets). Blocks searches that contain this word in any order.

For single-word negatives, Exact and Phrase behave the same way. Broad negative is the most aggressive — it blocks any search containing that word regardless of context.

Exporting Your Negative List

Once you have marked your negative keywords, a footer bar appears showing how many keywords are selected. You have two export options:

  1. Download CSV — Downloads a file called "negative-keywords.csv" with one keyword per line, formatted with the correct notation ([word], "word", or word).
  2. Copy to Clipboard — Copies the same formatted list to your clipboard so you can paste it directly into Google Ads or a spreadsheet.

In Google Ads, navigate to Tools > Negative keyword lists, create a new list, and paste or import your negative keywords. You can then apply the list to your campaigns.

Example Workflow

Here is a practical example. Suppose your CSV contains these search terms:

  1. "buy blue socks" — 100 impressions, 10 clicks, 1 transaction, €10 costs
  2. "buy blue socks online" — 50 impressions, 10 clicks, 1 transaction, €10 costs
  3. "combine blue socks" — 50 impressions, 5 clicks, 0 transactions, €5 costs
  4. "meaning of blue socks" — 30 impressions, 3 clicks, 0 transactions, €3 costs
  5. The word "buy" has: 150 impressions, 20 clicks, 2 transactions, €20 costs, CPA €10.
  6. The word "combine" has: 50 impressions, 5 clicks, 0 transactions, €5 costs, CPA —.
  7. The word "meaning" has: 30 impressions, 3 clicks, 0 transactions, €3 costs, CPA —.
  8. You would mark "combine" and "meaning" as negative keywords since they never convert.

Data Privacy

The Negative Keywords Tool processes everything in your browser. Your search terms data is never uploaded to our servers or stored in any database. The data is kept in your browser session memory (sessionStorage) so it survives a page refresh, but it is automatically cleared when you close the tab. Uploading a new CSV replaces any previously loaded data.

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