❓ What is the Search Term Exclusion Tool?
The Search Term Exclusion Tool automatically identifies and removes underperforming search terms from your Google Ads campaigns. It helps you reduce wasted spend by continuously excluding queries that are too expensive, irrelevant, or inefficient based on your custom performance thresholds.
🔁 Suggestion Mode vs. Execution Mode
This tool runs in two modes:
Suggestion Mode: Search terms are logged as suggestions. No exclusions are made automatically, but they are viewable in the logs and sent to your team via email for manual review and exclusion.
Execution Mode: Poor-performing search terms are excluded automatically at the campaign or ad group level, depending on your setup. Logs and email summaries are still provided for full transparency.
Start with Suggestion Mode if you want manual oversight. Switch to Execution Mode for full automation once your thresholds are validated.
📈 Dashboard Overview
The dashboard provides insight into exclusion activity and performance impact:
Search terms excluded in the last 7 days
Total spend saved by exclusions
Top campaigns and ad groups affected
Scheduled run frequency and next run time
Overall log of excluded terms with associated metrics
🔍 Search Term Exclusion Explore
This section shows all search terms flagged by your performance rules. Each row includes:
Search term
Impressions, clicks, spend, conversions
CPA and ROAS
Matched keyword and match type
Account, campaign, and ad group
You can filter and sort this list to review past exclusions or current suggestions based on your selected mode.
⚙️ Rule Configuration
Define the performance thresholds that trigger an exclusion. Available settings include:
Minimum impressions, clicks, or spend
Maximum CPA or minimum ROAS
Maximum conversions allowed before exclusion is blocked
Delay window
Include or exclude paused campaigns
Filter by campaign name, ad group name, or keyword match type
These rules can be configured globally, per team, or per account.
📬 Email Summaries
After each run, the tool can send an email with a summary of:
How many search terms were excluded or suggested
Top campaigns affected
Spend saved from exclusions (if in Execution Mode)
A downloadable report link with all metrics included
🔐 Permissions & Access Control
Access is scoped to ensure users only view and manage accounts they’re assigned to:
All exclusion actions are permission-checked via user ID and team ID
Only authorized users can trigger or manage exclusion logic
📄 Logging & Transparency
Whether running in Suggestion or Execution mode, all excluded or suggested search terms are logged with the following details:
Date of identification
Metrics (impressions, spend, conversions, CPA, ROAS)
Exclusion level (campaign or ad group)
Status (excluded or suggested)
✅ Best Practices
Start in Suggestion Mode to validate your settings
Switch to Execution Mode for consistent and scalable results
Set spend and impression thresholds to avoid reacting to low-volume terms
Review excluded terms weekly to ensure alignment with goals