N-gram Analysis Tool for Google Ads Search Terms

How to run a Google Ads n-gram analysis

This n-gram analysis tool for Google Ads splits every search term in your report into 1-, 2- and 3-word phrases and adds up their clicks, cost and conversions. Google's About the search terms report page explains what the report contains. The tool works on the file you download from it.

1. Download the report. Pick a date range long enough for your sales cycle, add the Conversions and Keyword columns, and download it in any format.
2. Drop the file in. Title rows, total rows, currency symbols and thousands separators are handled for you. The columns are matched by name.
3. Read the phrase table. It is sorted by cost. Each phrase shows how many search terms contain it, its cost per conversion, conversion rate and ROAS, and the costliest searches behind it.
4. Review the suggested negatives. They are phrases that spent money and never converted. The list is kept short: a phrase is left out when a better suggestion already blocks its searches.
5. Copy or download. Paste the list into Google Ads, or download the full phrase table for your client report.

Why phrases beat single search terms

A search terms report often has thousands of rows that each cost a little. The waste hides in patterns. In the sample file, no single "truck rental" search looks alarming, yet the word truck appears in three searches that cost almost $300 and never brought a lead. That is a moving company paying for people who want to drive themselves.

The same view shows winners. Phrases with many conversions and a low cost per conversion are good candidates for their own exact or phrase match keywords.

What to do next: add the negatives in Google Ads

1. Check the list. Remove anything you still want, such as a brand word or a product you plan to sell. The Negative Keyword Conflict Checker can test the list against all your keywords first.
2. Choose where they go. In the negative keywords view, use Edit exclusions and choose all campaigns or a specific campaign.
3. Paste one per line. Keep the quotes or brackets: Google reads them as the match type. The list is made for the Google Ads website; to use Google Ads Editor instead, add them there with Make multiple changes.
4. Save them to a list if they apply widely. Tick Save to new or existing list so you can reuse the same negatives on other campaigns, then click Done.
5. Repeat monthly. New searches appear all the time. Run the analysis again on fresh data.

Common n-gram analysis problems and fixes

No negatives suggested

The report probably has no Conversions column, or no conversions at all in the date range. Add the column and download again, or type your own spend limit in the options.

A suggested negative would block my own keyword

If the phrase piano wasted money but you bid on piano movers, a phrase negative "piano" would stop that keyword too. The tool lists these as warnings instead of suggesting them. Use a longer phrase, or an exact match negative for the bad search itself.

Plural and singular forms

Negative keywords don't match close variants, so "job" does not block jobs. If both forms waste money, both appear in the table — add both.

Performance Max and AI Max search terms

Performance Max campaigns now take campaign-level negative keywords and negative keyword lists too. Google's Negative keywords in Performance Max campaigns page says they apply to Search and Shopping inventory only. For AI Max, Google advises waiting at least two weeks after turning it on before adding negatives.

Numbers look wrong after editing in Excel

Excel can turn cost cells into text. Drop in the report without editing it; unreadable cells count as zero and are listed.