How to find wasted spend in Google Ads
Updated
Quick answer: wasted spend is money going to keywords that have spent enough to judge but have not produced a conversion. To find it, open the keywords report for the last 30 to 90 days, filter to keywords with zero conversions, sort by cost, and review everything above a threshold you set from your own cost per acquisition. Before pausing anything, check the search terms behind each keyword and confirm your conversion tracking works.
1. Confirm conversion tracking first
A keyword with zero conversions is only "wasted" if conversions are being recorded correctly. If a key conversion action stopped firing, or was never set up, every keyword looks like waste. Check that your main conversion actions show recent activity before you trust the report.
2. Pull the keywords report
- In Google Ads, open Campaigns, then Keywords.
- Set the date range to the last 30 to 90 days. Shorter ranges don't give low-volume keywords enough time; much longer ones mix in old ads and bids.
- Make sure the table shows Cost, Clicks, Conversions and Cost / conv.
3. Filter to zero conversions and sort by cost
Add a filter for Conversions equal to 0 and sort by Cost, highest first. The keywords at the top are your biggest leaks. A keyword just below your threshold is not necessarily healthy; it simply has not spent enough yet to be conclusive.
Choosing a threshold: base it on your own numbers. A common rule is to review any keyword that has spent more than your target cost per acquisition (or one to two times it) without a single conversion. ClearSpend's audit uses a fixed default of $150 of cost with zero conversions, which suits most small and mid-sized accounts.
4. Look at the searches behind each keyword
A keyword is a targeting setting; the search term is what someone actually typed. Open Insights and reports → Search terms and turn on the Keyword column to see which of your keywords matched each search (Google's search terms report guide). You will often find that a broad keyword is spending on searches for a different product, a competitor, jobs, or free alternatives.
Add those unwanted terms as negative keywords. Google notes that negative keywords don't match close variants, so add plurals, misspellings and synonyms yourself (about negative keywords).
For the full process, see how to find negative keywords in Google Ads.
5. Don't forget converting keywords that cost too much
Waste also hides in keywords that do convert, but at a cost per acquisition far above the rest of the account. Calculate your account-wide CPA (total cost divided by total conversions) and review any keyword at two times that or more. These look successful on their own, so they are easy to miss.
6. Decide what to do with each keyword
| What you see | Usual action |
|---|---|
| Irrelevant search terms | Add negative keywords; tighten the match type |
| Relevant searches, clicks but no conversions | Check the landing page and offer before pausing; lower the bid |
| High spend, no conversions, nothing relevant | Pause the keyword |
| Converts, but at a CPA far above average | Lower the bid, split it into its own ad group, or improve its ad and landing page |
Common mistakes
- Pausing keywords during a tracking outage.
- Judging keywords on a few days of data, or right after a bid or landing page change.
- Ignoring conversion lag: some conversions are reported days after the click.
- Only looking at zero-conversion keywords and missing expensive converting ones.
Common questions
How much should a keyword spend with no conversions before I pause it?
Base it on your own numbers: review any keyword that has spent more than your target cost per acquisition, or one to two times it, without a single conversion. ClearSpend's audit uses a fixed default of $150 of cost with zero conversions. Before pausing, check the search terms behind the keyword and confirm conversion tracking is working.
What date range should I use to find wasted spend in Google Ads?
The last 30 to 90 days. Shorter ranges don't give low-volume keywords enough time to convert, and much longer ones mix in old ads and bids. Avoid judging a keyword right after a bid or landing page change.
Should I pause a keyword with clicks but no conversions?
Not straight away. If the search terms are irrelevant, add negative keywords and tighten the match type. If the searches are relevant, check the landing page and offer and lower the bid first. Pause it when it has high spend, no conversions and nothing relevant behind it.
Can a keyword that converts still be wasted spend?
Yes. Calculate your account-wide cost per acquisition (total cost divided by total conversions) and review any keyword converting at two times that or more. These look successful on their own, so they are easy to miss.
You can run all of these checks by hand, or export the keywords report and run the free ClearSpend audit, which applies the zero-conversion and CPA-outlier checks and lists results by cost.