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The short answer
Every search term in Google Ads is marked added, excluded or none. None means nobody ever wrote it down. Oppy adds up the Search spend on those searches over recent weeks and flags the account when they take most of it.
Why it matters
Some of the best searches in any account arrive this way, through a loose match on a keyword. So this is not a waste figure. It answers a different question: how much of the account is still being run by a person.
When most of the money goes to searches no one chose, the keyword list has stopped describing the account. It is a hint Google reads, not a plan someone follows, and every report built on keywords is describing a smaller part of the spend than it seems.
How Oppy decides
The check reads the search terms report for live Search campaigns over recent weeks, with cost, clicks, conversions and each search's status.
Checks that weigh money or clicks judge what they find on your own account's numbers, not on one figure applied to every account, so what counts as a problem on a small account is not the same on a large one. Checks on settings read how the account is set up.
When there is too little to go on, the check says so instead of guessing. A finding always comes with the rows behind it, so you can read the evidence before you decide.
| This check | |
|---|---|
| Step of the audit | Spend |
| What it reads | Search terms report |
| Needs trustworthy conversions | No. It does not wait for the tracking step. |
| What happens next | Reported in the audit with the rows behind it. The decision stays with you. |
Check it yourself in Google Ads
- In Google Ads, open Campaigns, then Insights and reports, then Search terms, for the last 30 days.
- Filter to Search campaigns and add the Added/Excluded column.
- Download the report and add up the cost of rows marked None, then divide by the total cost.
- Sort those rows by cost and by conversions to see what is worth adding and what is worth excluding.
What to do about it
Take the searches that converted and add them as keywords, so they get their own bid and ad. The unharvested search term check does that part.
Take the ones that spent with nothing back and add them as negatives. Over a few weeks, the share Google chose falls, and the keyword list starts describing the account again.
Terms on this page
Other checks in this area
The checks next to this one in Wasted spend, each with its own page.