2 Google Ads Search Term Filters That Instantly Improve Campaign Performance

If you’re running Google Search campaigns, there’s a good chance your ads are showing for hundreds, sometimes thousands of search queries you never intended to target.

Some of these queries are gold. Others? Silent budget killers.

The good news:

Two quick filters in the Google Ads Search Terms report can help you find and eliminate wasted spend in minutes.

In this post, I’ll walk you through exactly how to set them up, why they work, and what to do with the results.

Why This Matters

Even the best-written ads and perfect bids won’t perform well if they’re showing for irrelevant searches.

• Low-intent queries eat budget without bringing in customers.
• No-click impressions drag down CTR, which can hurt Quality Score.
• Poor relevance signals confuse Google’s algorithm, making it harder for it to learn who your best audience really is.

By regularly auditing your search terms, you guide Google to focus on what works and stop wasting money on what doesn’t.

Hack #1 — Kill the One-Word Money Pits

Where to find it:
Google Ads → Keywords → Search Terms Report

Filter:
Search term does not contain [space]

Why it works:

This filter shows you all the single-word searches your ads have appeared for.
These are usually very broad (“marketing”, “lawyer”, “training”, “software”), meaning:

• Low intent to buy.
• High competition for short-tail terms.
• High cost-per-click with low conversion rates.

What to do:

• Review the list.
• Keep the rare high-performers.
• Add the rest as negative keywords to block them in future.

Example:
If you sell “corporate event management services” and your ad is showing for the term events, you’re paying for people searching for music festivals, school fundraisers, or birthday parties. None of which will turn into business.

Hack #2 — The Dead Weight Purge

Filter:
Clicks < 1
Then sort by Impressions (highest to lowest).

Why it works:
These are search terms your ads have shown for many times, but no one has clicked. That means either:

• Your ad isn’t relevant for that query.
• The query itself isn’t a good fit for your offer.

Either way, these impressions are hurting your CTR, which can affect ad rank and Quality Score — and wasting budget.

What to do:

• Exclude irrelevant terms as negatives.
• If a term is relevant but underperforming, consider adjusting ad copy to match the intent better.

Example:
If you offer “online legal training” and your ad is showing for free law courses, you’ll get impressions from people who will never pay for your product. Block it.

The Business Impact

Running these two filters monthly can:

• Reduce wasted spend by 15–30%.
• Increase CTR by 10–20%.
• Improve overall account Quality Score, which can lower CPCs over time.

And the best part? You don’t need to change your bids or rewrite your ads, you’re simply telling Google where not to show your ads.

Final Tip

These filters are quick wins, but they’re just the start. A full Google Ads audit can uncover dozens of other ways to improve performance — from match type strategy to search term sculpting and audience layering.

If you need help identifying all the hidden leaks in your Google Ads account, fill out the form below to see what I can do for your business.