Try it
Shows an example of the output, not a run against your account.
Google Ads script
/**
* Goodlabs Google Ads script: n-gram search term analysis
* Schedule: Weekly on Mondays
*/
var CONFIG = {
MIN_IMPRESSIONS: 50,
MIN_COST: 20,
SPREADSHEET_URL: "https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/YOUR_SHEET_ID/edit",
DATE_RANGE: "LAST_30_DAYS"
};
function main() {
Logger.log("Extracting search terms for N-Gram analysis...");
var report = AdsApp.report(
"SELECT search_term_view.search_term, metrics.impressions, metrics.clicks, " +
"metrics.cost_micros, metrics.conversions, metrics.conversions_value " +
"FROM search_term_view " +
"WHERE metrics.impressions > " + CONFIG.MIN_IMPRESSIONS + " " +
"AND segments.date DURING " + CONFIG.DATE_RANGE
);
var ngrams = {}; // token -> { imps, clicks, cost, convs, value }
var rows = report.rows();
while (rows.hasNext()) {
var row = rows.next();
var query = String(row["search_term_view.search_term"]).toLowerCase().trim();
var imps = Number(row["metrics.impressions"] || 0);
var clicks = Number(row["metrics.clicks"] || 0);
var cost = Number(row["metrics.cost_micros"] || 0) / 1e6;
var convs = Number(row["metrics.conversions"] || 0);
var val = Number(row["metrics.conversions_value"] || 0);
var words = query.split(/\s+/);
for (var n = 1; n <= 3; n++) {
for (var i = 0; i <= words.length - n; i++) {
var gram = words.slice(i, i + n).join(" ");
if (!ngrams[gram]) {
ngrams[gram] = { gram: gram, words: n, imps: 0, clicks: 0, cost: 0, convs: 0, val: 0 };
}
ngrams[gram].imps += imps;
ngrams[gram].clicks += clicks;
ngrams[gram].cost += cost;
ngrams[gram].convs += convs;
ngrams[gram].val += val;
}
}
}
exportToSheet(ngrams);
}
function exportToSheet(ngrams) {
var ss = SpreadsheetApp.openByUrl(CONFIG.SPREADSHEET_URL);
var sheet = ss.getSheetByName("NGram_Analysis") || ss.insertSheet("NGram_Analysis");
sheet.clear();
sheet.appendRow(["N-Gram Token", "Words", "Impressions", "Clicks", "Cost", "Conversions", "CPA", "Conv. Rate", "ROAS", "Status"]);
var output = [];
for (var k in ngrams) {
var item = ngrams[k];
if (item.cost < CONFIG.MIN_COST) continue;
var cpa = item.convs > 0 ? (item.cost / item.convs).toFixed(2) : "N/A";
var cr = item.clicks > 0 ? ((item.convs / item.clicks) * 100).toFixed(2) + "%" : "0%";
var roas = item.cost > 0 ? (item.val / item.cost).toFixed(2) : "0.00";
var status = (item.convs === 0 && item.cost >= CONFIG.MIN_COST) ? "🚨 NEGATIVE CANDIDATE" : "OK";
output.push([
item.gram, item.words, item.imps, item.clicks,
item.cost.toFixed(2), item.convs, cpa, cr, roas, status
]);
}
output.sort(function(a, b) { return parseFloat(b[4]) - parseFloat(a[4]); });
if (output.length > 0) {
sheet.getRange(2, 1, output.length, 10).setValues(output);
}
sheet.getRange(1, 1, 1, 10).setFontWeight("bold").setBackground("#f3f4f6");
Logger.log("Exported " + output.length + " n-gram patterns to Google Sheets.");
}How it works
- Pulls impressions, clicks, cost, conversions and value for the last 30 days from
search_term_view, which has one row per search term and ad group, keeping rows with more thanMIN_IMPRESSIONSimpressions (50 by default). - Splits each query into single words, two-word and three-word n-grams.
- Sums cost and conversions for every n-gram across all queries it appears in.
- Marks n-grams with zero conversions and cost above the minimum as negative candidates.
- Writes the table, CPA, conversion rate and ROAS included, to the NGram_Analysis tab of your Google Sheet.
Installation
- In Google Ads, open Tools > Bulk actions > Scripts.
- Paste the code into a new script.
- Put your Google Sheet URL in SPREADSHEET_URL.
- Authorize the script and run Preview.
- Schedule it weekly, Monday morning.
Questions
Why not just read the search terms report?
The report scores whole queries. A word like "free" can spend across dozens of queries that each look too small to act on; summed as one n-gram, it shows up. Lower MIN_IMPRESSIONS if your long tail sits under 50 impressions.