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User guide for Keywords — Google Ads search term triage for iOS.
Contents
Quickstart — Your First Scan in 10 Minutes
Keywords helps you quickly decide which search terms are worth keeping, which to block, and how to organize the rest — right from your iPhone.
What you need
- An iPhone running iOS 17 or later
- A Google account with access to at least one Google Ads account
- About 10 minutes
Steps
- Download Keywords from the App Store and open it.
- Sign up with Google, Apple, or email.
- During onboarding, tap Connect Google Ads and grant the requested permissions.
- On the Ad Accounts screen, tap the account you want to work on.
- To unlock syncing and the AI scan, slot the account when prompted — your first slot is free. (Accounts you don't slot still work for local triage.)
- Tap AI Scan in the top right to run an AI analysis of your search terms.
- Complete the Business Discovery setup — the app walks you through it. Takes about 15 seconds.
- When prompted, confirm you want to run the AI scan. It typically takes 1–5 minutes.
- When the scan finishes, your terms are grouped into clusters in the Clusters tab. Start triaging: swipe right to keep, swipe left to block.
- Your decisions sync automatically across your devices for slotted accounts.
If something goes wrong
- "Google Ads permission required" — You skipped the Ads permission during sign-in. Tap Grant Access on the Accounts screen.
- Scan seems stuck — Scans can take up to 5 minutes. If nothing happens after that, tap Cancel and try again.
- No clusters after scan — If your account has very few search terms, the AI may not have enough data to cluster. You can still triage manually in the New tab.
Concepts & Terminology
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Search Term | The exact phrase someone typed into Google before clicking your ad. Different from a keyword — this is real user intent. |
| Triage | Reviewing search terms and deciding: Keep, Block, or defer. |
| Keep | Mark a term as intentional — you want your ads to show for it. |
| Block | Mark a term to add as a negative keyword. |
| Later | Set a term aside without making a final decision. |
| Handled | A term covered by a negative keyword you've already pushed. Disappears from active tabs. |
| Cluster | A named group of related search terms. |
| AI Cluster | A cluster created by the AI scan. You can edit or override these. |
| Negative Keyword | A keyword added to Google Ads to prevent your ads from showing on irrelevant searches. |
| Slot | Capacity to fully sync one Google Ads account. Every user gets 1 free slot; earn more by referring friends or buy extra slots for $10 each. |
| Synced Account | An account using one of your slots. Terms fetch automatically; decisions sync across your devices. |
| Discovery | A one-time setup where the app analyzes your ads and website to understand your business. Runs the first time you scan an account. |
| Business Context | A description of your business and geography that guides the AI scan. Set during Discovery. |
| Predictive Score | A per-term estimate of how likely a term is worth keeping vs. blocking, shown as Keep/Kill pills on supported surfaces. |
| PMax | Performance Max — a Google Ads campaign type. Keywords handles PMax terms alongside standard Search terms. |
Signing Up & Connecting Google Ads
Sign up using Google, Apple, or email on the welcome screen.
During onboarding
- Who you're managing ads for (yourself, a business you work for, or clients).
- Connect a Google Ads account.
- Whether to enable push notifications (optional).
Connecting Google Ads
- Tap Connect Google Ads.
- Sign in with the Google account that has access to your Ads account.
- Grant both the basic Google sign-in permissions and the Google Ads permission. If you skip the Ads permission, you'll see a "Grant Access" prompt on the Accounts screen.
Demo accounts: Two demo accounts — Vandelay Industries and Strickland Propane — appear automatically. Tap either to explore triage, clusters, and the Negative Matchmaker with sample data. Nothing affects any real campaigns.
Your Ad Accounts Screen
Your home screen. Shows every Google Ads account accessible through your connected logins, in three sections:
- Synced Accounts — Accounts using one of your slots, actively syncing. Green outline at top.
- Recent Accounts — The last 5 accounts you visited.
- By Google Login — All accounts grouped by login email. Tap to expand or collapse.
Account status badges
| Badge | What it means |
|---|---|
| Synced | Active slotted account — terms fetch automatically, decisions sync across devices |
| Setup needed | Using a slot but Discovery hasn't been completed yet |
| AI Scanned | An AI scan has been run on this account |
| Not slotted | Not using a slot — local triage only |
Tap any account row to open it and start triaging.
Search Term Triage
Triage is the core workflow. Tap into an account and you'll see the Search Terms tab with five sub-tabs:
| Tab | What's here |
|---|---|
| New | Untriaged terms — your main working queue |
| Clusters | Terms grouped by cluster, awaiting a decision |
| Later | Terms you've parked |
| Blocked | Terms you've decided to block |
| Keep | Terms you've decided to keep |
Making decisions
Swipe gestures (fastest): Swipe right to Keep, swipe left to Block.
Toolbar buttons: The bottom toolbar shows contextual action buttons based on which tab you're on.
Selecting multiple terms: Tap the checkbox on any term, then use the toolbar to act on all selected terms at once.
Tap a term to see full metrics: impressions, clicks, cost, conversions, conversion value, CTR, CPC, CPA, and ROAS.
Undo: After swiping, an undo option briefly appears. You can also find any term in its destination tab and move it back.
Similar Terms
When you keep or block a multi-word term, the app checks for similar terms elsewhere. If found, a sheet lets you act on all of them at once.
Sorting and filtering
Sort by spend, impressions, clicks, conversions, conversion value, CTR, or conversion rate. Filter to hide zero-conversion terms. Default: spend, highest first.
Date range
Tap the date display in the action bar: Last 7/14/28/30 days, This Month, Last Month, or custom.
Guided triage
Instead of working one long list, you can run a guided sweep that walks you through the easy decisions first — terms that converted, terms that match your existing keywords, close broad-match variations, and high-cost terms that never converted. Each step surfaces a focused set so you can quickly keep the good ones and block the obvious waste.
Predictive scoring
Once you've made enough Keep/Block decisions on an account, you can run predictive scoring to estimate, for each remaining term, how likely it is worth keeping vs. blocking. Scores appear as Keep/Kill pills on the term, and you can sort by score to work the most confident picks first. Re-run it anytime to score new terms, or do a full rescore (available once a month).
PMax terms
Performance Max search terms appear alongside standard Search terms. PMax cost estimates (marked with ~) can be toggled in Settings.
Clusters
Clusters group related search terms so you can spot patterns and act on them together.
Creating a cluster
- Tap the Cluster button in the toolbar (or select multiple terms first).
- Type a new cluster name or pick an existing one.
- The term moves to the Clusters tab under that name.
Clustering doesn't make a keep/block decision — it organizes terms for later. You can still keep or block directly from the Clusters tab.
Working with clusters
- Tap a cluster row to open a detail sheet with all terms in that cluster.
- From the detail sheet: search, select all, and take bulk actions.
- On the Blocked tab, the cluster detail sheet includes a Negative Matcher button for selected terms.
- Clusters persist after decisions — a blocked term stays in its cluster on the Blocked tab.
AI clusters vs. your clusters
After an AI scan, clusters are created automatically. These are suggestions — moving a term manually or triaging it overrides the AI assignment permanently.
Negative Keywords
The Negative Matchmaker turns blocked terms into actual negative keywords and pushes them to Google Ads.
Opening it
- Swipe left on any term in the Blocked tab
- Tap the purple negative match button in the Blocked tab toolbar
- Tap the negative match button inside a cluster detail sheet
Building a negative keyword
- Word chips at the top show common words from your blocked terms. Tap to add, or type manually.
- Choose a match type:
- Exact — Only blocks that exact phrase
- Phrase — Blocks searches containing that phrase in order
- Broad — Blocks searches containing all those words in any order
- Choose a scope:
- Acct — Account-level (applies everywhere)
- Camp — A specific campaign
- List — An existing shared negative keyword list
- Tap Add Negative.
Reviewing and pushing
Pending negatives queue up before anything is sent. Tap any pending item to edit it. When ready, tap Push to send them all to Google Ads.
Conflict detection: The app checks whether any negatives would block terms you've marked Keep. Conflicts are resolved one at a time.
After pushing: Terms covered by your negatives are automatically marked Handled and disappear from active tabs.
Suggestions
Inside the Negative Matchmaker, tap the purple Suggest button to get automatic recommendations based on your blocked terms. Up to 10 suggestions, pre-selected and ready to review.
AI Scan
The AI scan groups unclustered search terms into named clusters based on your business context. Two parts:
Part 1: Business Discovery
A one-time setup. The app pulls sample data from your account and generates a business description.
- Open a slotted account.
- Discovery takes about 15 seconds.
- Review the suggested description and geography, edit anything wrong, then tap Save & Continue.
Part 2: Running the scan
- Tap AI Scan in the action bar.
- A progress banner shows while the scan runs (typically 1–5 minutes).
- Tap Cancel to stop if needed.
- When complete, clusters load and the view switches to the Clusters tab.
Each scan processes up to 1,000 new search terms (highest-impression terms first). For large accounts, run the scan again to handle more.
Campaign Management
Tap the Campaigns segment at the top of any account view.
- Campaigns list — Name, type, status, and metrics (spend, ROAS, CPA). Toggle to pause or enable.
- Tap a campaign to drill into ad groups (or asset groups for PMax).
- Tap an ad group to see keywords (Search campaigns only).
- Campaign settings — Enabled status and location targeting.
- Filter by type — All, Search, PMax, Shopping, or Other.
Plans & Slots
Keywords is free — no subscription. Every user gets 1 free account slot. A slot is what unlocks the full experience on a Google Ads account; you gain more slots by referring friends or buying extras.
What a slotted account gets
- Automatic search term fetches and cross-device sync of your triage decisions
- AI scan and AI clusters
- Predictive scoring
- Negative keyword push to Google Ads
Accounts that aren't using a slot still work for local triage on your device.
Getting more slots
- Refer a friend — earn an extra slot free when they sign up and connect Google. See Refer a Friend.
- Buy extra slots — $10 each, one-time (not a subscription).
Adding a slot
Go to Settings (gear icon) → Account Slots to see your slot usage and tap Add Extra Slot — $10. Payment is handled by Apple through the App Store.
Slotting an account
Tap an account that isn't slotted yet. If you have a free slot, you'll be prompted to use it on that account. If you're out of slots, you can buy an extra slot or refer a friend to earn one.
Refer a Friend
Sign up through a friend's link and you start with 2 account slots instead of 1. Then, when you connect your Google account, both you and the friend who referred you earn an additional slot — a free way for both of you to sync more accounts.
How it works
- Open Refer a Friend in the app to get your personal referral link.
- Share it. Referral links are always web links (
app.keywords.app/r/<code>) — your friend opens it in their browser and signs up there. - A friend who signs up through your link starts with 2 slots instead of the usual 1.
The earned slot is granted as soon as your friend connects their Google login (the Google sign-in that gives Keywords access to their Ads accounts) — they don't have to slot a specific Ads account first. After signing up on the web, your friend can keep using Keywords on the web or download the iOS app — their account is the same on both.
Settings
Tap the gear icon on the Ad Accounts screen.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Account | Shows your email address |
| Account Slots | View your slot usage and add extra slots ($10 each) |
| PMax Estimation | Toggle estimated cost display for PMax search terms |
| Report a Bug | Submit a bug report |
| Ask a Question | Send a question or request to the Keywords team |
| Log Out | Sign out |
| Delete Account | Permanently delete your account and all stored data |
| About | App version number |
FAQ
What's the difference between a keyword and a search term?
A keyword is what you bid on in Google Ads. A search term is the exact phrase a real person typed before clicking your ad. Keywords works with search terms — the raw data — so you can see what's actually driving your traffic and costs.
My search terms aren't loading. What do I do?
Make sure you've opened the account and waited for the fetch to complete. For synced accounts, terms load automatically from the server. If nothing appears, check your internet connection and tap the refresh button. If it persists, use Report a Bug in Settings.
Will my triage decisions be lost if I close the app?
No — decisions are saved locally immediately. For slotted accounts, they also sync to the server automatically.
Can I undo a decision?
Yes — after swiping, an undo option briefly appears. You can also find the term in its destination tab (Keep or Blocked) and move it back to New using the toolbar.
What does the AI scan actually do?
It reads your unclustered search terms and groups related ones into named clusters. It doesn't automatically block or keep anything — that's still your call.
Can the AI scan override decisions I've already made?
No. The AI only clusters terms that haven't been manually triaged or clustered. Your decisions always take priority.
What is Discovery and do I have to do it?
Discovery is required before the AI scan. It helps the AI understand your business so it can cluster accurately. It takes about 15 seconds and runs the first time you scan an account.
I manage multiple Google Ads accounts under different logins. Will they all show up?
Yes. Connect multiple Google logins and all accounts appear on the Ad Accounts screen, grouped by login email.
Will Keywords make changes to my Google Ads account automatically?
Only when you explicitly push negatives via the Negative Matchmaker. Everything else stays inside Keywords unless you take action.
What happens if I remove a synced account?
Removing a synced account returns its slot, so you can use it on another account. Your triage decisions and AI clusters for that account are preserved on the server and restored if you re-sync it later. To delete everything immediately, tap Delete Account in Settings or use Ask a Question to contact us.
I'm out of slots. How do I sync more accounts?
Buy an extra slot ($10 one-time each) in Settings → Account Slots, or refer a friend — you both earn a free slot when they sign up through your link and connect Google.
Does the app work on iPad?
Not yet — Keywords is iPhone only. iPad support is planned.
Is there a web app?
Yes — app.keywords.app gives you a full-screen, keyboard-driven triage experience on desktop, free for anyone who's signed in. For slotted accounts, your decisions sync between the iOS app and the web app. Triage on accounts you haven't slotted stays local to the device you made it on.
Is dark mode coming?
Planned but not yet available.