Welcome to Keyword Ninja! This guide takes you from sign-up to your first wasted-spend report in about ten minutes.
1. Sign in with Google
Click Log In and choose the Google account that has access to your Google Ads. Keyword Ninja uses Google’s official OAuth — we never see your password, and you can revoke access at any time from your Google account settings.
On the consent screen, approve access to Google Ads. We use it to read your campaigns, keywords and search terms — and, only when you explicitly act, to add negative keywords or pause wasted spend.
2. Pick the account to optimize
If your login manages a single Google Ads account, we connect it automatically. If you’re on a manager (MCC) account, you’ll see a list of sub-accounts — choose the one you want to work on. Your plan determines how many accounts you can connect.
3. Run your first sync
The first sync pulls 365 days of history — campaigns, ad groups, keywords (with match types and bids), search terms, ads and daily performance. Large accounts take roughly 5–10 minutes. You can leave the page; the dashboard shows a banner while the sync runs.
Most pages — campaigns, keywords, search terms — unlock once the first sync completes. If you land back on the setup screen, the sync is still running.
4. Find your way around
Once the sync finishes you’ll land on the dashboard. A few good first stops:
- Wasted Spend — zero-conversion keywords, junk search terms and underperforming ads, each with an estimated monthly saving. Free on every plan.
- Search Terms — review the real queries that triggered your ads and add negatives or new keywords in one click.
- Conflicts — negative keywords that are accidentally blocking active keywords.
Keeping data fresh
After the first sync, Keyword Ninja refreshes incrementally in the background. You can also trigger a manual Sync Now from the dashboard whenever you want the latest numbers.
Troubleshooting
- Stuck on the setup screen? The first sync hasn’t finished — give large accounts up to ten minutes.
- A sync sat for over 30 minutes? It auto-fails so it can be retried; just start a new sync from the dashboard.
- Don’t see a campaign? Dashboard metrics come from keyword performance, so brand-new or keyword-less campaigns may not appear until they have data.
Still stuck? Contact us — we usually reply within one business day.