The search terms report in Google Ads is a critical diagnostic tool that reveals the actual queries users type before clicking an ad. Unlike keywords, which represent advertiser intent, search terms reflect real-world user behavior. By auditing this report monthly, advertisers can identify high-performing new keywords and pinpoint negative keywords in Google Ads to eliminate wasted spend on irrelevant traffic, such as the “Fake ID” or “F-150 giveaway” examples.
Search Terms vs. Keywords: Why Real User Data Matters
Oftentimes this report goes ignored in Google Ads. It’s not prominently displayed. It’s tucked under the keywords drop down on the left-hand navigation rail. Since ‘search terms’ and ‘search keywords’ sound so similar, many campaign managers and business owners think they are the same thing. They most certainly are not. While search keywords are the keywords you research, select, and add to your campaigns, search terms are the ACTUAL terms users are typing into Google before clicking your ads. Thanks to different matchtypes in Google (phrase, broad, etc) a search term may not be very relevant to your keyword. For example, if you have the keyword ‘ford f-150’ in phrase or broad match, then Google can easily match your keyword to searches such as ‘cheap f-150’, ‘f-150 recalls’, ‘ford f-150 manual’, ‘ford f-150 giveaway’ and so on. Most advertisers would agree that they would not want to buy this kind of traffic when they are trying to spend click budget on selling new Ford F-150s. Another example may be a personal injury attorney bidding on the keyword ‘injury attorney’, but with broad matching this could easily receive traffic for searches such as ‘pro bono injury attorney’ or ‘funny injury attorney commercial’. Both of which would be unwanted clicks and wasted spend.
| Feature | Search Keywords (Your Intent) | Search Terms (User Reality) |
| Who Controls It? | The Advertiser (You) | The User (Google Searcher) |
| Purpose | To target a specific audience. | The actual phrase typed into Google. |
| Match Type Influence | High (Broad, Phrase, Exact). | Direct result of the match type. |
| Action Taken | Added to the campaign. | Added as keyword or Negative. |
Two Major Benefits of Auditing Your Search Terms Report
Focusing on your Search Terms report can help you do 2 very important things.
- Obviously, it’s a great way to find new negative keywords (keywords you do not wish to trigger your ads) which not only saves you wasted clicks on poor searches, your ad will stop showing altogether for these poor searches likely increasing your CTR (click-through-rate) which will increase quality scores and lower your cost-per-click.
- The 2nd perk is to help you identify relevant search terms matching close variants of your keyword. In this case, you would want to add the search term for increased relevancy. For example, if you are buying the keyword ‘ford f-150’ and notice in the search terms report that the term ‘buy ford f-150’ is matching to your keyword ‘ford f-150’. Since ‘buy ford f-150’ was not a keyword in your campaign and only broad matching to the keyword ‘ford f-150’, adding ‘buy ford f-150’ will now be an exact match to the user’s search moving forward. This will improve your quality score since it is now matching the user’s search query precisely.
I make it a habit to pull my search terms report once a month for every single campaign I have running and add both new keywords based on relevant search terms and negative keywords based on poor search terms.
How Match Types Dictate Your Search Terms Report
To master the search terms report google ads, you must understand that Google doesn’t always match your keywords literally. The broader your match type, the more work your report will require:
- Broad Match: Offers the widest reach but often results in the most “clunky” and irrelevant search terms.
- Phrase Match: More targeted, but can still trigger unwanted clicks if the search intent is slightly off.
- Exact Match: The most precise, but even “close variants” can sometimes pull in terms you didn’t specifically bid on. Regularly pulling this report is the only way to keep Google’s AI-driven matching in check.
A Google Ads Horror Story: Wasting Tens of Thousands on Irrelevant Clicks
I will end this blog with a horror story example. I was once doing an audit for a large cyber security and anti-virus software company. In my research, they had a campaign for ‘IDS’ or Intrusion Detection System. Unfortunately, this campaign had zero negative keywords since the search term report had not been pulled in years. This resulted in thousands of searches and clicks for the term ‘fake ids’ that cost the company tens of thousands of dollars in poor, irrelevant clicks. Ouch. Moral of the story? Show some love to your search term reporting every month before things get out of hand and you end up wasting budget on horrific traffic.
If you need an assist in pulling this reporting or have any questions about how to improve your Google Ads campaigns reach out to me at Miller Ad Agency 972.243.2211. Just ask for Alex and I will be happy to assist.
Frequently Asked Question
Where is the search terms report in Google Ads?
You can find it by navigating to the “Keywords” dropdown on the left-hand rail and selecting “Search Terms.”
How often should I check my search terms report?
For active campaigns, a monthly audit is recommended. However, for new campaigns with high spend, a weekly check ensures you don’t waste budget on irrelevant “horror story” clicks.
What are negative keywords in Google Ads?
Negative keywords are specific terms you add to your campaign to prevent your ads from showing for those queries. This is the best way to filter out low-intent traffic.
Why are my search terms different from my keywords?
This happens because of Google’s “Match Types.” Unless you are using 100% Exact Match (and even then, with close variants), Google will show your ad for terms it deems “relatable” to your keyword.