You pay for clicks, the leads are thin, and you have a nagging suspicion that part of the budget goes to people who were never going to buy. Somewhere in your account sits a list of the exact searches that triggered your ads, and it is the fastest way to check that suspicion. The Google Ads search terms report is a page of real search phrases, each with what it cost and what it produced. The report often goes unopened, or gets opened once, and the owner sees rows of unfamiliar wording and closes it again. The list is not complete, and some of what you read will need judgment rather than a quick delete. The steps below take about ten minutes, and they leave you with a short list of changes you can make today and a routine you can repeat each week.
Key Takeaways
In Google Ads, go to Campaigns, then Insights and reports, then Search terms. Set the last 30 days and sort by Cost.
A search term is what a person typed. A keyword is what you chose to bid on. The two often differ, and Google leaves out some low-activity searches for privacy.
Add a search term as a keyword when it is a distinct, useful intent. Add it as a negative keyword when it can never become a customer. Check conversions and tracking before you exclude on cost alone.
Where is the search terms report in Google Ads?
Open your account and go to Campaigns, then Insights and reports, then Search terms. Google defines the report as the searches that triggered impressions or clicks for your ads, and its help page on the search terms report walks through the same path. If you cannot find it, check that you are viewing the right campaign type, because Performance Max and AI Max campaigns have their own views, covered further down.
Once you are in, the report is a table. Each row is one search phrase, and the columns that matter most for a small account are these:
| Column | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Search term | The words the person typed |
| Keyword | The keyword you added that the search matched to (turn it on under Columns, then Attributes, if it is missing) |
| Match type | How closely the search relates to that keyword |
| Cost | What the searches cost you in the date range |
| Clicks and impressions | How often the ad was clicked and shown |
| Conversions | Results recorded under your account's conversion settings |
The same help page lists campaign, ad group, CTR, conversion rate and conversion value as common columns too. Google's page on columns in the report shows how to add and remove them.
How do I review the search terms report in ten minutes?
This is the sequence to run the first time, and it works the same way every week after. You need a date range, a few columns and a sort order.
- Open Campaigns, then Insights and reports, then Search terms.
- Set the date range to the last 30 days.
- Show Cost, Clicks, Impressions, CTR, Conversions, Conversion rate, Conversion value, Keyword and Match type.
- Sort by Cost, highest first.
- Mark the five costliest searches that could never become a customer, because they are about the wrong product, service, audience, place or intent.
- For each marked search, decide whether it should be excluded for one campaign or for the whole account.
- Scan the searches that produced conversions for wording worth reusing in a keyword, an ad or a landing page.
Cost alone does not prove a search is bad. A costly phrase that matches what you sell may simply need a better ad or page, and one that matches nothing you offer is the clear candidate for exclusion. Compare cost with relevance and with the results your account recorded. The weekly routine near the end of this post turns these steps into a habit.
What is the difference between a search term and a keyword?
A search term is the word or phrase a person types into Google. A keyword is the word or phrase you add to an ad group to make your ads eligible for searches. Google's own example is a keyword of `roses` and a customer who searches for `red roses`: the keyword made the ad eligible, and the search term is what the customer actually typed.
That gap is the reason the report exists. Your keyword and the person's wording are not always identical, and the Match type column describes how the two relate. Broad, phrase and exact match are shown in Google's help as `running shoes`, `"running shoes"` and `[running shoes]`. A broad match keyword can trigger on a search with a different wording, which is why a row can look unrelated to anything you typed into the account.
So, do not expect every search term to equal one of your keywords. Read the Keyword column beside each search term to see which keyword caught it, then judge the search on its own merits.
Why are some search terms missing from the report?
Google does not show every query. Its help says search terms without enough activity may be left out to protect user privacy, and Google's page on why some search terms are hidden explains that these low-activity searches can appear grouped in categories or under an "other search terms" line, without the individual wording.
What that means for you: a total of the rows you can see may be lower than the cost in your campaign, and you cannot read every phrase that ever triggered an ad. Treat the visible rows as a large, useful sample of where your money went. Look for patterns in the wording, such as a product you do not sell, a place you do not serve or a job you do not do, and fix the patterns. You do not need to chase the hidden rows.
How do I add a search term as a keyword or a negative?
In the report, select the search term, then choose to add it as a keyword or as a negative keyword. Google's help on adding keywords from search terms and on negative keywords covers both choices. The Report Editor version of the report does not allow direct additions, so use the standard report.
Add a search term as a keyword when its exact wording shows a distinct, useful intent, such as a specific service or product you sell. Pick the match type on purpose: broad, phrase or exact. Add a search term as a negative keyword when it is about something you do not offer. A negative can apply to one campaign or to the whole account, and the scope matters, because an account-level negative removes that phrase everywhere.
| What the row shows | Usually the right move |
|---|---|
| A search that names a service you sell, with conversions | Consider adding it as a keyword |
| A search for something you never offer, with cost and no sale possible | Add it as a negative keyword |
| A search that fits your business, with clicks but no conversions yet | Leave it, and check the ad, the landing page and your conversion tracking |
| A search with a few clicks and a long sales cycle | Leave it for now; results can take time to be recorded |
The last two rows are where owners lose money by hurrying. A search with no conversion is not automatically worthless: conversions can be recorded late, tracking can be missing or attached to the wrong action, and a phrase can be right for your business but still need a better page. Over-restrictive negatives can also shut out customers you wanted. If your phone calls and forms are not being counted, fix that first, using how to track phone calls from Google Ads as a start. For a deeper look at building your exclusion list, see Google Ads negative keywords.
What can I see for Performance Max and AI Max campaigns?
Both have their own views, and both come with limits. For Performance Max, go to Campaigns, then Insights and reports, then Search terms, and choose Search terms and landing pages for Performance Max. Google's help on Performance Max search terms says the view can show search terms, the landing pages tied to them, ad format and performance metrics, with data from March 2023 onward. It does not expose every query, and store visits and store sales conversions are not compatible with the report.
For AI Max for Search campaigns, Google adds an AI Max value in the Match type column and a Source column that shows whether traffic came through broad match expansion or keywordless matching. Google's help on AI Max search term reporting describes a dedicated view that combines search terms, headlines and landing pages. For the wider change, read Google Ads AI Max.
You get more reporting here than the old report gave, but not full query-level visibility, and you cannot judge these campaigns with the controls you have on a standard Search campaign. Read the landing pages beside the search terms, and use the same cost, relevance and conversion check as before.
What should my weekly search terms routine look like?
A short, repeatable review beats a big cleanup once a year. Pick one day and stay with it.
- Open the report for the last 7 days, then compare it with the last 30 days.
- Sort by Cost and mark the costliest searches that could not become customers.
- Add the clear ones as negative keywords, at the scope that fits.
- Look at the searches that converted, and note any wording that deserves its own keyword, ad line or page.
- Check that your conversion tracking still records calls and form submissions.
- Write down what you changed, so you can see its effect later.
A search review shows you where money went. It does not by itself prove that your tracking is accurate or that your landing page is working, so treat it as one check among several. If the costliest wrong searches keep coming back even after you exclude them, your match types or campaign targeting probably need attention, and that is a bigger job than a negative list. A related read on the leads side is why ads bring junk leads, and how match types work explains why the same keyword catches different searches.
When can I handle this myself, and when does help pay for itself?
A small account with one or two campaigns, steady spend and reliable tracking is something an owner can review alone. Google documents the menu path, the definitions and the steps for adding negatives, so reaching the report does not require an agency, and the ten-minute routine above is within reach of anyone willing to spend that time each week. If you are deciding, can you run Google Ads yourself covers the wider question.
Help earns its fee when the account is bigger or harder to read: several campaigns, several services or locations, high spend, Performance Max or AI Max in the mix, conversion tracking that is hard to verify, or results that clicks alone cannot judge. What a specialist adds is interpretation, structure, measurement and ongoing judgment, not access to a hidden report. The value is fewer misreads and changes that do not block real demand.
Are you reading the search terms report correctly?
Pick an answer to begin.
1. A search term shows high cost and no conversions yet. What is the best next step?
2. Why can some search terms be missing from the report?
3. When does adding a search term as a keyword make the most sense?
Frequently Asked Questions About google ads search terms report
What is a search term in Google Ads?
It is the word or phrase a person typed when your ad was triggered.
Where is the search terms report?
Go to Campaigns, then Insights and reports, then Search terms.
What is the difference between a search term and a keyword?
A keyword is what you add to target searches. A search term is what the person actually typed, and it can differ from your keyword.
Does the report show every search?
No. Google leaves out some low-activity queries for privacy reasons.
Should every non-converting search term become a negative keyword?
No. Check relevance, conversion delay, tracking and the landing page first.
Can I see search terms for Performance Max and AI Max?
Yes, in their own views, with campaign-specific limits. Neither shows every query.
Moving Forward
The report sits under Campaigns, Insights and reports, Search terms. Sort 30 days by cost, mark the costliest searches that could never become customers, add the clear ones as negatives and copy useful wording into keywords, ads and pages. Remember that Google leaves out some low-activity searches, so you are reading a large sample, not a full record.
Run the same short review each week and your account gets cleaner without a big project. You will also see sooner when tracking or a landing page, not the keywords, is the real problem.
If you would rather hand the review to someone who does it every day, Web Leveling can read your search terms, fix your negatives and match types, and check that your calls and forms are being counted. Our pay-per-click management covers the account from search terms to landing pages. If your account is small enough to run yourself, we will say so. We work with small and medium businesses across the country and overseas. Send us your account questions and we will point you to the next change worth making.
Terms
Search terms report words in this post
Tap a term to see what it means.
Search term. The word or phrase a person types into Google that triggers your ad.
Keyword. A word or phrase you add to an ad group to make your ads eligible for searches.
Match type. The setting, broad, phrase or exact, that controls how closely a search must relate to your keyword.
Negative keyword. A word or phrase you add so your ads do not show for searches that contain it.
Conversion. An action your account is set to record as a result, such as a call or a form submission.
Performance Max. A Google Ads campaign type with its own search terms and landing pages view.
