Google Ads Search Terms Report: How to Use It

The Search Terms Report reveals the actual words people typed into Google that triggered your ads. This is different from your keywords — your keywords are what you bid on, while search terms are what users actually searched.

For example, if your keyword is "plumber dubai" in phrase match, the search terms report might show that your ad was triggered by "best plumber in dubai marina," "cheap plumber dubai," "plumber dubai emergency 24 hours," and "plumber dubai salary." The first three are relevant; the last one is not.

Go to Keywords in the left navigation, then click "Search terms" in the top menu. You will see a table of all search queries that triggered your ads, along with metrics like impressions, clicks, CTR, CPC, conversions, and cost.

You can filter by date range, campaign, ad group, keyword, or search term text. You can also add columns for match type, conversion value, and other metrics.

### 1. Find New Keyword Opportunities

Look for search terms with strong performance (high CTR, conversions, good CPA) that you are not bidding on directly. Add these as keywords in the appropriate ad group to get more control over bids and ad relevance.

2. Add Negative Keywords

Identify irrelevant queries wasting your budget. Look for terms with high impressions and zero conversions, terms clearly unrelated to your business, and informational queries (how to, what is, salary, jobs) when you want transactional traffic. Add these as negative keywords immediately.

3. Identify Match Type Issues

If broad or phrase match keywords are triggering too many irrelevant searches, consider tightening match types or adding more negatives. If exact match keywords are too restrictive, consider adding phrase match variants.

4. Discover New Ad Group Themes

Clusters of related search terms may suggest a need for a new ad group with dedicated ad copy. For example, if your "plumber" ad group is triggered by many "drain cleaning" queries, create a separate "Drain Cleaning" ad group with tailored ads.

5. Understand User Language

See how users actually describe your products or services. They may use different words than you expect. Incorporate their language into your ad copy and keyword strategy.

Google does not show all search terms — low-volume or privacy-protected queries may be grouped under "Other search terms." This means you may not see every single query that triggered your ads. The report typically covers 80-95% of your traffic.

For new campaigns, review daily for the first 1-2 weeks. For established campaigns, review weekly. Set a calendar reminder — this is one of the most impactful recurring optimisation tasks in Google Ads.