The search terms report shows the real queries people typed before your ad showed or was clicked, alongside the keyword that matched them. Keywords are your instructions; search terms are what actually happened. Reading the report is the most direct way to find wasted spend and new keyword ideas.
What to do with it
Sort by cost or clicks over a meaningful period, then work down the list.
- Add irrelevant queries, or the irrelevant words in them, as negative keywords.
- Add converting queries as exact or phrase keywords so you control their bids and ads.
- Spot new intents that deserve their own ad group and landing page.
- Feed recurring questions and phrasing to the content team.
What it does not show
Google hides queries searched by too few people, citing privacy thresholds, so the report usually shows only part of your spend. The hidden share can be large in niche B2B accounts. You cannot recover those queries, but you can compare reported costs against total costs to see how much is unexplained.
Performance Max and some automated campaign types have more limited search term reporting, delivered as grouped insights rather than full query lists. Google has been adding detail, so check what is currently available.
Using it for SEO
Converting search terms are a free source of commercial keyword research. A query that produces demos in paid search is worth checking in Search Console to see whether you rank for it organically, and whether a dedicated page is warranted.
Example
Finding a new page idea
Hypothetical company Wexbridge, which sells a status page tool, notices several converting queries about “incident communication templates”. It adds them as exact keywords, and the content team builds a templates page that both campaigns and organic search can use.
Common mistakes
Only looking at clicks
Sort by cost and by conversions too. A few expensive irrelevant queries can matter more than many cheap ones.
Questions
Weekly for new campaigns or after big changes, and at least monthly once things are stable. Accounts using broad match benefit from more frequent checks.
