Using The Search Term Report

The search term report is a great place to find new keywords and add negative keywords to non-performing search terms.  

Here you will find all the search terms that triggered one of your ads. Search terms are unique because although they are matched to a keyword, the same keyword can be triggered by multiple search terms.

Finding the Search Term Report 

1. Open your Google Ads account and click on a search campaign.

2. Click on the ‘Keywords’ tab on the left-hand side of the screen.

3. Click on the ‘Search Terms’ tab on the top, which will be next to the ‘Negative Keywords’ tab

4. Adjust the dates to see search terms for different portions of the year.

1. Adding Negative Keywords

If you find terms that are not converting or that are unrelated to your products and services, you can exclude them altogether. You can click on the box next to the search term and then click the ‘Add as negative keyword’ link at the top.

You can add the negative keyword to the Ad Group level, Campaign level, or add it directly to your Negative Keyword List.

Adding negative keywords is different from pausing keywords because when you add a negative keyword, it will not get shown again even with other keyword combinations. 

Ex - if you add ‘purple’ as a negative keyword on the campaign level, the keyword ‘purple jacket’ will never get triggered on a phrase or broad match search. 

2. Find New Keywords to Target

If you see a search term that is converting well, you can add it as a new keyword to a current campaign. 

You can also put the keywords into a new campaign called ‘Profitable Keywords’ so that you can have a fully optimized campaign full of your winning keywords.

3. Download the Search Terms Report

You can download your search terms as an Excel .csv file, .pdf file, download for Google Sheets, email the report, and schedule it. If you want to make sure you are viewing the report on a weekly basis, you can schedule emails so you see it on the same day each week, directly into your email account.