The search terms report is the Google Ads report that lists the actual searches that triggered your ads, with the impressions, clicks and conversions each one produced. Your keywords are what you bid on; search terms are what people really typed. The gap between the two is where most wasted spend in a search account hides.
How the search terms report works
Every time an ad receives an impression, Google records the query that triggered it and which keyword matched. The report groups those queries and shows impressions, clicks, cost and conversions for each, along with a match type column showing how closely the search matched your keyword. A keyword set to broad match might trigger dozens of different searches, some useful, some nowhere near what you sell.
Not every query is shown. To protect user privacy, Google hides searches made by too few people and rolls them into a line usually labelled as other search terms. The hidden share varies by account, and accounts with many long, rarely repeated searches tend to lose more of their data to it. At the time of writing (October 2026), Performance Max campaigns also have search terms reporting, but the ways you can act on it differ from a standard search campaign, so check the controls available in your account.
From the report you can tick a query and add it as a keyword, or add it as a negative keyword at ad group, campaign or list level so it no longer triggers your ads.
Why it matters
Matching is looser than most people expect. Close variants and broad match let Google decide a search means the same as your keyword. A bathroom fitter in Kent bidding on “bathroom installation” might find spend going on “bathroom installation jobs”, “bathroom installation course” and “how to install a bathroom yourself”. None of those people will book a fitter.
The report also surfaces demand you had not planned for. Searches that convert well but are not yet keywords are candidates for their own ad group, with an ad and landing page written for them. For a small account, an hour a week in this report often does more than any change to bids.
It is also your best evidence when a campaign’s cost per lead creeps up. If the matched queries have drifted towards research, jobs or competitor names, the fix is in the keywords and negatives, not the budget.
Common mistakes
- Checking it once at launch and never again, while match types keep finding new queries.
- Adding negatives too broadly, such as the single word “free”, which can block valid searches like “free quote”.
- Excluding a query at the wrong level, so it stops in one campaign but keeps spending in another.
- Looking only at clicks and cost, not conversions, and cutting terms that actually bring customers.
- Ignoring the share of hidden terms when judging how much of the account you can see.
How to act on it
Set a routine: weekly for new or broad-match campaigns, fortnightly or monthly once an account settles. Sort by cost, then work down the list. For each query, decide whether it is relevant and converting (consider adding as a keyword), relevant but not yet converting (leave and watch), or irrelevant (add as a negative). Build shared negative keyword lists for themes that recur, such as jobs, training and DIY.
Use the matched keyword column to spot keywords whose matching is too loose and tighten their match type; a keyword match type tool helps you prepare the variations quickly. This weekly mining is a large part of what I do in ongoing PPC management.