Search terms report
The search terms report lists the actual searches that triggered your ads, with their cost and results. It is where you find wasted spend.
In the platformSearch
Search terms
The search terms report lists the actual searches that triggered your ads, with their cost and results. It is where you find wasted spend.
With broad match, close variants and AI Max, the gap between search terms and your keywords can be wide. This report is the main place to find spend on searches that will never convert: job seekers, competitors, free versions, wrong locations or unrelated meanings. Each row shows the matching keyword, match type, cost and conversions. Google hides very low-volume queries for privacy, so part of the spend always appears without a visible term.
Where you'll see it
In Google Ads go to Campaigns > Insights and reports > Search terms. Performance Max campaigns have their own search terms view in the same area, and AI Max campaigns show an "AI Max" source for queries it matched. From any row you can add the term as a keyword or a negative keyword. Meta has no search terms report; TikTok shows search terms only for its search ads placement.
Worked exampleA plumbing company, $4,000 in 30 days
| Search terms | Spend | Conversions |
|---|---|---|
| plumber jobs, plumbing apprenticeship | $310 | 0 |
| how to fix a leaking tap yourself | $190 | 0 |
That is $500, or 12.5% of spend, on searches with no buying intent. Adding negatives prevents similar future spend; it does not refund what was already spent.
Do
- Review more than the last 7 days
- Group one-click terms by recurring words
- Check hidden “Other search terms” spend before trusting totals
Don't
- Judge a term on one click
- Add a negative so broad it blocks good searches