The Search Terms Report: What You Actually Paid For

The Search Terms report in Google Ads shows the actual queries people typed that triggered your ads, not the keywords you bid on. That list is where you see what you paid for.

The Search Terms report is the difference between the keywords you chose and the queries Google charged you for. Open it, sort by cost, and decide each row: keep, add as a keyword, or block with a negative. Clicks in the keyword tab do not prove those clicks were your customers.

This is a map of the queries you paid for this week. It is not a keyword planner, a ROAS scorecard, or proof that keywords are working because clicks exist.

What is the Google Ads Search Terms report?

It is a table of search queries that triggered your ads, with clicks, cost, and conversions on each row. A keyword is what you added. A search term is what someone typed. The report exists because those two are not the same thing, especially under phrase and broad match.

If you only watch the Keywords tab, you are watching the bids you set, not the queries you funded. That is why a campaign can look busy and still miss the job. The Search Terms report is the operator view.

Search terms vs keywords: what is the difference?

A keyword is the phrase you bid on, plus a match type. A search term is the query that actually entered the auction. Match types decide how far a keyword can drift from the query. Broad match drifts furthest. Exact match is tighter, but it still is not a character lock.

Treat the keyword as a net and the search term as the fish. You chose the net. The report shows what landed in it. That is the only honest way to see what you paid for.

How do you open and filter the Search Terms report?

Open the Search Terms report and filter to one campaign, then one week. The menu label moves around Google Ads; the report name does not. Sort by cost so the expensive rows sit at the top. You can also filter by conversion count when you want to see which queries have never produced a call or a form.

Do not start with the whole account if you run several campaigns. A mixed table hides which campaign paid for the junk. One campaign, one date range, then the next.

What should you do with each kind of row?

Every row gets one of three decisions.

• Keep. The query is your service, in a place you serve, and it can stay matching the keyword it already uses.
• Add as a keyword. The query is clearly your work and you want it on a tighter match type, with its own ad if the intent is specific.
• Block. The query is jobs, DIY, free, a city you do not serve, or a product you do not sell. Add it as a negative keyword.

Pausing one keyword does not block a query if another keyword can still match it. That weekly fork lives in pause versus negative. Do not pause a converting keyword because one junk query hit it.

How often should you review search terms?

Weekly at minimum on a live Search account. New junk appears as Google matches new queries. A Monday sitting is enough if you sort by cost and decide the top rows. Daily is better when spend is high or you just opened match types.

This is an operator skill, not keyword research and not a first-time account audit. You are reading last week's bill. Smart Bidding can pick auctions. It does not decide which junk queries you are willing to fund, so the report still matters.

Common questions

What should I do with junk search terms?

Add the junk as a negative keyword so it stops matching. Promote a useful new query to a keyword only if it is clearly your service. Pausing one keyword does not block that query if another keyword can still match it.

How is a search term different from a keyword?

A keyword is what you bid on. A search term is what the person typed. Match type decides how far those two can drift.

Where do I find the Search Terms report?

Open the Search terms report and filter to one campaign. The menu label moves; the report name does not.

AdvisorPPC is an AI manager. It can read search terms and propose keep, add, or negative, with the reason. Manual is the default. Budget and bid writes wait at the gate. Bounded Auto, if you turn it on, may add eligible negatives only.

If you want a read-only look at the queries you actually paid for, Find my wasted spend. No card. Nothing changes until you approve it.