What Is a Search Term Report?
The Search Term Report (also called the Search Terms view) is one of the most important reports in Google Ads. It shows a list of the exact words and phrases that real users typed before your ad appeared and was clicked. This is fundamentally different from your keyword list, which represents the targets you have set. The Search Term Report shows the reality of what is actually triggering your ads in the market.
The distinction between a keyword and a search term matters enormously in practice. You might add the keyword "web designer" to your campaign in phrase match. Google then decides which actual search queries match the meaning of that keyword. The Search Term Report reveals all those matched queries: "web designer Johannesburg", "web designer for small business", "how to find a good web designer", "web designer prices South Africa", and so on. Some of these are exactly the type of customer you want. Others, like "how to become a web designer", represent researchers not buyers, and should be added as negative keywords.
The report includes key performance metrics for each search term: impressions, clicks, cost, conversions, and conversion rate. This data allows you to make informed decisions. A search term that has received five clicks and two conversions is a strong candidate to be added as a dedicated keyword with its own bid and tailored ad copy. A search term that has received ten clicks and zero conversions, particularly if the cost is significant, is a clear candidate for exclusion as a negative keyword.
It is worth noting that Google does not show all search terms. For privacy reasons, very low-volume queries are grouped into an "Other search terms" category and not individually reported. This means some spending occurs on queries that are invisible to you, which is one of the reasons tighter match types generally give better control, particularly for modest budgets in the South African market.
Search Term Report In Practice
The scenario below is an illustrative example, not a Juicy Designs client result. The figures indicate the scale of effect that search term report work typically produces, so treat them as indicative rather than measured.
Imagine a Durban-based insurance broker running a Google Ads campaign targeting small business clients. After the campaign's first two weeks, the broker pulls the Search Term Report and sorts by cost descending. A report like this might show that around 30% of spend went to queries containing the word "free" (such as "free business insurance quote") and another 15% or so went to queries about "car insurance" rather than business insurance. Neither category converts into clients for a commercial lines product. Adding "free" and "car insurance" as negative keywords, along with a dozen other irrelevant terms identified in the report, would redirect that roughly 45% of wasted spend into the relevant traffic categories.
On the positive side, the same report could surface three search terms converting at a cost per lead below target: "business liability insurance Durban", "public liability insurance small business", and "professional indemnity insurance broker KZN". These terms would be added as dedicated keywords in their own ad group, each with an ad tailored to the specific product type and a landing page that matches the intent precisely. This process of mining the Search Term Report for both exclusions and expansions is the core of ongoing campaign optimisation and the practice that separates accounts generating a strong return from those simply burning through budget.
How to use the Search Term Report
The Search Term Report in Google Ads shows the actual searches people typed that triggered your ads, as opposed to the keywords you bid on, and it is one of the most valuable optimisation tools in an account. Reviewing it reveals the real intent behind your traffic: searches that convert well and are worth adding as keywords, and irrelevant searches wasting budget that should be added as negative keywords. It is especially important with broader match types, which can match searches you never anticipated. Regular review turns the report into a feedback loop, tightening what your ads show for over time, so the campaign increasingly reaches the searches that matter and excludes those that do not.
Search terms versus keywords
The distinction is fundamental and often confused. A keyword is what you bid on, the term you tell Google you want to appear for. A search term is what a real person actually typed. Because match types let a keyword match related searches, one keyword can trigger many different search terms, some relevant, some not. The keyword is your intention; the search term is the reality. This gap is why the Search Term Report matters: it shows whether your keywords are matching the searches you want, and lets you refine, promoting good search terms to keywords and blocking bad ones as negatives, so intention and reality gradually converge.
FAQ
Why does the Search Term Report not show all queries?
Google only shows search terms that were used by a minimum number of users, for privacy reasons. Low-volume queries are grouped into an 'Other search terms' category and are not individually visible. This means some spend may occur on queries you cannot see or control, which is one reason to favour tighter match types when budgets are limited.
How often should I review the Search Term Report?
For new campaigns, review the Search Term Report at least once per week for the first three months. For mature campaigns with well-established negative keyword lists, fortnightly reviews are usually sufficient. Any campaign spending more than R5,000 per month in South Africa should be checked weekly to keep wasteful spend in check.
What is the difference between a search term and a keyword?
A keyword is the term you bid on and tell Google you want to appear for. A search term is what a person actually typed to trigger your ad. Match types mean one keyword can match many search terms, which is why reviewing the actual search terms matters.
How do you add negative keywords from the Search Term Report?
In the Search Term Report, select the irrelevant searches and add them as negative keywords, at the ad group, campaign or list level. This stops those searches triggering your ads in future, tightening targeting and reducing wasted spend, and is a core part of routine campaign maintenance.