The search terms report is where Google Ads either pays for itself or leaks money. It shows the actual queries that triggered your ads, including the ones you never intended to bid on. Reviewing it sounds simple, and it is, as long as the review is bounded. Without a routine, the report becomes an intimidating spreadsheet that nobody opens, and wasted spend accumulates quietly.
Set the scope before you open the report
Decide what the review covers: one account, one campaign type, or one product line. A focused scope makes the review repeatable and short. Set a cost threshold for what counts as worth acting on, because a query that spent a few cents is noise while a query that spent real money is a decision.
Write down the questions the review should answer: Which search terms converted? Which spent money with no conversion? Which terms are close variants of an intended keyword and should become exact-match keywords? Which should become negative keywords? This turns the report from a wall of data into a checklist.
Pull the right window and columns
Review a window that gives enough data to judge but is recent enough to act on. Two to four weeks is a common starting point. If you review too short a window, you react to noise; too long, and you optimize decisions that are no longer relevant.
In the Google Ads interface, open the search terms report and choose the columns that matter: impressions, clicks, cost, conversions, conversion value, and cost per conversion. If the account tracks value, include return on ad spend or conversion value so you can see which terms are profitable rather than merely converting.
Sort for waste first, then for opportunity
Start with the highest spend and no conversions. Those are the clearest candidates for negative keywords or for a landing-page and offer review. Then look at terms with a low conversion rate relative to cost. Finally, look at the converting terms to see whether they match your intent or reveal a new angle worth its own ad group.
Do not judge a term on a single click. A term with ten clicks and no conversion is a stronger signal than a term with one click and no conversion, though both deserve a note if they spent enough. Google Ads documents search terms, match types, and negative keywords in its help center at support.google.com/google-ads; check it before applying a negative-match type you are not sure about.
Classify each action into one of four buckets
For every term worth acting on, choose one action:
- Add as a negative keyword, at the campaign or account level depending on scope.
- Promote to a real keyword in its own ad group with a matching ad.
- Leave it and keep watching, because the data is not yet conclusive.
- Route it to a landing-page or offer review, because the intent is right but the page is not converting.
Recording the bucket next to the term keeps the review auditable and prevents the same term from being re-debated every week. It also shows patterns, such as a steady stream of job-seeker queries that indicate a matching problem rather than a keyword problem.
Apply negatives carefully
Negative keywords are powerful and blunt. A broad negative can block profitable traffic, so match the negative type to the intent: exact negatives for a specific irrelevant phrase, phrase negatives for a pattern, and broad negatives only when you are certain. Add negatives at the narrowest level that solves the problem, and keep a running list so you can see what you have already excluded.
After adding negatives, watch the account for a few days to confirm the intended terms keep serving and the wasted spend stops. If volume drops sharply, you may have over-excluded.
Convert insight into ad and page changes
Search terms reveal how customers actually phrase the problem. When a cluster of queries expresses a need you do not address directly, that is a content or ad-copy opportunity. Share those findings with the person who owns landing pages so the insight turns into a page or offer change, not just a negative keyword.
This is where the review creates compounding value. Blocking waste stops the leak; acting on the language customers use can raise conversion rate across the account.
Watch brand, competitor, and job-seeker terms
A few recurring categories deserve their own attention. Brand terms usually convert well but can attract competitors bidding on your name, which raises your cost. Competitor terms are a strategic choice and should not be added or removed by a routine review without the owner's approval. Job-seeker terms such as "marketing manager salary" or "remote marketing jobs" signal that a broad match keyword is reaching the wrong audience and often call for a strong negative rather than a keyword change.
Tagging these categories in the review makes the pattern visible. If job-seeker queries keep appearing, the fix is usually a match-type or negative change at the campaign level, not a one-off exclusion each week.
Keep a decision log and a cadence
Log each review with the date, the window reviewed, the terms actioned, and the reason. A short log lets a new operator inherit the account's history and prevents contradictory decisions. It also makes it obvious when a recurring problem, such as a competitor bidding on your brand, needs a strategy change rather than another round of negatives.
Weekly is usually enough for a small account; high-spend accounts may need twice weekly. The operator runs the review, prepares the buckets, and applies approved negatives and keyword changes; the account owner approves anything that changes bidding strategy or budget. That boundary keeps the routine safe to delegate. To have this review run for you, review how we run paid ads operations, or request a consultation with your current campaign structure.