Every digital marketer aims to run campaigns efficiently without wasting money. They expect a high conversion rate, quality clicks, and a lower CPC. This doesn’t happen overnight but can be achieved gradually from studying certain data.  This data is a vital part of the decision making, it tells what to and what not to do; it gives a clear picture of whether the current strategy is working well or not.

Google ads search term report is a source of data that gives insights on improving the way your ads trigger without eating up your money. It helps in getting a better picture of what people want and then help in channelising the ad group based on what exactly our potential customers are interested in.

It aids in developing insights on what keyword to bid on and the amount of money to bid.  A marketer can develop a robust marketing strategy based on this vital source of information and create ads that people love.

In case you’re in need of professional help to effectively create, monitor and optimise Google Ads campaigns for your business, our experts are glad to help you out! 

So what is Google search term report? 

Google ads search term report is a list of search terms that triggered your ad. It shows the performance metrics of the search terms that matched your keywords. It gives a better picture of what your customers are searching for, insights on what keywords you missed out, and what keywords you should avoid.

The purpose is not to target many people, but to target the right people. Let alone the ideal audience see what you’ve got to offer and not simply waste money for one that is not a potential conversion. At the end of the day, what every digital marketer expects is a higher click-through-rate and in turn, a better quality score. 

What are search terms and keywords? How do they differ?

Search terms are the words/phrases that the customer searches for, while keywords are the words/phrases that the advertiser uses for targeting their potential customer. 

Why is optimizing keywords relevant and how to do it?

The Google ads search report displays the keywords that are already added and the ones that aren’t added in the ad group. From this list, deciding what to keep and what not to keep in the keyword list is important. 

And why is it so important? It is necessary to ensure that the ad isn’t simply consuming money instead of providing quality clicks and conversions. An increased traffic quality boosts the chances of conversion and in turn, the ROI. This is a continuous process and it can never be compromised because it’s your own money at stake.

The search term report can be filtered to view the search terms of a particular keyword or a set of keywords belonging to a specific ad group.

Always add the keywords that you missed out

The search term report can be a treasure trove to discover new keywords that you can make use of. When the search term report displays the terms that are relevant and with good CTR and conversions, it can be included in your keyword list. 

For example, you have an online pastry shop, and if there is a search term “buy red velvet pastry” that’s performing well and is missing from your keyword list, you can proceed to add it to the list right away.

Don’t forget about the match types 

Match types are a crucial part of this whole process. The match types, namely Exact match, Phrase match, Broad match, and its close variants have their own relevance.

Looking at the search term report, you can get insights on the match types you have used and whether it is working for you or not. For instance, you can learn if your broad match keywords are wasting your money and decide whether you need to be using phrase match or exact match types instead. 

For example, your broad match keyword “spa near me” can trigger ads for the search terms “salon near me” or “facial near me” which can be irrelevant to you. So, you may change the match type of this keyword to phrase match or an exact match.

How does Negative keyword help? 

Negative keyword excludes your Ad from triggering a particular search term that is irrelevant to your product/service. A lot of money can be saved if the negative keywords can be identified and added to the negative keyword list; it improves the CTR and quality score.

For example, you have an online clothing line for women and kids, and if your ad group gets triggered for ‘Men’s T-shirt’, it can be added to the negative keyword list.

It is important to remember that a term shouldn’t be simply added to a negative keyword list just because its bidding is high.

One important thing to remember is never to use a broad match type for a negative keyword.

Key points to remember

• Keep in mind that stuffing too many keywords is not a good practice. 
• Concentrate more on the columns that help you in making the bidding decision, i.e, Avg CPC, cost, etc. 
• Keep a check on the keywords that yielded a good CTR, and then ensure that these keywords are relevant to your ad group.
• If you have a budget restriction, it would be better to use an exact match so that money is efficiently spent.  
• It is a good practice to analyze the Google ads search term report at least two weeks after the campaign launch.
• Once you feel that the keywords are optimized, analyzing the report needs to be done only monthly.
• Long-tail search terms that perform well can be found from the report and be used as keywords.
• If a keyword offers high conversion rates, you can plan on increasing its bid if needed. 
• Writing a blog, meta description or even while buying a domain name requires the use of a high performing search term such as keywords, which can easily be found from the report.

Summing this up

Most importantly, it is the search terms that you are paying for and not the keywords. It is your job to make sure that your keywords are performing the best possible way, bringing in the ROI you need.

Analyzing the search term report of your Google Ads campaign is a must to locate areas where your campaign is falling short and where you can improve.

The search term report yields data about the keywords that you’re missing out, the match types that best suit your ad, and can help you create a list of negative keywords that you should be avoiding. Refining and creating a list of negative terms leads to profitability; the one that generates mere clicks and not sales can be easily identified. 

Campaign optimization is a continuous process and you need to always be on the lookout for your search terms, refine your keywords, add negative keywords and make the necessary changes in bidding to make the most out of your campaign budget.

If you need help with optimising your existing Google Ads campaigns or are looking to create killer ad campaigns that convert, our team of experts are here to help.