Keywords vs search terms
Your keyword is what you bid on. The search term is what the person typed. With broad and phrase match, one keyword can trigger hundreds of different searches. The report shows them, along with clicks, cost and conversions.
How to use it
- SortOrder terms by cost, highest first.
- BlockAdd negatives for searches that never fit.
- PromoteAdd strong converting terms as keywords.
- RepeatCheck again next week for new terms.
What to look for
- Job, training and DIY searches
- Services you do not offer
- Places outside your service area
- Competitor names you do not want to target
- High-converting terms missing from your keywords
What the report does not show
Google hides terms that too few people searched, to protect privacy. Some spend always sits under unshown terms.
Good example. A plumber finds "plumbing apprentice jobs" costing $90 a week. It adds "jobs" and "apprentice" as negatives in two minutes.
Bad example. A plumber never opens the report. Months later, a third of spend still goes to searches for plumbing courses.
Learn how negative keywords work. Our Google Ads management reviews search terms every week.