The search terms report is the Google Ads report that lists the actual user searches your ads were shown for, not the keywords you bid on. The reading flow has three steps: sort by cost, flag queries that spend without converting or do not match your intent, then turn the findings into negative keywords. This guide walks through the 2026 version of the report, what no longer appears in it, and how to find waste systematically.
The topic matters more in 2026 than ever. Broad match is now Google's default recommendation and AI Max for Search has widened keywordless matching further. Your ads serve on a far broader range of queries than they did two years ago, and the search terms report is the only audit surface that shows which part of that range you are paying for. Advertisers who skip it leave part of their budget on searches they never see.
What is the search terms report?
The search terms report is the Google Ads view that lists every visible search your ads appeared for, with impressions, clicks, cost and conversions on each row. A keyword is the targeting instruction you give Google; a search term is what the user actually typed. The report makes the distance between those two layers visible and proves how your targeting behaves in the wild.
That distance depends on match type: with exact match, query and keyword nearly overlap; with broad match, a single keyword can trigger hundreds of different queries. In practice, a broad match campaign accumulates hundreds of search terms that never existed in your keyword list. We covered how match types set this distance in our broad match vs exact match guide; here we focus on the report itself.
Where do you find it and which columns matter?
The report lives under Campaigns, in the Insights and reports menu, as Search terms. What determines the quality of your reading is column selection: instead of the default view, add cost, conversions, cost per conversion and match type. Without those four columns the report is just a traffic list; with them it becomes a waste map.
- In Google Ads, open the Campaigns section in the left menu.
- Under Insights and reports, open the Search terms view.
- Extend the date range to at least 30 days, or 90 days for low-volume accounts.
- Customize columns: add conversions, cost per conversion and match type.
- Sort the table by cost, descending; run your first scan on the 50 most expensive rows.
- Cost: the main axis of any waste scan; the most expensive queries always get reviewed first.
- Conversions and cost per conversion: the only proof of whether a query makes you money.
- Match type: shows which keyword triggered the query and how; this is where broad match leakage gets caught.
- Added/Excluded: whether the query is already a keyword or a negative; prevents duplicate work.
- CTR: a relevance signal; queries with many impressions and few clicks clash with your ad copy.
Why can't you see every query?
Since 2020 Google has withheld low-volume queries behind privacy thresholds, rolling them into an aggregate row. Industry analyses suggest that, depending on the account, typically 20-40% of clicks and spend can sit in that invisible zone. The report is a sample, not a census. That does not make it useless, but it changes your strategy: work the visible part deeply and track the size of the hidden share separately.
How do you find waste signals?
A waste scan is the intersection of two filters: high cost and zero (or very expensive) conversions. The practical threshold: if a query has spent 1-2x your target CPA with no conversions, it is an action candidate. As you read the expensive rows, classify each query by intent; in example scenarios, waste usually resolves into five recurring patterns.
- Irrelevant queries: searches unrelated to what you sell; in a representative scenario, the largest slice of waste.
- Informational searches: 'what is', 'how to' patterns; no purchase intent, they burn clicks without converting.
- Competitor brand searches: unless part of a deliberate strategy, conversion rates are typically very low.
- Job and career searches: queries with 'jobs', 'salary', 'internship'; they bring applicants, not customers.
- Wrong product or segment: a different model, size or region of what you sell; clicks that never convert.
Row-by-row reading alone is not enough, because waste often hides in patterns rather than single queries. N-gram analysis splits the report into 1-2 word groups and sums cost and conversions per group: a word like 'diy', 'used' or 'cheap' can look harmless on any single row while quietly accumulating hundreds in zero-conversion spend across the group. Export the report as CSV, split into word groups and pivot by group; the native interface does not offer that view.
Want a second pair of eyes on the report?
Ads Sensor scans your search terms on a schedule, ranks waste candidates with reasoning, and applies your approved negative suggestions in seconds.
How do findings become negative keywords?
The flow has four steps: find the wasteful query, classify its intent, pick the level where the negative belongs, and add it with the right match type. The critical call is step two: 'will never convert' and 'has not converted yet' are different things, and judging a query on a single click can cut off traffic that would have won later. The details of match types, list structures and exceptions live in our negative keyword strategy guide; here the report side of the flow is what matters.
After applying negatives, watch the effect: note the change in impressions, cost and conversion rate over the following two weeks. The goal is not to shrink traffic but to shift the same budget toward higher-intent queries. After a well-executed negative pass, the typical expectation is a modest drop in impressions with an improved cost per conversion.
How often should you review the report?
Cadence depends on volatility: for new campaigns and broad match structures, weekly scanning is the practical minimum, because the query mix drifts fastest in the first weeks. Mature, stable accounts do fine with a quick scan every two weeks plus a deep n-gram analysis monthly. Put it on a fixed schedule; in accounts where reading the report is left to inspiration, waste accumulates quietly.
- First 2 weeks (new campaign): two scans per week; most broad match leakage happens in this window.
- Accounts using broad match or DSA: a regular weekly scan; dynamic targeting keeps reshuffling the query mix.
- Mature, stable account: a quick scan every two weeks, a deep n-gram analysis monthly.
- Season transitions: one extra scan before and after each peak; the query mix shifts with the season.
Why does the report matter more in the AI Max and Performance Max era?
As keywordless matching expands, the control surface shifts to the report: queries matched by AI Max for Search land in the search terms report and get audited there. On the Performance Max side visibility is still limited; we covered those controls separately in our Performance Max guide. Reading the report on a schedule is how you keep drawing the boundary of what you delegate to automation. If you would rather not run that loop by hand, join the Ads Sensor beta: the platform monitors your search terms continuously, turns waste candidates into reasoned negative suggestions and applies them with your approval.
The search terms report is the only document that shows the gap between what you told Google and what Google actually did; every week you skip it, that gap closes out of your budget.Ads Sensor Team