To read a Google Ads search terms report in 15 minutes, filter to the last seven days, sort by cost and review each meaningful query for relevance, intent, negative coverage and landing page fit. Then choose one action for each term: add a negative, improve the page, add or refine a keyword, or leave it alone until there is enough evidence.
The goal is not to inspect every row. It is to find the terms that deserve a decision, make that decision consistently and leave a clear record for the next review.
The 15-minute weekly routine
Open the relevant account in Google Ads, go to Insights and reports, then select Search terms. Confirm the campaign scope and date range before you start. If you manage several account types, use the same review window each week unless a launch or account change calls for a closer look.
A practical time split looks like this:
| Time | Action | Output |
|---|---|---|
| First 2 minutes | Set the date range, confirm filters and sort by cost | A short list of terms that materially affected the period |
| Next 5 minutes | Mark irrelevant and low-intent searches | Negative candidates with the correct scope |
| Next 4 minutes | Check close variants and keyword coverage | Terms to add, refine or monitor |
| Final 4 minutes | Compare search intent with the ad and landing page | Page, offer and message fixes |
The times are a working limit, not a reason to force a decision. If a query needs a deeper review, assign it to the right follow-up list and keep moving.
Start with cost, then add context
Sorting by cost brings the most consequential terms to the top. Cost alone does not tell you whether a term is good or bad, so read it alongside conversions, conversion value, clicks and the campaign's target.
A high-cost term that produces qualified conversions may need stronger keyword coverage. A high-cost term with clearly irrelevant intent may need a negative. A relevant term with weak results may point to the ad, offer, landing page or conversion measurement.
Do not work down the table forever. Review the meaningful rows first, then scan for obvious patterns among lower-cost terms. Repeated weak queries can matter even when each individual row looks small.
Work from patterns, not isolated frustration
One bad-looking query is not always a rule. Before excluding it, ask whether it represents a category of unwanted traffic or an isolated edge case.
For example, a service campaign may attract searches containing words such as “jobs,” “training” or “free.” If those intents are not part of the offer, the pattern is useful. It may belong in a shared negative keyword list instead of being blocked one variation at a time.
The same logic applies in the other direction. Several relevant searches using the same phrase may show that people describe the service differently from the existing keywords and page copy.
What to look for in each search term
Use four checks for every term that reaches the decision list.
Is the query relevant to what the business sells?
Start with the literal meaning of the query. Could the business reasonably serve this person, in this market, with the offer promoted by the campaign?
An irrelevant query is usually the cleanest negative candidate. Examples include the wrong service, the wrong customer type, an unsupported location or a request for something the business does not provide.
Be careful with broad words that can appear in both good and bad searches. Blocking a single ambiguous word at the wrong scope can remove traffic that another campaign needs. Review the complete query before choosing the negative and its match type.
Does the query show enough intent?
A term can be topically relevant but poorly matched to the campaign's job. An informational query may belong in a research campaign but not in a campaign built around immediate service inquiries.
Look at the words that qualify intent. Searches for definitions, templates, jobs, training or free resources often represent a different next step from searches asking for a provider, quote, appointment or product.
Low intent does not automatically mean bad traffic. The decision depends on the campaign, offer and expected path to conversion. If you are investigating low quality traffic in Google Ads, separate truly irrelevant searches from relevant searches that entered the wrong campaign.
Did a close variant slip past an existing negative?
When a familiar unwanted term returns, do not immediately add another negative. First find out why the existing one did not catch it.
Check:
- The negative's match type.
- Singular and plural forms.
- Spelling and word order.
- Whether the negative sits at the account, list, campaign or ad group level.
- Whether the negative keyword list is attached to the campaign.
- Whether the search happened before the negative was added.
Negative keywords do not behave like positive keyword matching. Do not assume Google will block synonyms or every close variation of a negative. The wording and scope must cover what you intend without reaching into useful traffic.
Does the landing page answer the query?
Some terms look weak because the destination page does not finish the job started by the keyword and ad.
Read the query, then look at the page as if you searched it yourself. Is the service named clearly? Does the page answer the specific need behind the query? Is the offer current? Does the page support the promise made in the ad?
If the query is relevant and the business wants that visitor, a negative may be the wrong fix. The better action may be a tighter ad group, revised copy, a more specific landing page or clearer information on the existing page.
This decision deserves its own review, separate from the negative list.
Choose the right action
Every reviewed term should end in one of four buckets. This prevents the negative list from becoming the default answer to every disappointing row.
| What you find | Likely action | Check before acting |
|---|---|---|
| The term is irrelevant and should not be served by this campaign or account | Add a negative keyword | Match type, scope and possible overlap with useful searches |
| The term is relevant, but the page does not answer its intent | Improve or change the landing page | Ad promise, offer, page content and conversion path |
| The term is relevant and deserves more deliberate coverage | Add or refine a keyword | Existing keyword overlap, campaign structure and ad relevance |
| The term is ambiguous or lacks enough evidence | Monitor it | Add a note or label so it receives a consistent decision later |
When to add a negative
Add a negative when you can state a durable reason the business does not want the query. Write that reason before adding it.
A useful note is specific: “Exclude employment intent from service campaigns.” A weak note merely repeats that the term performed badly during one period.
Choose the narrowest sensible scope. An ad group negative may solve a routing problem. A campaign negative may protect a specific offer. An account-level negative keyword list may fit a category the business never wants.
When to fix the page
Fix the page when the searcher is qualified but the destination does not answer the request. The term has exposed a gap in the buying path.
Check whether the page needs:
- A clearer statement of the service.
- Copy that matches the language used in the search.
- An answer to a common qualification question.
- A current offer or deadline.
- A more direct route to the intended conversion.
Do not bury this finding in the search terms notes. Route it to the person responsible for the page and record which queries revealed the gap.
When to add or refine a keyword
Add a keyword when a relevant search represents demand you want to manage deliberately. That can give you clearer control over bids, ads, landing pages and reporting.
Before adding it, search the account for existing coverage. The problem may be routing rather than absence. A useful term reaching the wrong ad group may need a structural fix and a negative in the original location.
Example: one term, four possible decisions
Say a campaign has a $50 target CPA and a search appears for a specialized version of the advertised service.
This is an illustrative example. The same query can produce different actions depending on the business:
- If the business does not offer that specialized service, add a carefully scoped negative.
- If the business offers it but the landing page never mentions it, improve the page or send the traffic to a better one.
- If the business wants more of that demand and the term is not represented in the account, add or refine a keyword.
- If the service fit is unclear and there is not enough evidence, monitor the term instead of forcing a decision.
The query does not determine the action by itself. Business fit, campaign intent and page coverage determine the action.
Keep the process consistent across many accounts
The challenge across a portfolio is not knowing what a negative keyword is. It is applying the same reasoning without flattening the differences between clients.
Create a short operating note for each account with:
- The services, products and locations that are in scope.
- The intents the business never wants.
- Shared negative lists and where they apply.
- Campaign-specific exceptions.
- Target CPA or ROAS by campaign where relevant.
- Current offers and expiration dates.
- Landing pages approved for each intent.
- The owner of page and copy follow-ups.
Use the same four decision buckets in every account, but do not copy every negative everywhere. A term excluded for one client may be valuable for another. Even within one account, a negative that belongs in one campaign may damage another.
For agencies with several media buyers, a common review format also makes handoffs cleaner. The next buyer can see what changed, why it changed and whether the decision was account-wide or campaign-specific. That is especially useful when managing paid media across an agency portfolio.
Keep a simple record with the term, action, scope, reason and date. During the next weekly review, check whether recurring patterns need a broader account rule, a page change or a campaign structure decision.
Frequently asked questions
How do you find the search terms report in Google Ads?
Open the relevant campaign or account in Google Ads, go to Insights and reports, then select Search terms. Check the date range and filters before reviewing the queries.
How often should you review search terms?
A weekly review is a practical baseline for an active account. Increase the frequency when launching new campaigns, changing match types or seeing an unexpected shift in traffic quality.
When should a search term become a negative keyword?
Add a negative when the query represents traffic the business does not want and is unlikely to become relevant. Confirm the intended scope and match type before excluding it.
Why do search terms show up that match my negatives?
Negative keywords do not automatically block every close variant, synonym or reordered phrase. Also check the negative's match type, spelling, scope, application date and whether its list is attached to the campaign.
What does it mean when the landing page is the problem, not the keyword?
The query may be relevant, but the page does not clearly answer its intent or support the promise in the ad. In that case, excluding the term would hide a page or message problem instead of solving it.
What Ads Arsenal does for this problem today
Ads Arsenal reads each account against your targets throughout the day and ranks proposed changes in one Insights queue. Its insights include search terms slipping past an existing negative, low-intent terms and landing pages that cover too little of an ad group's search intent. Each recommendation includes the reasoning and account numbers behind it in plain English, and nothing changes until a person approves it.
It also reads landing pages and offers, so copy suggestions match what the business sells, and it remembers when an offer expires. Ads Arsenal is in a free design-partner beta for agencies and in-house teams running real spend on Google, Meta and TikTok, with Search Arsenal on the same login.
Become a design partner: free while Ads Arsenal is in beta.