Why it happens
Nobody reads it
Nobody reads it
The report is not on the default overview, so many accounts run for months without anyone opening it, and waste builds up.
Looking at too short a window
Seven days hides the slow, steady leaks. Thirty to ninety days shows which terms really cost money without converting.
Reading it at the wrong level
Viewing one ad group misses the same junk term spending in five others. Review it at account or campaign level first.
How to fix it, step by step
Open it
In Google Ads, go to Campaigns, then Insights and reports, then Search terms. Set the date range to the last 30 or 90 days.
Add the useful columns
Add Match type, Conversions, Cost per conversion and the Keyword column, so you see which keyword triggered each term.
Exclude the junk
Sort by cost. Tick irrelevant terms with spend and no conversions, then choose Add as negative keyword at campaign level.
Promote the winners
Tick terms that convert and are not yet keywords, then choose Add as keyword, usually as exact or phrase match.
Steps checked against Google Ads Help: About the search terms report; Google Ads Help: About negative keywords.
Sprites fixes this
Or let Sprites fix it
Sprites reads your search terms report for you, totals the waste, and stages the new keywords and negatives in one card.
What Sprites does
- Reads every search term behind your Search campaigns with cost, clicks and conversions.
- Totals zero-conversion spend across campaigns and keywords, deduplicated, so the waste figure is one number.
- Adds converting terms as keywords and junk terms as campaign or ad-group negatives.
- You approve every change before it goes live.
What it doesn't do
- It sees only the terms Google shows. Low-volume searches hidden for privacy stay hidden.
- It does not read Performance Max search terms.
Questions
Where is the search terms report in Google Ads?
Go to Campaigns, then Insights and reports, then Search terms.
What is the difference between a keyword and a search term?
A keyword is what you bid on. A search term is what someone actually typed. One keyword can trigger hundreds of different search terms.
Why are some search terms missing from the report?
Google leaves out searches that too few people made, to protect privacy. Their cost still counts in your totals.
How often should I check the search terms report?
Weekly for new campaigns and anything on broad match, monthly for stable accounts.
Is there a search terms report for Microsoft Ads?
Yes. Microsoft Advertising has its own search terms report with the same idea and slightly different menus.
Let Sprites fix it
Connect the account. Sprites finds the cause, stages the change and waits for your approval.