What Is Search Terms Report?
Also written as search term report, search queries report, STR.
Definition
The search terms report is the list of actual queries people typed before they saw your ad. It is not the keyword list you picked. For an ecommerce store on Google Ads, this report shows which searches spend money, which ones buy, and which ones you should block.
Written by Christopher Krassnig, Founder & CEO of ZenoX Media. Written by the ZenoX team from the accounts we run. Definitions are general; the numbers in examples are maths, not client results.
Search Terms Report, Explained
Google does not show every query. Terms with very few searches are hidden for privacy, so a slice of spend stays invisible. Read what you are given anyway. Sort by cost. Look at zero-sale terms first. Those are the leaks you can actually close.
The usual mistake is only watching keywords, or opening the report once at launch and never again. New junk shows up every week. Another mistake is adding a converting term as a negative because it looks messy. People also skip Shopping and Performance Max search terms because they did not pick keywords there.
Use the report two ways. Block the waste with negative keywords. Put the words that already convert back into product titles, so the next match is cleaner. That is the loop that keeps Shopping spend on buyer queries. Do this even on feed-only Performance Max. You still get search terms there, just not every query.
How We Use It at ZenoX
We read search terms as part of running 200+ ecom accounts. Junk goes on the negative list. Converting words go back into titles on the supplemental feed. That loop is how we keep feed-only Performance Max pointed at real buyer searches, not at research and freebie queries.
Questions People Ask About Search Terms Report
What Is the Google Ads Search Terms Report?
It is the list of real searches that triggered your ads, not the keywords you chose. Sort it by cost and look at terms with clicks and no sales. Those are the first negatives to add. Google hides some low-volume queries for privacy, so you will never see 100 percent of spend.
How Often Should I Check Search Terms on a Shopping Account?
Once a week at a minimum. New junk appears constantly, and waiting two weeks means paying for the same waste twice. Check Search, Shopping, and Performance Max. Block the junk with negatives. Feed the converting words back into product titles so Google matches cleaner queries next time.
Related terms
- Negative KeywordA negative keyword is a word or phrase you tell Google never to match your ad against.
- Product Title OptimizationProduct title optimization is rewriting Shopping titles so they match the words buyers actually type.
- Performance MaxPerformance Max is a Google Ads campaign type that can show your products on Shopping, Search, YouTube, Display, Discover and more from one budget.
Go deeper
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We work with brands serious about scale. If that is you, let's talk.
