— PROCESSING METHODOLOGY — Entity Tracking: 1. Search Terms Report -> A report showing the actual queries used by people that triggered an ad or document hit. 2. Search Term -> The actual string of words entered into a search bar by a user. 3. Keyword -> A word or phrase an advertiser selects to target specific searches. 4. Search Terms Insights -> A dashboard that groups queries into themes to identify customer interest trends. 5. Close Variants -> Variations of keywords, such as misspellings or plurals, that share the same meaning as the original term. 6. Persistent Highlight Sets -> A feature in document review tools that uses search reports to mark specific phrases in the interface.
A search terms report is a data visualization or list that shows the actual phrases people entered into a search engine to trigger a specific result. In digital advertising, it reveals which queries caused your ads to appear. In legal and data management contexts, it identifies documents containing specific keywords.
What is a Search Terms Report?
The search terms report identifies the gap between what you target and what users actually type. While advertisers choose keywords to reach an audience, the search term is the literal string of words used by the consumer.
In platforms like Google Ads, this report lists terms used by a significant number of people that resulted in impressions and clicks. In professional document review settings, like Relativity, [these reports allow users to identify documents containing specific terms important to a case] (Relativity).
Why Search Terms Report matters
This report is essential for optimizing budget and improving content relevance. It provides the following benefits:
- Identifies negative keywords: You can spot irrelevant searches that are wasting money and exclude them from future auctions.
- Discovers new opportunities: You can find high-performing terms that you are not currently targeting as keywords.
- Refines content strategy: The data helps you create landing pages and ad copy that align with the specific language customers use.
- Measures economic activity: Beyond marketing, [search data is used to provide weekly GDP estimates through machine learning] (OECD).
How Search Terms Report works
The report functions differently depending on the platform, but it generally relies on matching logic and privacy thresholds.
Google Ads Logic
The report displays how a user's search relates to your selected keywords. [To maintain data privacy, Google omits search terms that do not have enough query activity] (Google Ads Support).
The "Match type" column explains this relationship: * Exact match: The term exactly matches your keyword or is a close variant. * Phrase match: The term contains your keyword or its meaning. * Broad match: The term is a variation related to your keyword.
Document Review Logic
In professional database environments, users can generate a report listing the number of "hits" for multiple terms within a document. This can be used to create highlight sets that mark specific phrases in the user interface for investigators.
Best practices
Follow these steps to improve campaign or database performance:
- Check for "Close Variants": Review the Match type column to see if misspellings or plurals are triggering your ads. Close variants share the same intent but may perform differently.
- Add the "Keyword" column: This column is hidden by default in many views. Enable it to see exactly which of your targeted keywords matched to a specific user search.
- Review Search Partners: If you use the Search Network, remember that [search terms on partner sites may appear longer or be formatted differently] (Google Ads Support).
- Use Smart Bidding: Once you understand your search terms, use automated bidding to set bids for individual auctions based on contextual signals.
- Set Permissions: In collaborative environments, limit who can create new reports while allowing team members to edit existing lists to maintain data integrity.
Common mistakes
Mistake: Treating keywords and search terms as the same thing. Fix: Remember that search terms are user-driven, while keywords are advertiser-driven.
Mistake: Ignoring terms with no "Keyword" associated. Fix: If you use Dynamic Search Ads or Shopping, the keyword field will be empty. These automatically return "Exact" in the match type field.
Mistake: Expecting all conversion types to appear. Fix: Note that store visits and store sales conversions do not show up in the search terms report.
Mistake: Only looking for new keywords. Fix: Use the report specifically to find "negatives." For example, if you sell eyeglasses but see traffic for "wine glasses," you must add "wine" as a negative keyword.
Examples
Scenario: Flower Retailer
David is looking for a gift. He types "red roses" into Google. Because an online florist uses the keyword "roses," their ad appears. * Search Term: red roses * Keyword: roses * Action: The florist notices "red roses" has a high conversion rate and adds it as a specific exact match keyword to control the bid.
Scenario: Irrelevant Traffic
A company selling professional software sees the search term "free software download" in their report. * Action: They add "free" and "download" as negative keywords to avoid paying for clicks from users who do not want to buy.
Search Terms Report vs Search Terms Insights
| Feature | Search Terms Report | Search Terms Insights |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Performance metrics for literal queries. | Analysis of broader themes and subthemes. |
| Data Basis | Significant query activity only. | [Theme labels are generated from the last 56 days of data] (Google Ads Support). |
| Privacy | Omits low-volume queries. | Aggregates low-volume queries into "other queries." |
| Conversions | Shows conversions per term. | May show slight differences due to conversion lag. |
FAQ
Why are some search terms missing from my report? To protect user privacy, platforms omit queries that do not reach a specific volume of activity. These are often grouped together in other insight views but hidden in the detailed search terms report.
What are Close Variants? Close variants are search terms that have the same meaning as your keyword. These include stem words (like "floor" and "flooring"), abbreviations, accents, plurals, or misspellings. Negative keywords automatically account for misspellings and casing.
Can I use this report for Performance Max campaigns? Yes. While Performance Max relies heavily on automation, the search terms report helps you understand which terms actually lead to conversions to give you a deeper understanding of performance.
How do I find the report in Google Ads? Select "Campaigns" in the left panel, then go to the "Insights and reports" sub-menu and click "Search terms."
