If you only look at one report in Google Ads, make it the search terms report. It shows the actual searches that triggered your ads, which is where most wasted spend hides.
Where to find it
In Google Ads, go to Insights and reports → Search terms, or open a campaign and choose Keywords → Search terms. Set the date range to the last 30 to 90 days so you’re working with enough data.
What to look for
- Wrong intent: jobs, training, “how to”, DIY, free, cheap, parts or supply searches
- Wrong service: services you don’t offer that sound close to ones you do
- Wrong place: city names outside your service area
- Competitor or brand names you didn’t mean to bid on
- Spend with no conversions: sort by cost and start at the top
Turning findings into negative keywords
Select the bad terms and add them as negatives at the campaign or ad group level. For words that are never relevant to your business, like “jobs” or “salary”, create a shared negative keyword list and apply it to every campaign.
Choose the right match type for negatives
Negative broad blocks searches containing all the words in any order. Negative phrase blocks the exact sequence. Negative exact blocks only that exact search. Use broad negatives for single irrelevant words, and phrase or exact when a word is sometimes relevant.
How often to check
Weekly for active accounts. New irrelevant searches show up constantly, especially with broad match and automated bidding. This is one of the first things I check every week for clients.
Need help?
If your search terms report is long and you don’t know where to start, book a free audit and we’ll go through it together.