Google Ads remains a pillar of modern digital marketing, offering businesses a direct path to high-intent buyers. But even with its potential, many campaigns fail to deliver consistent results because they target the wrong searches. This is where the search terms report becomes essential.
It shows the exact phrases users type before clicking your ads, giving you deeper insights than standard keyword data. When used effectively, it helps you eliminate wasted spend, boost relevance, and achieve stronger ROI.
Here are 5 practical tricks to improve your ROI by using the search terms report the right way.
Trick 1: Turn High-Performing Queries into Exact Keywords
Some search terms in your report will naturally perform better than others. These high-intent phrases are often clearer, more detailed, and closer to what users actually want. By adding them to your keyword list, you increase the chances of matching the right audience again.
How to Apply:
- Identify search terms with high CTR or strong conversions.
- Add them as exact or phrase match keywords.
- Create ad groups around your best-performing keywords.
Pro Tip:
Relevant ads attract quality clicks, and relevant landing pages turn those clicks into customers. When both work together, your entire campaign becomes more efficient and more profitable from start to finish.
Trick 2: Add Negative Keywords to Reduce Unwanted Clicks
Irrelevant clicks are one of the major causes for wasted ad spend. Negative keywords help prevent your ads from showing for terms that don’t match what you provide. This step is very important when using broad or phrase match keywords, where search variation is much wider.
How to Apply:
- Identify irrelevant or non-converting search terms.
- Add them as campaign or ad group negative keywords.
- Monitor and update your list frequently.
Pro Tip:
Your traffic becomes cleaner and more relevant, lowering wasted spend caused by irrelevant clicks. Lead quality improves as your ads reach users who are more likely to convert. Over time, this strengthens campaign efficiency and naturally boosts your ROI.
Want to refine your ad visibility too? Check out our guide to know how to use Google Ads placements.
Trick 3: Use Actual Search Language to Improve Ads and Landing Pages
Users may use different words than what advertisers think they will. The search terms report reveals their natural phrasing, intent, and urgency. By using this language in your ads, you build stronger relevance and connect better with real user intent.
How to Apply:
- Look for high-intent recurring phrases.
- Match user wording in your headlines and descriptions.
- Match your landing page content with frequent search terms.
Pro Tip:
Relevant ads attract higher quality clicks and reduce wasted spend. Landing pages that match user language build trust and boost conversions. Together, this creates a smoother journey that improves overall campaign profitability.
Trick 4: Redirect Budget Towards High Search Terms
Some searches generate high returns consistently, while others attract traffic but not conversions. Redirecting more budget toward high-performing search terms is one of the fastest ways to boost ROI. This helps your strongest keywords get the right priority and spend.
How to Apply:
- Discover top-performing search terms based on conversion data.
- Raise bids for keywords with strong ROAS.
- Reduce spending in terms of poor performance.
Pro Tip:
You direct more spending toward keywords that already perform well, reducing waste. Stronger terms gain better visibility and deliver higher quality conversions. This makes your campaigns more efficient and boosts ROI quickly.
Trick 5: Monitor Regularly and Adapt to Changing Search Behaviour
Search habits change based on trends, seasons, market shifts, and customer preferences. Even a strong campaign can decline without regular optimisation. Monitoring your search terms report helps you catch these shifts early and stay ahead of your competitors.
How to Apply:
- Review the search terms report every other week.
- Export and track data trends over time.
- Update keywords, negatives, bids, and ad copy consistently.
Pro Tip:
Regular optimisation keeps your campaigns aligned with changing user behaviour and search trends. You maintain stronger relevance, reduce wasted spend, and improve performance over time. This creates a steady and more competitive campaign overall.
Why Businesses Must Prioritise Search Term Report
The search terms report shows what users actually search for, not just what you think they are searching for. This makes it one of the most valuable tools inside Google Ads. In many cases, businesses discover hidden opportunities and keyword patterns they never targeted manually.
It helps you with:
- Identifying profitable, high-intent queries
- Spot irrelevant searches draining your budget
- Improve keyword targeting
- Adjust messaging to match the user’s language
- Make smarter decisions backed by real behaviour
With this data, your Google Ads strategy becomes far more precise and effective.
Final Thoughts
Optimising for search behaviour, keyword trends, and campaign performance manually can be overwhelming. By focusing on the Search Terms Report and applying the right strategies, businesses can significantly cut wasted spend, target the right audience, and achieve stronger ROI.
At SEOCompany.me, we help you convert search term data into real results. As experts in Google Ads optimisation, we deliver refined keywords, effective negatives, compelling ads, improved pages, and smarter bids. Our support keeps your campaigns strong and cost-effective, without the need to handle it all alone.
Ready to boost your ROI? Let SEOCompany.me optimise your Google Ads for real growth.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What makes the Search Terms Report more valuable than keyword data?
The Search Terms Report shows the actual phrases people use, not just the keywords you target. This helps you refine targeting, remove irrelevant traffic, and identify profitable keyword opportunities you may have missed.
2. How do I know which search terms are worth adding as keywords?
Look for terms with strong CTR, high relevance, and consistent conversions. If a search term aligns closely with your offer and brings quality traffic, it’s a strong candidate to add as an exact or phrase match keyword.
3. What search terms should be added as negative keywords?
Any term that brings irrelevant, low-quality clicks or never converts should be added as a negative keyword. Reviewing these regularly keeps your campaign focused and prevents wasted spend.
Author
Manoj Negi
