The search terms report — what you are actually paying for
When an account is losing money and nobody can say on what, the answer is almost always in this one report. It is the only place that records what people actually typed before clicking your ad.
A search term is not a keyword
Google separates them explicitly: "A search term is a word or set of words a person enters when searching on Google or one of our Search Network sites. A keyword is a word or set of words that Google Ads advertisers can add to a given ad group so that your ads are targeting the right audience." (Google Ads Help)
You book keywords. You pay for search terms. In between sits Google's interpretation of your match types — and that is where the clicks nobody ordered come from.
What the report shows
"Use the search terms report to know how your ads performed when triggered by actual searches within the Search Network" (Google Ads Help)
So not only which queries triggered ads, but how each one performed — clicks, cost and conversions per actual query.
What to do with it
Google names the direct action: "If a search term isn't relevant enough to the products or services you offer, add it as a negative keyword" — and the reason: "By adding irrelevant search terms as negative keywords, you can prevent your ad from showing to people who are looking for something you don't sell." (Google Ads Help)
| What you see in the report | What to do |
|---|---|
| Relevant, converts | Add it as its own keyword |
| Not what you sell | Add as a negative keyword |
| Costs money, never converts | Check: wrong intent, or wrong landing page? |
| Job hunting, DIY guides, definitions | Exclude — research intent, not buying intent |
One catch when excluding: negative keywords do not cover close variants. Excluding the plural does not exclude the singular — details in the negative keywords guide.
How often to look
Weekly at first, then every two to four weeks. With one caveat that rarely gets mentioned: adding or removing keywords counts as a composition change and can restart the learning period. So batch your changes rather than tinkering with single terms daily.
What the report does not answer
It shows what you pay for — not why nobody clicks or enquires. That is ad quality (no clicks) and measurement (conversion tracking).