Your Google Ads campaign can target the service you sell and still attract people looking for jobs, training, parts or a different kind of supplier. Before increasing the budget, check what people actually searched for when your ads appeared.
The search terms report and negative keywords give you a practical way to investigate that mismatch. The useful question is whether a search could lead to work you want, then how narrowly to exclude it if it cannot.
This guide covers Google Search campaigns. The examples are illustrative, and the review process is a suggested working method rather than a promised saving.
Understand the difference between a keyword and a search term
A keyword is a targeting input in your account. A search term is the query someone used. They do not have to be identical.
Google’s current matching guidance says broad match can reach related searches, phrase match considers the meaning of your keyword, and exact match can cover the same meaning or intent. Exact match therefore does not mean that only the literal words in square brackets can trigger an ad.
Changing everything to exact match is not a substitute for checking the searches you attract. Start with the business fit of the query, rather than assuming a particular match type makes it worthwhile.
Build a useful view of the search terms report
Open Campaigns, then Insights and reports, then Search terms. Google’s report documentation explains the Keyword column, which identifies the matching keyword where applicable, and the Match type column. The latter describes the relationship between the query and keyword; it can differ from the match type you set for the keyword.
For a first review, select one Search campaign and add the following context:
- Campaign and ad group, so you can see which offer attracted the search.
- Keyword and match type, to investigate how the match happened.
- Clicks and cost, to put commercially significant patterns first.
- Conversions and the conversion actions included, so you know what the reported result represents.
Choose a period that suits your buying cycle and traffic level. A week can help spot an obvious mismatch quickly; a low-volume campaign may need a longer view for performance decisions. Record the dates rather than comparing two convenient screenshots.
Separate unsuitable searches from searches that need investigation
Define what the campaign is selling before judging its traffic: the service, intended customer, delivery area and work you can profitably accept. Then review queries against those boundaries.
For an illustrative company advertising commercial boiler repairs, the decisions might look like this:
| Search | Business question | Possible action |
|---|---|---|
| boiler engineer jobs | Is this campaign recruiting staff? | If it only sells repairs, exclude the recruitment intent. |
| boiler repair course | Does the business sell training? | If it does not, consider an exclusion. |
| domestic boiler repair | Does another part of the business provide domestic repairs? | Keep any exclusion specific to the commercial campaign. |
| commercial boiler repair cost | Could this be a suitable buyer checking prices? | Review the offer and enquiry outcomes before excluding it. |
A clearly different requirement can justify an exclusion without waiting for more clicks. A relevant query with no recorded conversion needs a different investigation. Check whether the person could buy, whether the page answers their question and whether the measurement is dependable.
Our guide to Google Ads landing pages covers the page part of that decision. An exclusion will not repair a confusing offer or a broken enquiry route.
Choose the negative match type deliberately
Negative match types have different rules from positive targeting. Google’s negative keyword guidance sets out these Search rules:
| Type | Example notation | Searches excluded |
|---|---|---|
| Broad | repair course | Queries containing both words, in either order, including queries with extra words. |
| Phrase | "repair course" | Queries containing those words in that order, including queries with extra words. |
| Exact | [repair course] | That query in that order, without extra words. |
Check variants separately
Google says negatives account for casing and misspellings automatically. Synonyms and singular or plural forms still need separate consideration. Excluding course does not automatically exclude courses or training.
When you add a negative from the search terms report, Google defaults it to negative exact match in Search campaigns. Its instructions for adding exclusions explain how to change that. Check the resulting match type rather than assuming one selected row blocks the whole unwanted theme.
Check what a broad exclusion could accidentally remove
Before excluding a short word, write down a plausible valuable search that contains it. That simple check exposes exclusions that are wider than the business decision.
For example, excluding free might conflict with an offer of a free survey or quote. Excluding cost would be hard to justify for a business that welcomes buyers comparing prices. Excluding jobs may be sensible for a repair campaign, but unsuitable for a recruitment campaign in the same account.
Use the smallest exclusion that expresses what you have decided. If only one particular query is unsuitable, consider an exact negative. If a whole phrase identifies something you never sell, a phrase negative may fit. Broader exclusions need confidence that all the searches they remove are outside your intended offer.
Apply exclusions at the right level
The search terms report lets you add negatives to an ad group, campaign or negative keyword list. Choose the scope alongside the wording and match type.
A useful starting approach is to keep a service-specific exclusion within its campaign, and use an ad-group exclusion when the mismatch concerns only that ad group. Before doing either, check whether another offer in the account should still receive the search.
Keep shared lists deliberate
Google’s shared-list guidance confirms that an edit applies to every campaign sharing that list. Name lists by their purpose, record which campaigns use them and check that each exclusion remains appropriate as services change.
Account-level negatives automatically apply across eligible search and shopping inventory in relevant campaign types. Reserve that scope for searches you genuinely want excluded throughout the account. A service you do not promote in one campaign may still be valuable elsewhere.
Check AI Max when the keyword does not explain the search
If your Search campaign uses AI Max search term matching, the keyword list alone may not explain its reach. Google’s current AI Max documentation describes expansion through broad match and keywordless technology, informed by keywords, creatives and URLs. Its reporting includes an AI Max match type and a source column.
Use that context when investigating a mismatch. Check the matching source and the destination page before deciding which control needs attention. Keep this separate from a general verdict that automation is good or bad: identify the actual search and the business requirement it represents.
Allow for searches the report does not reveal
The individual-query report is not a complete list of every search. Some low-activity queries are omitted for privacy reasons. Google’s search terms insights guidance explains that its categories include searches not exposed individually, with some grouped into other terms.
Use those themes to guide further investigation, but do not invent the hidden queries or treat a category label as a ready-made negative. Keep any estimate of irrelevant spend limited to the rows you actually reviewed, with that limitation stated.
Judge the review by the enquiries you want
Keep a short change log: the observed query, why it was unsuitable, the negative added, its match type, where it applies and the review date. This gives the next person enough context to reverse an exclusion if the offer changes.
For ambiguous performance decisions, look beyond a zero in the conversions column. Check that tracking works, allow for your normal time to enquiry and examine whether the business received suitable requests. Our guide to connecting enquiries with sales explains how to distinguish recorded actions from commercial outcomes.
Start with a weekly review while a new or changed campaign is attracting unfamiliar searches, then adjust the cadence to its spend and stability. At each review:
- Inspect the highest-cost visible queries and recurring mismatches.
- Separate definite exclusions from relevant searches needing investigation.
- Check valuable searches against proposed negative wording.
- Confirm match type, scope and shared-list attachments.
- Record changes and review suitable enquiries alongside spend.
A lower click count is not enough to prove an improvement. Look for whether the campaign is attracting the work you want at a cost the business can support, and keep the uncertainty visible when the sample is small.
If your Google Ads campaign brings enquiries for the wrong services, talk to BuzzBoost Digital about reviewing search terms, exclusions and the offers those searches reach.
Featured image: AI-generated editorial artwork, not a photograph of a real BuzzBoost office, client or result.
