What is the Search Terms Report? How to find ecommerce insights

Definition: The Search Terms Query Report (SQR), is a reporting function in both the Google DoubleClick and Google AdWords online advertising systems. It produces a full list of every query entered by a user which then resulted in an advertiser's ad being displayed and/or clicked on.

The SQR helps online advertisers understand the effectiveness of individual campaigns, while providing actionable insights into user search behaviors.

Accessing the Search Terms Report

The search terms report is easy to access within the main AdWords dashboard by navigating to Campaigns > Keywords > Search Terms.

The report is updated once every 24 hours and displays results relevant to the past 30 days. It includes a full list of keywords which resulted in clicks on an ad, as well as keywords which resulted in a large number of impressions - even if they did not inspire clicks. Further details on keywords which don't meet these criteria are summed up in a separate section called "other search terms."

This report can be downloaded in standard database formats. Because the report only covers the last 30 days, it's recommended that an online advertiser download them regularly to integrate into their own databases for longitudinal tracking.

Three ways to use the Search Terms Report

The SQR provides several actionable insights into both user behaviors as well as the performance of specific ad campaigns.

Correlation between keyword searches and ad displays: An advertiser can quickly determine which keywords are generating the most impressions and clicks. Likewise, they can also discover which keywords aren't being entered and thus may not be worth bidding on within AdWords\DoubleClick.

Uncover new keywords: Due to the natural-language search processing Google utilizes, ads may be displaying for users even though the user did not enter the exact keyword(s) an advertiser is bidding on. Learning these alternative search terms opens up new possibilities for ad bids.

Create Negative keyword lists: Screen out keywords that convey a lack of intent for your products and trim ad spend in the process. For example, a fruit farm selling organic apples might add "computer" and "PC" to its negative keyword list, to screen out those searching for Apple computers.