Search Terms Report Audit Checklist: What to Review Every Week in Google Ads and Microsoft Ads

Overview

If your paid search account is active, your search terms report is never finished. New queries appear as match behavior shifts, budgets move, seasonality changes, and users phrase the same intent in different ways. That makes the report one of the highest-value recurring reviews in PPC campaign management.

The purpose of a search terms report audit is not just to hunt for irrelevant queries. A good audit also helps you:

• Cut wasted spend from low-intent or off-target searches
• Find negative keyword patterns before they scale
• Spot converting queries that deserve exact or phrase coverage
• Improve ad group structure through cleaner keyword clustering
• Align ad copy and landing pages to real user language
• Support better bid optimization and budget pacing

In practical terms, your weekly review should answer five questions:

1. Which queries should be blocked?
2. Which queries should be added as keywords?
3. Which themes need a new ad group, campaign, or landing page?
4. Which queries suggest tracking or attribution issues?
5. Which patterns require broader strategic changes, not just one-off edits?

This applies to both the Google Ads search terms report and Microsoft Ads search terms data. The interfaces differ, but the audit logic is similar. Start with enough date range to avoid reacting to noise, then layer in recent performance to catch fast-moving problems. For many accounts, that means reviewing the last 7 days alongside the last 30 days.

If your account is small, you may review every query manually. If it is larger, sort by spend, impressions, clicks, conversions, conversion value, and cost per conversion first. A keyword management tool or campaign optimization software can speed the workflow, but the core judgment still comes from understanding intent.

Use this simple weekly framework:

• Step 1: Pull search term data by campaign and ad group
• Step 2: Review highest-spend non-converting queries
• Step 3: Review converting queries without direct keyword coverage
• Step 4: Group repeated themes into negatives or expansion ideas
• Step 5: Document what changed and what needs follow-up next week

That final step matters more than many teams realize. A weekly PPC checklist only works if edits are traceable. Keep a simple changelog that records the date, the query theme, the action taken, and the expected reason. This becomes essential when performance moves later and you need context.

Checklist by scenario

Use the following checklist as your recurring query mining routine. You do not need every item every week, but you should review the scenarios that fit your account volume and risk level.

1. When spend is rising but conversions are flat

This is the most urgent audit scenario because it usually points to relevance drift.

• Sort search terms by cost descending
• Identify queries with spend but no conversions in both 7-day and 30-day windows
• Look for modifiers that signal low intent, such as research, jobs, free, cheap, DIY, definition, support, or unrelated product variants
• Check whether broad match or loose match coverage is pulling in adjacent traffic
• Add negatives at the right level: ad group, campaign, or shared list
• Review whether poor queries are concentrated in one campaign type, match type, or geography

Do not add negatives one by one if the pattern is broader. If ten queries include the same irrelevant modifier, solve the theme, not just the examples.

2. When click-through rate is healthy but conversion rate is weak

This often means the query looks relevant enough to earn the click but does not match the landing page promise or purchase intent.

• Review search terms with good click volume but weak post-click results
• Compare query language with your ad copy and landing page headline
• Separate informational intent from commercial intent
• Check whether the query belongs in content-led campaigns rather than direct-response campaigns
• Flag terms that may need a dedicated landing page instead of immediate exclusion

If the query intent is good but the page fit is poor, the answer may be CRO rather than negatives. For landing page fixes, see Landing Page CRO for PPC: Above-the-Fold Fixes That Improve Conversion Rate.

3. When conversions are coming in from unexpected queries

This is where the search terms report becomes a growth tool, not just a cleanup tool.

• Sort by conversions or conversion value descending
• Find queries that converted well but are not present as exact or phrase keywords
• Promote strong performers into their own keywords for clearer bidding and reporting
• Create tighter ad groups around recurring themes
• Write ad copy using the same language users actually searched
• Consider whether the new query theme deserves dedicated budget

This is where a PPC keyword optimizer mindset helps. The goal is not merely to add more keywords. It is to improve control: cleaner match, better message alignment, and more useful keyword performance analytics.

If you need help organizing promoted terms into tighter structures, a comparison of keyword clustering tools can help you build more coherent ad groups.

4. When broad match campaigns are expanding quickly

Broad match can surface valuable demand, but it can also accelerate irrelevant spend if left unattended.

• Isolate search terms from campaigns using broader matching
• Review query themes, not just individual rows
• Check whether automation is bidding into low-fit traffic due to weak conversion signals
• Look for repeated educational or support-driven searches that should be excluded
• Protect brand, competitor, and generic campaigns with separate negative logic where needed

Weekly review is especially important here because query drift can happen faster than monthly reporting cycles reveal.

5. When branded and non-branded traffic are mixing

Mixed intent makes reporting less useful and can distort your sense of incremental performance.

• Filter for brand variants, misspellings, executive names, product line names, and navigational terms
• Confirm whether branded queries are isolated into the correct campaigns
• Use negatives to prevent non-brand campaigns from absorbing branded traffic when that matters for reporting
• Check whether competitor campaigns are pulling your own brand traffic or vice versa

If account structure is masking where demand is truly coming from, your search term review should trigger structural changes, not just term-level edits.

6. When local intent matters

Local modifiers often reveal whether a searcher wants a nearby provider, a regional service, or something else entirely.

• Scan for city names, neighborhood names, near me language, and local qualifiers
• Separate service area queries from national or informational queries
• Check whether location-specific terms perform differently enough to merit dedicated campaigns or landing pages
• Exclude locations you do not serve

This is especially useful for lead generation accounts where wasted spend often comes from geography mismatch rather than keyword mismatch alone.

7. When seasonality or promotions are changing demand

Search behavior shifts before many dashboards clearly show it.

• Compare this week’s query themes against the previous period
• Look for rising modifiers tied to urgency, discounts, bundles, deadlines, or gift intent
• Identify outdated negatives that may now block relevant seasonal demand
• Promote temporary winners into focused campaigns where appropriate

Before planning seasonal pushes, pair this audit with forecasting work in Google Keyword Planner Guide for PPC.

8. When call leads or offline conversions matter

Some queries look weak in-platform but become valuable once offline outcomes are considered.

• Review search terms against qualified lead or call outcome data where available
• Check whether call-heavy queries are being undervalued by form-only reporting
• Separate high-click, low-form terms from genuinely poor-fit traffic
• Confirm that call tracking and offline conversion imports are mapped correctly

If attribution is incomplete, search term decisions can become too aggressive. Related reading: Best Call Tracking Software for PPC and Attribution Models in Google Ads Explained.

What to double-check

Before you act on your weekly audit, pause on these review points. They prevent many of the costly mistakes that happen when teams optimize too quickly.

Match type context

Do not evaluate a query in isolation from the keyword that matched to it. A query may be acceptable under one ad group strategy and unhelpful under another. Ask:

• Which keyword triggered this search term?
• Was the match intentional?
• Would promotion to exact match improve control?
• Would a negative block too much adjacent traffic?

Conversion lag

Some accounts close slowly. A search term with no conversion in the last 7 days may still produce qualified leads later. If your sales cycle is long, compare short-term and longer-term windows before adding exclusions.

Attribution quality

If UTM tagging, call tracking, or CRM syncing is inconsistent, search term decisions may be built on incomplete outcomes. Review your tracking setup periodically with a structured UTM builder process and stronger first-party measurement practices from First-Party Data for Paid Ads.

Negative keyword level

A good negative at the wrong level becomes a bad negative. Before applying one, ask:

• Should this term be blocked in one ad group only?
• Should it be excluded from the whole campaign?
• Should it live in a shared negative list?
• Could it block a valuable longer-tail query elsewhere?

Query theme versus single query

One odd search term may not matter. A repeated theme does. When the same modifier, category, or intent pattern keeps showing up, solve the root issue through structure, negative lists, or revised keyword coverage.

Landing page fit

If a term is commercially relevant but underperforming, check the page before removing it. A weak headline, poor form placement, or mismatched offer can make a good query look bad. For ad-to-page alignment, pair your audit with work on Responsive Search Ads Best Practices.

Common mistakes

Most search term audits fail for operational reasons, not because the report lacks insight. These are the mistakes to avoid.

Overreacting to low-volume data

Not every non-converting query deserves a negative. Low-sample decisions create noise and can cut off useful discovery. Use thresholds that fit your account size.

Adding too many exact negatives

Exact negatives can feel safe, but they create maintenance overhead and often miss the larger pattern. If the issue is a modifier or intent category, use broader logic where appropriate.

Ignoring winners because the task feels defensive

Many teams treat the search terms report as a cleanup file. That misses expansion opportunities. Your weekly PPC checklist should include both cost control and demand discovery.

Reviewing queries without business context

A query can look irrelevant to a PPC manager but be useful to sales, support, or product teams. If possible, keep a shared note on terms that indicate high-value verticals, product confusion, or new feature demand.

Making edits without documentation

Untracked negative additions are hard to unwind later. Keep a log with the query pattern, date, change type, and rationale. This is especially important for cross-platform ad platform management.

Separating query review from the rest of optimization

Search term analysis should influence bidding, ad copy, landing pages, and budget allocation. It is not a standalone maintenance task. If query quality is worsening in one campaign, budget pacing and bid automation may need review too. A broader guide to tool selection can help here: Best PPC Management Software.

Treating Google Ads and Microsoft Ads as identical

The same search theme may behave differently by platform because audience mix and volume differ. Use the same audit framework, but compare performance before copying every negative or expansion decision across both. For a wider platform view, see Google Ads vs Microsoft Ads.

When to revisit

This checklist is designed for weekly use, but there are moments when you should run a deeper audit immediately. Revisit your search term process when any of the following happen:

• A new campaign launches
• Broad match usage expands
• Conversion volume drops suddenly
• Spend increases faster than pipeline or revenue
• Seasonal promotions or product launches begin
• Landing pages, offers, or messaging change
• Tracking methods or attribution rules change
• You reorganize ad groups, campaigns, or negative lists

Before seasonal planning cycles, review the last 60 to 90 days to identify query themes that return every year. When workflows or tools change, validate that your saved reports, exports, and changelogs still support the same review cadence.

To make this practical, end every audit with a short action list:

1. Add now: negatives and keyword promotions with clear evidence
2. Watch next week: ambiguous themes that need more data
3. Escalate: issues tied to landing pages, tracking, or campaign structure
4. Document: what changed, where, and why

A useful rule is this: if a query pattern appears often enough to affect spend, messaging, or reporting, it deserves a repeatable response. That response might be a negative keyword, a new ad group, a landing page update, stronger attribution, or a refined bidding approach. The value of the weekly audit is that it turns scattered query data into a disciplined optimization habit.

Return to this checklist whenever search behavior shifts, account structure changes, or platform automation starts uncovering new demand. Done consistently, a search terms report audit becomes one of the most reliable routines in paid search analytics.