The search terms report helps you discover the search terms that triggered your Performance Max ads, providing insights into user search behavior and its impact on your campaigns. Although conversion data is key, the search terms report helps identify which search terms resulted in conversions for a deeper understanding of performance. Learn more About the search terms report
Benefits
The search terms report offers several benefits for Performance Max campaigns:
- Improved understanding of search terms: Gain insights into the actual search terms that trigger your ads. This includes terms that don’t necessarily lead to conversions.
- Enhanced negative keyword strategy: Identify irrelevant search terms. Add them as negative keywords to prevent your ads from showing for those searches.
- Refined assets: Discover new relevant search terms that are performing well and use this information to create new text assets geared towards your highest-performing search terms.
Note: Store visits and store sales conversions are not compatible with the search terms report.
Understand the data
Prioritize conversion data over clicks and impressions when you evaluate performance max campaign performance.
Since these campaigns are automated to drive conversions across various platforms, including YouTube, some conversions may occur without direct clicks or impressions. This can lead to high click-through rates (CTRs) or cost-per-thousand impressions (CPMs) that don’t reflect the true value of the campaign.
Manage your search terms
Use your search terms report to refine your keyword strategy and improve campaign performance.
Exclude unwanted search terms
The search terms report lets you block specific search terms from triggering your ads if you feel they aren’t relevant or otherwise desired for your brand. There are several types of inventory where users might search to trigger an ad that are shown in the Performance Max search terms report:
- Search and Shopping inventory: To stop ads from serving for a specific keyword on Search and Shopping inventory, apply negative keywords at the account or campaign level.
- Display and Video inventory: To stop ads from serving for a specific keyword on display and Video inventory, use excluded content keywords to prevent your ads from showing on Display and Video inventory alongside irrelevant content.
Why is an existing negative keyword or brand exclusion showing up in my search terms report?
If you find an existing term in the search terms report that you’ve entered as a negative keyword at the campaign or account level or as a brand exclusion, you may need to also add these as excluded content keywords to prevent them from serving on Display and Video inventory as well. Negative keywords in Performance Max campaigns only apply to Search and Shopping inventory.