Mine the Google Ads search terms report
The search terms report read both ways: winners worth promoting to keywords, and junk worth negativing.
IntentThe real queries behind the keywords: converters to add, junk to negative.
- 2
- Steps
- 2
- Tools
- 2
- Rules
- 2
- Failure modes
When to use it
Use it when
- Weekly on active search accounts.
- After adding broad match.
Do not use it when
- Right after launch: terms need clicks before the report says anything.
What it needs first
Required
Preconditions
- The account is ticked in the dashboard, confirmed via list_accounts.
Inputs
window- Analysis window.Default: last 30 days.
Procedure
In order. Every tool named is one the gateway ships, and links to its reference.
Pull search terms with spend, clicks, conversions.
Bucket: converting terms absent from keywords, junk above the click floor, the rest.
Decision rules
The observable condition, what it lets you conclude, and what takes the conclusion back.
When
A term converts repeatedly and no keyword matches it exactly
Conclude
Promotion candidate: add as exact, with its own bid.
When
A term is off-intent regardless of clicks
Conclude
Negative it on theme and name the keyword that let it in.
Evidence every conclusion must carry
- Every figure carries its account, metric and window.
- Anything below a readable sample size is reported as unjudged, not as zero.
Where the agent stops
- The readout changes nothing. Any change it motivates goes through Safe Writes: preview, human confirmation, then apply.
How it goes wrong quietly
The cases where the analysis is wrong and still looks right. Read them before trusting a number.
- Google omits low-volume terms: the report is a floor, not the whole truth.
- Conversion lag makes this week's terms look unconverting.
What the answer contains
- 01Readout
- The figures, with windows and accounts named.
- 02Flags
- What deserves a deeper skill or a human decision.