Glossary · search-ads
What is Search terms report?
The search terms report lists the actual words people typed before they saw and clicked your Google ad — as opposed to the keywords you chose to bid on. It is the most honest screen in the account, because it shows what your match types really let in. You use it in two directions: searches that convert become new exact or phrase keywords, and searches that waste money become negative keywords. Google hides terms that only a handful of people searched, so the report never accounts for every click, but it covers enough to steer the account. Anyone running search ads and not reading this report weekly is guessing.
What does Search terms report mean for a business in Pakistan?
The report is where Roman Urdu shows up. Owners are often surprised to find their best-converting searches are phrases like 'sasta sofa set Islamabad' or 'dentist near me open sunday', which nobody had thought to bid on, alongside spelling variants of local sector names such as 'G 11', 'G-11' and 'g11'.
A worked example
Suppose a physiotherapy clinic in I-8 bids on 'physiotherapist Islamabad'. The search terms report for March shows 'home physiotherapy for elderly Islamabad' brought four booking enquiries at low cost, while 'physiotherapy jobs in Islamabad' took twenty clicks and none. The first becomes its own keyword with a matching ad; the second becomes a negative.
Terms that go with this one
These come up in the same conversations and are worth reading together.
- Negative keywordnegative keywordA negative keyword tells Google Ads which searches must never trigger your ad. If you sell new furniture, adding 'used', 'second hand' and 'olx' as…
- Keyword match typesmatch typeMatch types decide how closely a person's search has to resemble your keyword before your ad can show. Google Ads has three. Exact match, written in…
- KeywordkeywordA keyword is the actual phrase a person types into a search box — one word or eight, it does not matter, the word keyword just means the query. It…
- Search intentsearch intentSearch intent is what the person actually wants when they type a phrase — information, a specific site, a comparison, or to buy right now. Two…
- ConversionconversionA conversion is one completed action that you have decided counts as a result. Nothing about it is automatic — you pick the action, and the platform…
Search terms report — quick answers
What does Search terms report mean?
The search terms report lists the actual words people typed before they saw and clicked your Google ad — as opposed to the keywords you chose to bid on. It is the most honest screen in the account, because it shows what your match types really let in.
Search terms report ko Urdu mein kya kehte hain?
سرچ ٹرمز رپورٹ — though in practice almost everyone in Pakistan says "search terms report". The report is where Roman Urdu shows up.
Why does Search terms report matter for a business in Pakistan?
The report is where Roman Urdu shows up. Owners are often surprised to find their best-converting searches are phrases like 'sasta sofa set Islamabad' or 'dentist near me open sunday', which nobody had thought to bid on, alongside spelling variants of local sector names such as 'G 11', 'G-11' and 'g11'.
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