Google Ads Search Terms Report Checklist

Use this Google Ads Search Terms Report checklist before a recurring review, after a major campaign change, or when handing query analysis to another person. Confirm the question and scope, select a complete date range, keep Keyword and Match type visible, compare queries with qualified outcomes, understand privacy limits, and assign every action or wait decision to an owner. A checked box should represent a verified state, not an assumption.

The regular Search Terms Report exposes searches that triggered ads and met Google’s reporting thresholds. Search Terms Insights groups additional demand into themes and subthemes. They are complementary surfaces, not identical tables. Google’s current Search Terms Report guidance should take precedence when navigation or labels change. For deeper governance, see the Search Terms Report best practices guide.

1. Question, scope, and ownership

Before opening the report, confirm:

[ ] The business question is written: wasted spend, new demand, match behavior, ad or page language, device, network, brand, or conversion quality.
[ ] Account, campaign, or ad-group scope matches the question.
[ ] Brand, non-brand, prospecting, remarketing, product, location, and customer-stage boundaries are not being mixed without a reason.
[ ] The report owner can approve or request keywords, negatives, ads, landing-page, tracking, budget, or structure changes.
[ ] The possible decisions include retain, expand, exclude, revise, repair, restructure, investigate, or wait.
[ ] The next review date and evidence threshold are documented.

Account scope is useful for broad category and universal policy review. Campaign scope protects budget and objective boundaries. Ad-group scope is useful for checking whether the keyword, ad, landing page, and query answer the same intent.

Check the intended surface

[ ] The regular Search Terms Report is being used for exposed queries, Keyword, Match type, and row-level outcomes.
[ ] Search Terms Insights is being used for grouped categories or subthemes, not as a row-level replacement.
[ ] The report surface is named in the review note or export.

2. Date range and data quality

Before sorting rows, confirm:

[ ] The date range includes enough impressions, clicks, and outcomes for the question.
[ ] The period includes the campaign’s normal conversion lag.
[ ] Today’s partial data is not being treated as a final result.
[ ] Time zone, currency, start date, and end date are recorded.
[ ] Promotions, budget changes, bid changes, tracking releases, page outages, seasonality, and policy changes are annotated.
[ ] A before-state and effective date exist when the report is judging a campaign change.

For low-volume or long-cycle campaigns, extend the range or mark the result directional. Do not apply a universal wait period without considering the business’s evidence and response needs.

Validate conversion quality

[ ] The primary conversion is the business outcome the campaign should optimize toward.
[ ] Forms, calls, checkout, consent, tags, imports, values, and deduplication are checked.
[ ] Qualified lead stages, revenue, margin, service area, or customer quality are available when relevant.
[ ] Conversion lag is visible in the review decision.

3. Columns, segments, and filters

Confirm the report shows the fields needed for the current question:

[ ] Search term, Keyword, Match type, Campaign, and Ad group are visible.
[ ] Impressions, clicks, click-through rate, cost, conversions, conversion rate, and value are visible.
[ ] Qualified outcomes, revenue, margin, device, location, network, or landing page are added when they change the decision.
[ ] The Keyword column was tested against a known matching row.
[ ] Match type is interpreted as the query-to-keyword relationship, not assumed to be the keyword’s configured type.
[ ] An unsegmented baseline is saved before filters or segments are applied.

Use one segment at a time:

[ ] Time, conversions, device, or network is used only for a stated question.
[ ] Filters prioritize rows without hiding all low-volume, no-conversion, or high-value evidence.
[ ] Temporary filters are removed or documented before the review closes.
[ ] A named column set or view has an owner and purpose.

4. Query classification and account actions

For each important row or theme, record:

[ ] Search term or theme, matching keyword, campaign, ad group, device, location, and landing page.
[ ] Spend, conversions, value, qualified result, conversion lag, and relevant context.
[ ] Classification: valuable and relevant, relevant but unproven, irrelevant or unserviceable, or ambiguous.
[ ] Action: retain, add coverage, add negative, revise ad, improve page, repair tracking, restructure, investigate, or wait.
[ ] Scope, reason, owner, date, success threshold, and next review.

Before adding a keyword or negative keyword:

[ ] Existing keyword and ad-group coverage was checked.
[ ] The proposed match type or negative is the narrowest safe rule.
[ ] Wanted variants, locations, brands, products, and customer qualifiers were tested.
[ ] Conversion lag and quality were considered.
[ ] The action will be applied from an account workflow that supports it and verified after saving.

Do not turn every successful search into a keyword or every non-converting search into a negative. A new structure is useful when it enables a distinct budget, message, landing page, or policy decision.

5. Privacy and Search Terms Insights

Mark these interpretation checks:

[ ] Low-activity queries omitted from the regular report are understood as a privacy limitation.
[ ] Search Terms Insights is being used for grouped categories and subthemes, not hidden-query reconstruction.
[ ] Report and Insights totals are not expected to reconcile row for row.
[ ] Theme history and conversion-processing differences are recorded when relevant.
[ ] Query exports, dashboards, and shared files have an access and retention rule.

The Search Terms Insights documentation explains how grouped demand can include activity not shown as individual rows. Use the report for exposed query actions and Insights for category context.

6. Full customer-path review

Before finalizing a query decision, confirm:

[ ] The ad’s promise matches the search and landing page.
[ ] The page supports the device, location, language, offer, and customer stage.
[ ] Forms, calls, checkout, consent, analytics, and conversion events work.
[ ] Search Network or partner context is considered when the format or quality differs.
[ ] Business quality, revenue, margin, service area, and capacity are considered where relevant.

A query problem may actually be a page, conversion, offer, location, or tracking problem. Keep the review open until the full path is clear.

7. Review cadence and handoff

At the end of each review:

[ ] The completed view, date range, scope, filters, segments, and export context are saved.
[ ] The owner receives only the query data needed for the decision.
[ ] Every action or wait decision has an owner and due date.
[ ] The next review includes a before-state and expected effect.
[ ] Simultaneous budget, bid, page, tracking, offer, or policy changes are annotated.

Use a cadence based on spend, volume, conversion lag, policy risk, and the team’s ability to apply changes. A frequent report with no owner is less useful than a deliberate review that closes the loop.

Common checklist failures

Do not mark the checklist complete when:

the report scope was inferred from a bookmark rather than verified;
today’s incomplete rows are being used as final performance evidence;
the Keyword or Match type field is missing or misunderstood;
filters hide the baseline or low-volume evidence;
privacy-omitted queries are described as zero demand;
Search Terms Insights is treated as the same table as the regular report;
conversion or lead quality is assumed from a raw event;
a negative is applied without testing the wanted query variants;
a query export has no owner, privacy rule, action, or next review.

If a check is unknown, assign it as an issue rather than passing it by assumption.

Sources and related guides

For setup steps, see how to set up Google Ads Search Terms Report. For troubleshooting, see how to fix Google Ads Search Terms Report. The adz.so product overview describes the current audit entry point and does not imply that adz.so automatically manages Search Terms Report reviews.