Audit Google Ads search terms for relevance
Use reported search terms to identify intent mismatches and landing-page opportunities before changing targeting.
A search-terms audit asks whether the searches behind an ad fit the offer. Begin with relevance, then cost and outcomes. A term that has not converted yet can still be relevant; a clearly unrelated term deserves investigation even when its current spend is small.
Work through it, step by step.
Choose a meaningful complete window and the relevant search campaigns. Keep reported search terms separate from the keywords that were configured in the account.
Classify terms by intent: relevant, ambiguous or unrelated. Record the landing page and the reason for each judgement so another person can review it.
Prioritise terms with meaningful spend or a clear mismatch. For relevant terms, inspect whether the ad and destination actually answer the searcher’s question.
Make it concrete.
A business selling enterprise software receives searches for a free student download. The mismatch concerns eligibility and offer, so the review should consider messaging and targeting rather than only the term’s CTR.
What to keep in mind.
The reported table may not contain every search. Absence from the report is not proof that a query never triggered activity.
Your next useful step.
Prepare a reviewed list of possible targeting or content changes. Liftaven does not add negative keywords or edit campaigns; apply approved changes in Google Ads.
Working with this in Liftaven
Work within one ad account, currency and reporting window at a time. Keep the conversion action definition beside the result. Liftaven supports read-only Google Ads analysis; campaign edits, experiments and measurement configuration belong in Google Ads or your tagging tools.
Explore the workspaceSources & context
This note combines original practical guidance with the reporting references below. Follow provider documentation for current definitions and availability; suggested investigations are not guarantees of a particular result.