Search ads · also called Search query report, SQR
Search terms report
The search terms report shows an advertiser the actual searches that triggered its ads, alongside the keywords and match types that matched them.
A keyword is what the advertiser chose. A search term is what the person actually searched. The search terms report in Google Ads lists the real terms that led to the ad being shown, with the keyword that matched and the keyword match type. Google notes that it shows terms used by a significant number of people; very low-volume queries are left out for privacy.
Advertisers use it to find wasted spend, add negative keywords and discover new keywords worth targeting.
It is the report where an advertiser meets search arbitrage, often without knowing the word. Queries that come from related-search clicks on partner sites can look different from typed searches: tidy, repeated phrases with high volume. Combined with the site-level search partner placement reporting that Google made available in August 2025, an advertiser can now see both what the query was and which partner site it came from.
For arbitrageurs the mirror image is keyword-level reporting from the feed: which terms earned revenue on their side. Terms that look good in the publisher's report but bad in the advertiser's will not stay profitable.
Related terms
Negative keyword
A negative keyword is a word or phrase an advertiser adds to stop its ad showing on searches that contain it.
Keyword match type
A keyword match type tells the ad platform how closely a person's search must match an advertiser's keyword before the ad is allowed to show.
Keyword-level reporting
Keyword-level reporting breaks down clicks and revenue by the individual keyword or related search term the visitor clicked on the landing page.
Advertiser opt-out (search partners / parked domains)
Advertiser opt-out is an advertiser's ability to stop its search ads appearing on partner sites, and in 2025 to 2026 on parked domains, outside the search engine itself.
Placement exclusion
A placement exclusion is an advertiser's instruction that its ads must not appear on a named website, app or category of sites.
Keyword
A keyword is the word or phrase that triggers search ads, either typed by a person or passed to the search feed by a web page.
Sources: Google Ads Help: About the search terms report, Google Ads Help: Search partner network (SPN) announcements