How to Mine Search Terms in Google Ads: A Step-by-Step Guide

Search term mining is one of the highest-leverage activities in Google Ads optimization. When you dig into the actual queries triggering your ads, you find two things: search terms worth adding as keywords, and irrelevant queries wasting your budget that need to be blocked with negatives.

Most advertisers check their Search Terms Report occasionally and call it done. The ones getting the most out of their campaigns treat it as a regular, structured workflow.

This guide walks you through a practical, repeatable process for mining search terms in Google Ads—from pulling the right data to acting on what you find. Whether you're managing one account or dozens, the steps are the same. You'll come away with a clear process for identifying high-intent queries to promote, spotting patterns in wasted spend, and building a negative keyword list that actually protects your budget. No spreadsheet gymnastics required.

One quick terminology note before we dive in, because this matters throughout: search terms are the actual queries users typed into Google. Keywords are the terms you bid on in your campaigns. They're not the same thing, and the distinction shapes every decision in this process.

Step 1: Pull Your Search Terms Report the Right Way

Before you can mine anything, you need to be looking at the right data. In Google Ads, navigate to your campaign, then find Search terms in the left-hand navigation. This is separate from your Keywords tab—an important distinction. The Keywords tab shows what you're bidding on. The Search Terms Report shows what users actually typed before clicking your ad.

The first thing to set is your date range. For most accounts, 30 to 90 days gives you enough data to spot meaningful patterns without surfacing queries that are no longer relevant. If you're working with a lower-volume account, extend the window—you need enough data to make confident decisions, and a week's worth of impressions rarely provides that.

Next, apply a spend or impressions filter. You want to focus on search terms that have actually consumed budget. Zero-spend terms can be reviewed separately, but your first pass should be on what's costing you money right now. This keeps your review focused and prevents you from optimizing things that don't matter yet.

Then use the column selector to add the columns that actually tell you something useful: Conversions, Cost per conversion, and Conversion value. These are available if you're running conversion tracking, which you should be. Without them, you're sorting by clicks and spend alone—which tells you what's getting attention, but not what's driving results.

A note on workflow: resist the instinct to immediately export everything into a spreadsheet. For most accounts, you can action the majority of decisions directly from the Search Terms Report interface. Exporting makes sense for large accounts or when you need to share findings with a client, but it adds a step that often slows things down without adding value.

Once your filters and columns are set, you're ready to start sorting through what you've got.

Step 2: Sort and Filter to Surface What Matters

Raw search term data is noisy. The goal of this step is to cut through that noise and focus your attention on the terms that deserve a decision.

Start by sorting by Cost, descending. The highest-spend queries are where budget decisions have the most immediate impact. If a search term has consumed a meaningful portion of your budget without generating conversions, that's a problem worth solving first.

After reviewing high-spend terms, sort by Clicks with zero or low conversions. High click volume with no conversion signal is a strong indicator of a mismatch between the query and your offer. These are your primary negative keyword candidates.

If you're running broad match or phrase match campaigns, filter by match type. These match types generate the widest variety of search terms and tend to produce the most irrelevant traffic. Broad match in particular can surface queries that are only loosely related to your keywords, so it deserves closer scrutiny during any mining session.

As you review, train yourself to look for query categories rather than individual terms. If you see multiple queries containing words like "free," "DIY," "how to," or competitor brand names, those are patterns worth addressing systematically. Blocking one instance of "free software download" is fine; recognizing that "free" as a modifier consistently attracts the wrong audience means you can add it as a broad match negative and block the entire category at once.

One important caution: don't rush to negative-match a term just because it hasn't converted yet. A query with two clicks and no conversion history doesn't have enough data to draw conclusions from. Flag it, keep an eye on it, and make the call once you have more signal. Acting too quickly on thin data can accidentally block terms that would have converted with more exposure.

By the end of this step, you should have two working lists: terms that look irrelevant and need to be blocked, and terms that look relevant and deserve closer evaluation.

Step 3: Identify High-Intent Terms Worth Adding as Keywords

Here's where search term mining pays off on the positive side. While most people associate this process with finding negatives, some of your best keyword opportunities are hiding in your Search Terms Report right now.

Look for search terms that have driven conversions but aren't already captured as exact match keywords in your account. When a broad or phrase match keyword is triggering a high-converting query, you're letting Google control the match. Adding that specific query as an exact match keyword gives you direct control over bids and ad copy for that term, which can improve both efficiency and Quality Score over time.

The criteria for promoting a search term to a keyword:

It closely matches your offer. The query should align with what your landing page delivers. If someone searches for "project management software for small teams" and that's exactly what you sell, that's a strong candidate.

It has shown conversion intent. Conversions are the clearest signal, but strong click-through rate combined with time-on-site or other engagement signals can also indicate intent worth capturing.

It isn't already an exact match keyword. Check your Keywords tab before adding. If the term is already there as exact match, you don't need to duplicate it. If it's only covered by a broad or phrase match keyword, adding it as exact match gives you more control.

When you identify good candidates, group them by theme or intent. Terms with clear purchase signals—words like "buy," "pricing," "near me," or "get a quote"—often deserve their own ad group with dedicated copy and a landing page that matches the intent directly. Mixing high-intent purchase queries with informational queries in the same ad group dilutes your ability to write relevant ads for either.

One thing to be clear about: adding a search term as a keyword doesn't automatically remove it from broad or phrase match targeting. If your broad match keyword continues to trigger that query, both the broad match keyword and your new exact match keyword will be eligible. You may need to adjust bids or restructure ad groups to ensure the right keyword wins the auction for that query. Plan for that before you add.

Step 4: Build Your Negative Keyword List from Irrelevant Queries

This is the defensive half of search term mining, and it's just as important as promoting good terms. Every irrelevant query you block is budget redirected toward queries that actually convert.

In Google Ads, you can add negative keywords directly from the Search Terms Report. Check the box next to an irrelevant term, then select the option to add it as a negative keyword. You'll be prompted to choose the level and match type before confirming.

Choosing the right match type for negatives matters. Exact match negatives block only that specific query. If you add [free project management software] as an exact match negative, your ad won't show for that exact query, but it may still show for "free project management tool" or "best free PM software." Broad match negatives, on the other hand, block any query containing that word or phrase—useful for obvious junk terms like "free" or "jobs," but apply them carefully. A broad match negative on a common word can accidentally block legitimate traffic if that word appears in queries you do want to show for. According to Google Ads Help documentation, negative broad match keywords prevent your ad from showing when all the words in your negative keyword appear in the search query, regardless of order.

Choosing the right level is equally important. Campaign-level negatives apply across all ad groups in that campaign. Ad group-level negatives are more surgical, blocking a term only within a specific ad group. For terms that are irrelevant to your entire offer—competitor names you don't want to bid on, or category-level exclusions—use campaign level. For terms that are only irrelevant in a specific ad group context, use ad group level.

If you manage multiple campaigns, shared negative keyword lists are worth setting up. In Google Ads, these are available under Tools and Settings, then Shared Library, then Negative keyword lists. You build the list once and apply it to multiple campaigns, which saves time and keeps your exclusions consistent across accounts. This is particularly useful for brand protection terms, competitor names, or category exclusions that apply everywhere.

Finally, document what you block and why. A simple log—even a basic notes file—of your negative keyword decisions gives you context when you're auditing an account months later and helps you avoid accidentally re-adding a term you already excluded for good reason.

Step 5: Apply Match Types Strategically to New Keywords

When you promote a mined search term to a keyword, the match type you assign determines how broadly Google will match it going forward. This decision shapes the quality of traffic you'll see from that keyword, so it's worth thinking through rather than defaulting to whatever Google suggests.

Exact match gives you the tightest control. Your ad shows only for that specific query or very close variants (Google does apply some close variant matching even with exact match). Use this for high-converting, high-confidence terms where you know the intent and want precise control over bids and ad copy. If a search term has driven multiple conversions and closely matches your offer, exact match is usually the right call.

Phrase match allows your ad to show for queries that include your keyword in sequence, with additional words before or after it. It's a reasonable middle ground for terms that have shown intent but where you want some flexibility to capture related queries. For example, a phrase match keyword for "project management software" would also match "best project management software for teams" or "affordable project management software."

Broad match is the most expansive option and the one to approach with caution for newly mined keywords. Broad match can quickly expand into irrelevant territory, which defeats the purpose of mining in the first place. If you add a mined term as broad match without a strong negative keyword list in place, you may find yourself back at square one—generating a new wave of irrelevant queries from a keyword that started as a specific, high-intent term.

After adding new keywords with their match types, plan to check back on them within a week or two. Pull the search terms those new keywords are generating and confirm they're triggering relevant queries. If a phrase match keyword is already surfacing junk terms, add those as negatives early before they consume significant budget.

Step 6: Turn Search Term Mining into a Recurring Workflow

Everything covered in the previous steps is only useful if you do it consistently. One-time mining doesn't stick. Google's matching behavior evolves, new queries emerge as language and search trends shift, and changes to your campaigns—new keywords, adjusted bids, updated landing pages—can change what triggers your ads. A mining session from three months ago doesn't reflect what's happening in your account today.

The right cadence depends on your account's activity level. For campaigns with meaningful spend, weekly reviews make sense. You'll catch problems before they compound and identify opportunities while they're still fresh. For lower-spend or more stable campaigns, bi-weekly or monthly reviews are often sufficient.

Build a repeatable checklist so the process is consistent every time you run it:

1. Set your date range and apply spend filters

2. Sort by cost descending, then by clicks with low conversions

3. Identify negative keyword candidates and add them at the appropriate level with the right match type

4. Identify high-intent search terms and promote them to keywords with deliberate match types

5. Log all changes with a brief note on the reasoning

6. Schedule your next review before you close the session

The same process every time reduces errors, speeds up the work, and makes it easier to hand off to a colleague or train a new team member.

For agencies or anyone managing multiple accounts, the friction of exporting data, working in spreadsheets, and re-importing changes adds up quickly. Tools that work directly inside the Google Ads interface—like Keywordme—let you action search terms without leaving the report. You can add negatives, promote terms to keywords, and apply match types in a few clicks, right from the Search Terms Report, without switching tabs or touching a spreadsheet.

Track the impact of your mining sessions over time. Watch for decreasing irrelevant impressions, improving click-through rate, and lower cost per conversion as signals that your negative keyword strategy is compounding. These improvements tend to be gradual rather than dramatic, but they're durable—each mining session builds on the last.

Putting It All Together

Search term mining isn't complicated, but it does require consistency. Pull your data with the right filters, sort by what's costing you money, promote high-intent queries to proper keywords, and block the irrelevant ones with negatives. Repeat that process on a regular schedule and your campaigns will gradually become more precise and more efficient.

Here's a quick checklist to keep the process on track:

Set an appropriate date range before pulling data. Thirty to ninety days works for most accounts; go wider for low-volume campaigns.

Sort by spend and conversions to prioritize. Start with what's costing you the most before moving to lower-spend terms.

Add converting search terms as exact or phrase match keywords. Give high-intent queries their own keyword so you control bids and ad copy directly.

Negative-match irrelevant queries at the right level. Campaign level for broad exclusions; ad group level for surgical blocks. Choose match types carefully.

Choose match types deliberately for new keywords. Default to exact match for high-confidence terms; use phrase match where you want measured flexibility.

Schedule recurring reviews. Weekly for active campaigns, bi-weekly or monthly for stable ones.

If you want to speed up the process, Start your free 7-day trial of Keywordme and do all of this directly inside Google Ads. No spreadsheets, no tab-switching—just remove junk search terms, build high-intent keyword lists, and apply match types instantly, right where you're already working. After the trial, it's just $12 per month per user.