What are search term insights?
Malthe Weibeck Thomsen · Growth Hacker · Senior Pull Specialist · 8 July 2026 · 3 min.
Definition
Search term insights (search terms) are the report of the actual search queries users typed when your ads showed — as opposed to the keywords you chose to bid on.
Also called: Search Term Insights, Search Terms, Search Terms Report
Sådan virker det
Search term insights viser de faktiske søgninger, dine annoncer (også i Performance Max) blev vist på. Det afslører, hvor budgettet spildes på irrelevante søgninger — som så kan skæres fra med negative keywords — og hvilke vindere der bør dyrkes.
01The gap between what you bid on and what you show on
You bid on keywords, but Google matches you on actual searches — and the two are rarely identical, especially with broad match and in Performance Max. Search terms reveal the truth: which searches actually drove the budget, which wasted it, and which unexpected winners are worth cultivating.
The report is the basis for ongoing optimisation: irrelevant searches get cut with negative keywords, while strong searches can get more room. In PMax the visibility is more limited, but insights still give you enough to feed the campaign negative signals where it's wasting.
Frequently asked questions
What do I use search terms for?+
To see which actual searches your ads appeared on, cut irrelevant waste with negative keywords, and find unexpected winners to cultivate. It's one of the most important ongoing optimisation tasks in search advertising.
Can I see search terms in Performance Max?+
Partly. PMax gives more limited visibility than search campaigns, but search term insights show enough to identify waste and feed the campaign negative signals where it's running on irrelevant searches.
Related terms
Glossary
What are negative keywords?
Negative keywords are search terms you exclude from your campaigns, so your ads don't show on searches that contain them.
Read the entry →Glossary
What are match types?
Match types determine how closely a user's search must match your keyword before your ad shows: broad match (widest), phrase match (medium) and exact match (narrowest).
Read the entry →Glossary
What is Performance Max (PMax)?
Performance Max (PMax) is a Google campaign type that runs across all of Google's inventory — Search, Shopping, YouTube, Display, Gmail and Maps — steered by one algorithm toward a single conversion goal.
Read the entry →
Malthe Weibeck Thomsen
Growth Hacker · Senior Pull Specialist at Oaksmond
Pull specialist with 8+ years' experience. Comes from the agency world and has since worked as an independent consultant for several of the country's largest brands.
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