Why it happens
Broad match is reaching far
Broad match is reaching far
Broad match keywords match searches you never typed. Most junk in the report traces back to a handful of broad keywords.
Nobody turns the report into negatives
The report only helps if someone reads it on a schedule. Waste compounds month after month when it sits unread.
Low-volume searches are hidden
Searches without significant clicks roll into Other search terms on the Keywords tab and drop out of the downloaded report, so totals never match the keyword report.
Good searches stay buried
Searches that convert well but are not keywords keep running on broad match at whatever bid that keyword has. The Google Ads search terms report has the same blind spot.
How to fix it, step by step
Open the search terms
In Microsoft Advertising, hover over Campaigns and select Keywords, then Search terms. Set the date range to the last 30 days and sort by spend.
Run the full report
For more than one account or custom columns, select Reporting, then Templates, then Performance, then Search terms. Add Spend and Conversions and select Run or Download.
Exclude the junk
On the Search terms tab, select the bad terms, then Add as negative keywords. Choose campaign or ad group level and the match type, then Apply.
Promote the winners
Select converting searches and choose Add as keywords so they get their own bid and exact or phrase match.
Check for conflicts a day later
Run Reporting, Templates, Performance, Negative keyword conflicts and delete any new negative that blocks a keyword you want.
Steps checked against Microsoft Advertising Help: Run a search term report; Microsoft Advertising Help: Add the words people are searching for as keywords or negative keywords; Microsoft Advertising Help: Understanding negative keyword conflicts and their reports.
Sprites fixes this
Or let Sprites fix it
Sprites reads the search terms report for you and turns it into negatives and new keywords.
What Sprites does
- Runs the search query performance report over any date range and ranks the searches by spend with no conversions.
- Adds the junk searches as phrase or exact negatives on a shared list or a campaign, and you approve every change before it goes live.
- Adds converting searches as keywords in the right ad group, created paused so nothing spends until you turn them on.
What it doesn't do
- It does not see inside Other search terms. Microsoft withholds those searches from every report.
- It does not remove negatives or edit the account-level negative list.
Questions
Where is the search terms report in Microsoft Ads?
Under Campaigns, then Keywords, then Search terms for the quick view, or under Reporting, then Templates, then Performance, then Search terms for the full report.
Why does the search terms report show fewer clicks than my keywords?
It includes only searches with a significant number of clicks. The rest roll into the Other search terms row on the Keywords tab and do not appear in the report at all.
Is the search terms report the same as the search query report?
Yes. Microsoft calls it the search term report in the interface and the search query performance report in the API.
How often should I check search terms?
Weekly on accounts with real spend on broad match, monthly on small exact and phrase accounts.
Is it the same report as in Google Ads?
Same idea, different rules. Google hides low-volume terms for privacy and supports broad negatives; Microsoft rolls them into Other search terms and has phrase and exact negatives only.
Let Sprites fix it
Connect the account. Sprites finds the cause, stages the change and waits for your approval.