If you’re paying for Google Ads, there’s one report I’d read before celebrating more clicks or a lower cost per click: the search terms report.
It shows searches people actually typed before your ads appeared and received clicks. Not just the keywords you picked. The searches that brought people through the door, at least digitally.
That difference can explain why you’re spending $2,000 a month and still wondering why the phone isn’t ringing.
In more than 20 years of working on websites, SEO, and online marketing, I’ve learned that traffic doesn’t tell the whole story. A busy website can still be attracting the wrong people.
For Tennessee business owners, Google Ads search terms deserve a regular spot on the calendar in 2026. Here’s how to read the report, find waste, and avoid blocking searches that could become good customers.
Your Keywords Aren’t the Same as Your Search Terms
A keyword is something you add to your campaign. A search term is what someone actually searches on Google.
Say you advertise residential plumbing services using the keyword “plumber Jackson TN.” Your search terms might include:
emergency plumber near me
water heater replacement Jackson TN
plumbing apprenticeship Jackson
how to fix a leaking faucet yourself
The first two could be paying customers. The others probably aren’t what you intended to buy.
Keywords don’t act like rigid word-for-word instructions. Broad match can reach related searches. Phrase and exact match can also include close variants and searches Google considers to share the relevant meaning or intent.
“Exact match” doesn’t mean “only these exact letters in this exact order.”
That’s why reviewing your keyword list alone won’t tell you where the money went.
Where to Find the Google Ads Search Terms Report
In Google Ads, open the Campaigns area and look for Insights and reports → Search terms. Navigation can change, so use the account’s search feature if you don’t see it.
Start with one Search campaign and a useful date range. The last 30 days is usually a reasonable first look. Low-volume accounts may need a longer window.
Include these columns where available:
Search term
Campaign and ad group
Keyword and match type
Clicks and cost
Conversions and conversion rate
Cost per conversion
Sort by cost first. You want to see the expensive problems before spending half an hour debating a search that cost $1.40.
Know what the report doesn’t show
Google doesn’t disclose every individual search, including some searches withheld because of privacy thresholds. The visible rows may not explain every dollar spent.
Search terms insights can help you understand broader search categories, but those summaries aren’t a substitute for reviewing individual queries.
Campaign type matters, too. Don’t assume Search, Performance Max, and other campaign types all offer identical reporting or controls.
Read for Buying Intent, Not Just Familiar Words
A search can contain your main service and still be a poor fit.
“Roof repair jobs” contains “roof repair.” That doesn’t make it a roofing lead.
I’d separate searches into three practical groups.
1. Searches from likely customers
These describe something you sell, in an area you serve, with a reasonable chance the person wants help.
“AC repair Jackson TN” is a good example for a local HVAC contractor. So is “air conditioner repair near me,” provided your location settings support your actual service area.
2. Searches that clearly don’t fit
Look for job seekers, training courses, wholesale parts, unrelated services, or customers you don’t serve.
A residential electrician who doesn’t handle industrial contracts shouldn’t keep paying for searches about factory electrical maintenance just because they sound close.
3. Searches that need more evidence
“Water heater replacement cost” could come from a serious buyer. So could “best HVAC company Jackson TN.”
Don’t automatically label research searches as junk. People often compare prices and companies before calling. Check lead quality and results before making that decision.
A Jackson, Tennessee Example: Where the Budget Goes
Here’s a hypothetical example, not a client case study.
A Jackson HVAC company spends $2,100 on a Search campaign over a month. It handles residential repairs and replacements, but doesn’t sell parts or offer classes.
The report shows $700 spent across searches about HVAC training, technician employment, and buying replacement parts.
That’s one-third of the budget reaching people who aren’t shopping for the company’s services.
The owner’s first thought might be, “Google Ads doesn’t work.” But the immediate problem is that too much money is buying the wrong visits.
The next steps would be:
Add carefully chosen negative keywords for clearly unwanted searches.
Review which keywords and match types triggered that traffic.
Check geographic settings against the company’s service area.
Verify that conversion tracking measures useful inquiries.
Watch whether spending shifts toward relevant searches and qualified leads.
That doesn’t guarantee the remaining traffic will turn into jobs. The website, pricing, availability, and phone handling still matter. But it addresses an identifiable problem before raising the budget.
Use Negative Keywords Without Blocking Good Customers
Negative keywords tell Google which searches you don’t want your ads appearing for.
Common candidates include employment, education, DIY, and products you don’t sell. But there isn’t one universal negative keyword list that fits every business.
“Free” might be wrong for one advertiser and perfectly reasonable for a contractor offering free estimates.
“Commercial” could be waste for a residential-only cleaner. For another cleaning company, it’s the whole business.
Negative keyword match types behave differently from positive keyword match types. They don’t automatically cover close variants in the same way. You may need separate entries for relevant variations, including singular and plural forms.
Use campaign-level exclusions for campaign-specific problems. Use shared lists for exclusions that genuinely apply across several campaigns.
And keep notes. Three months later, you should know why something was blocked.
Check Geography Before Blaming the Search
A relevant service search can still come from someone outside your working area.
A company serving Jackson may also take jobs in Medina or Humboldt. That doesn’t mean it wants inquiries from every corner of Tennessee.
Review your location options. For many local service companies, targeting people in or regularly in the selected locations is a better starting point than including people who merely show interest in those locations. Location targeting still isn’t perfectly accurate.
The same question comes up around Florence, Alabama, and The Shoals: can you profitably serve the person who clicks?
Check location reporting alongside search terms. A query doesn’t have to include a city name to come from outside your territory.
Good Search Terms Can Still Produce Bad Results
Sometimes the searches look right, but the calls never arrive.
Then I’d look beyond keywords.
Does the ad send visitors to the relevant service page? Does that page load quickly on a phone? Can someone find the phone number without hunting? Does the website explain where you work?
An outdated, slow website can lose someone who was ready to hire you. Sending every ad to a vague homepage makes people do extra work.
Also check what your account counts as a conversion. A button click isn’t necessarily a completed call. A form submission isn’t necessarily a qualified lead.
Where practical, connect booked jobs or qualified leads back to advertising. Otherwise, the account may look successful while the owner sees very little useful business.
A Simple Weekly Review Routine
You don’t need to live inside Google Ads. Start with 20 minutes a week, reviewing more often after launching campaigns or changing targeting.
Sort search terms by cost. Read the biggest spenders first.
Flag obvious mismatches. Separate them from searches that need more data.
Compare conversions with real inquiries. Ask whoever answers the phone.
Make focused changes. Don’t rewrite everything at once.
Record the date and reason. Check what happens afterward.
Don’t judge every search after one click. A costly service may need more time and data. Obvious irrelevance doesn’t require the same patience.
Bottom Line
The Google Ads search terms report helps answer a basic question: are you paying to reach people who might actually hire you?
Read it before increasing your budget. Check intent, geography, exclusions, and whether reported conversions represent useful leads.
If you’re running Google Ads in Tennessee or The Shoals and the numbers don’t match what’s happening in your business, contact me at Lime Group for a Google Ads review. I’ll look at the searches, tracking, targeting, and pages receiving your traffic—not just the click count.
Brian "JR" Williamson
Founder & Marketing Director
Lime Group, LLC
Web Design • SEO • Content Strategy • Online Marketing
(256) 443-2714
(731) 215-5449
Serving Florence, AL • The Shoals • Jackson, TN
