Google Ads Search Terms: The Report Business Owners Should Actually Read
If you’re spending money on Google Ads and not looking at the search terms report, you’re probably paying for a lot of junk.
I’ve seen this over and over. A business owner runs ads, gets some clicks, maybe even a few calls, and thinks things are fine. Then we open the search terms report and find people searching for stuff that has nothing to do with the business. Wrong service. Wrong city. Wrong intent. Sometimes it’s just plain weird.
That report is one of the first places I look when a client tells me, “We’re getting traffic, but no phone calls.” Usually the problem isn’t that Google Ads “doesn’t work.” It’s that the budget is getting soaked up by searches that should’ve never triggered the ad in the first place.
If you’re running Mississippi Google Ads search terms campaigns, this matters even more. Local businesses don’t have room to waste money. Every click counts.
What the search terms report actually shows
The search terms report shows the actual words and phrases people typed into Google before clicking your ad.
That’s different from keywords.
Your keyword might be “roof repair Jackson TN,” but the search term could be “how to patch a roof yourself,” “roof repair jobs,” or “roof repair supplies.” Same general topic. Totally different intent.
That’s why this report is so valuable. It tells you what real people are typing, not what you hoped they were typing.
And if you’ve ever hired a cheap agency that set up your account and disappeared, this is usually where the mess shows up first. The campaign looks active, the numbers move, but the leads don’t.
Why this report matters so much
Most business owners don’t have unlimited ad money. A plumbing company in Florence, a dentist in Muscle Shoals, or a contractor serving The Shoals can’t afford to pay for random clicks all day.
Google Ads can be a great tool, but only if the traffic is close to what you actually sell. If people are searching for free advice, job openings, DIY instructions, or something outside your service area, that’s budget walking out the door.
This is one of the biggest reasons I tell people not to judge Google Ads by clicks alone. Clicks don’t pay the bills. Calls do. Form fills do. Scheduled appointments do.
What bad search terms look like
Wrong intent
This is the big one. A person might search “best way to fix a leak” instead of “emergency plumber near me.” One is a customer. The other might just be reading.
Job seekers
If you’re running ads for a service business, you might get searches like “roofing jobs,” “hvac installer salary,” or “marketing agency near me jobs.” Those clicks eat budget fast.
DIY searches
People love doing things themselves until the project goes sideways. Search terms like “how to install garage doors” or “DIY website builder” usually aren’t going to turn into a customer.
Too broad geography
If you serve Florence and the surrounding area, but your ads are pulling clicks from three states away, that’s a problem. Sometimes the wording in the ad or keyword setup is too loose.
Wrong service
A cleaning company may get searches for commercial janitorial work when they only do residential. A roofer might get clicks for roof coatings when they only replace shingles. That kind of mismatch happens all the time.
How to read the report without getting lost in the weeds
You don’t need to be a Google Ads pro to spot trouble. Start simple.
Look at the search terms that got clicks over the last 30 days. Ask yourself three questions:
Would this person actually buy from us?
Is this something we really offer?
Is this search coming from the right area?
If the answer is no, that search term probably needs to go.
Then look for patterns. One bad search term might be random. Ten bad search terms all tied to the same idea usually mean there’s a keyword or match type problem.
This is where a lot of businesses running Mississippi Google Ads search terms campaigns lose money. They see one weird term, ignore it, then keep paying for the same kind of traffic over and over.
Negative keywords: the part nobody wants to deal with
Negative keywords are how you stop your ads from showing for searches you don’t want.
They’re not glamorous. They’re not exciting. But they save money.
If you keep seeing searches like “free,” “jobs,” “salary,” “DIY,” “how to,” or “cheap used,” those may belong in your negative keyword list.
Same thing for location terms. If you only serve North Mississippi but your ads keep showing in Memphis or Birmingham, you may need to tighten things up.
I’ve worked with businesses that were getting traffic from all over the place because nobody bothered to filter out the junk. It’s a simple fix, but if nobody checks the report, the waste just keeps going.
A real-world example from a local business
I worked with a local service business near The Shoals that had been running Google Ads for months. They were getting clicks, but calls were thin. The owner thought the website was the problem. It wasn’t. The site was fine. The ads were the issue.
Once we dug into the search terms report, we found they were showing up for people searching for training, employment, and DIY information. They also had a bunch of clicks from areas they didn’t even serve.
We cleaned up the keywords, added negatives, tightened the location targeting, and cut out the junk. Same budget. Better traffic. Better leads.
That’s the part people miss. Sometimes you don’t need more ad spend. You need less waste.
If you’re only checking clicks, you’re missing the point
A lot of owners get excited when they see impressions and clicks go up. I get it. Numbers feel good.
But I’ve also seen businesses with strong traffic and no calls because their ads were pulling the wrong crowd. That’s a lot like having a busy storefront with people walking in to ask about something you don’t even sell.
It looks active, but it’s not producing.
This is especially frustrating for businesses that already have other problems in the background. Maybe the website is slow. Maybe the contact form is broken. Maybe they’ve been relying too much on Facebook and hoping that will carry everything. Maybe the site was built years ago and nobody’s touched it since.
Then they add Google Ads on top of that and wonder why the whole thing feels off.
What I’d check first in a Google Ads account
Search terms report
This is where the truth usually shows up first. Look for obvious waste and patterns.
Match types
If broad match is pulling in junk, that’s not a shock. Sometimes phrase or exact match makes more sense, depending on the account.
Location settings
Make sure the campaign is targeting people in the right place, not just people “interested in” your area.
Ad copy
If your ads are vague, you’ll attract vague clicks. Be clear about what you do and where you do it.
Landing page
If the ad is good but the page is confusing, slow, or outdated, you still lose the lead. I’ve seen plenty of great ads get wasted by bad websites.
What business owners in Mississippi should watch for
For local companies in Mississippi, the search terms report is even more important because location intent matters so much. A customer in Tupelo, Oxford, or Jackson usually isn’t looking for a company five hours away.
If you’re searching for an SEO company near me, website designer near me, or marketing agency near me, you already know how local searches work. Google Ads is no different.
The difference is that with ads, you can burn through your budget much faster if you don’t watch the details.
That’s why I tell business owners to check the report regularly. Not once a year. Not when things get bad. Regularly.
Actionable takeaways
Check your search terms report every week or at least every couple of weeks.
Look for searches that don’t match your service, location, or buyer intent.
Add negative keywords as soon as you spot junk traffic.
Watch for repeat patterns, not just one-off weird searches.
Don’t judge your ads by clicks alone. Look at calls, forms, and booked work.
If the account is messy, tighten the targeting before spending more money.
Bottom Line
The search terms report is one of the most useful tools in Google Ads, and it’s also one of the most ignored. If your budget is getting spent on irrelevant searches, this is usually where the fix starts.
For businesses in Florence, Alabama, Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, Tuscumbia, The Shoals, and Jackson, Tennessee, that kind of waste adds up fast. You don’t need more clicks from the wrong people. You need better traffic from the right ones.
If your Google Ads have been running but the phone isn’t ringing, it may be time for a real review. Sometimes the issue is your website. Sometimes it’s the ads. A lot of times, it’s both.
Either way, the search terms report will tell us a lot.
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
