Paid Media

How to review Google Ads search terms without blocking good leads

Review Google Ads search terms with a clear keep, exclude or investigate workflow. Includes a decision worksheet and CPCInsider’s ex-Google expertise.

Arturs Rubins · 2026-10-08 · 5 min read

A useful search-terms review ends with a decision you can explain. It should tell you which intent to keep, which clearly irrelevant searches to exclude and which questions need more evidence. A list sorted by cost is only the starting point.

This guide covers decisions after a Search campaign has collected traffic. For initial selection, use our keyword research worksheet. CPCInsider co-founder Arturs Rubins is a former Google employee whose paid-media experience informs our approach to campaign reviews.

1. Build a review view before changing anything

Choose a period that gives your enquiries time to progress. Record campaign, ad group, search term, matched keyword, spend, clicks and the conversion action being counted. Add qualified-lead outcomes where your reporting can reliably connect them; do not assume an individual enquiry can always be traced to a particular query.

Google's search terms documentation explains that the report shows searches that triggered ads, with some low-volume queries omitted for privacy. Treat it as a partial view, not a complete account of every click.

Separate brand and non-brand searches. A campaign capturing people already looking for your company should not define the efficiency target for a new-customer campaign.

2. Classify intent before judging cost

Use a short decision table. The examples below are illustrative searches for a Latvian business selling accounting services, not measured keyword volumes.

A relevant search with no conversions is not automatically irrelevant. The ad, page, measurement or follow-up may be the problem. An unmistakable job search can be irrelevant even when it has spent very little.

3. Use four decisions

Keep: the intent fits and there is no clear reason to intervene. Exclude: the business cannot meet the need. Improve the journey: the intent fits but the message or destination does not. Investigate: the sample, conversion delay or qualification status makes a decision premature.

Write the reason next to every change. For exclusions, specify the match type and campaign or list affected. Consult the negative-keyword checklist before excluding a short word that also appears in valuable searches.

4. Set a business-specific investigation threshold

Do not copy a universal “pause after ten clicks” rule. Set an affordable investigation limit using your expected qualified-lead cost and available test budget. Reaching that limit should trigger a review, not an automatic verdict.

For example, a relevant theme that has reached your agreed test allowance without a qualified enquiry needs a check of tracking, page usability and sales outcomes. A fresh enquiry still awaiting a sales call should not be counted as a confirmed failure.

5. Keep a change log and review the consequence

Use these columns: review date, campaign, theme, evidence period, decision, reason, owner and next review date. After a change, compare comparable periods and allow for the sales cycle. Look at relevant enquiries and spend, not just whether excluded terms disappeared.

If volume is small, group related intent instead of treating each rare query as a separate experiment. Avoid making several targeting, bidding and page changes at once when you need to understand their effect.

Turn a search report into useful decisions

Request a free performance audit and tell us which searches are spending without producing suitable enquiries. We can review the account, landing pages and qualification feedback through our paid media growth service.