Can Better Analyst change my campaigns?

No. The connector is read-only and uses only the Google Ads Search endpoint for reporting.

Why does Google show a broad Ads permission?

Google provides one Google Ads API OAuth scope rather than a narrower reporting-only scope. Better Analyst restricts the connector itself to account discovery and read-only Search requests.

Does it support MCC accounts?

Yes. Better Analyst discovers customer hierarchies and saves the required manager customer context with each selected account.

What data can I analyze?

You can query compatible Google Ads reporting resources including campaigns, ad groups, ads, keywords, search terms, segments, costs, and conversions.

How are costs represented?

Google Ads returns cost fields in micros. Better Analyst preserves the raw API values and uses the selected account currency and timezone as analysis context.

Are dashboards refreshed with live data?

Yes. Dashboard refresh reruns the saved GAQL. Rolling DURING ranges move forward, while literal historical dates remain fixed.

How do I connect Google Ads to Better Analyst?

Click "Connect Google Ads," sign in with the Google account that has access to your ads, and select the customer accounts you want to analyze. Accounts under a manager (MCC) account are discovered for you. No developer token or API setup is needed.

Is my Google Ads data secure?

OAuth tokens are encrypted before they are stored and are never sent to your browser. The connector only runs read-only reports. You can disconnect from the connector page or revoke access from your Google Account connections at any time.

Does it report on Performance Max campaigns?

Yes, at the campaign level: Performance Max campaigns appear in campaign reports with their cost, clicks, conversions, and conversion value. Google exposes less detail for Performance Max than for Search campaigns, so keyword and search-term reports mainly cover Search campaigns.

Can I combine Google Ads with GA4 or a spreadsheet?

Yes. Attach Google Analytics, Google Sheets, or Meta Ads to the same chat and ask for spend, sessions, and conversions side by side. Better Analyst fetches each source and joins the results by date or campaign.

Can I schedule a Google Ads report?

Yes. Save a Google Ads report as a Data Flow to deliver it to Google Sheets or a database on a schedule, or schedule a task that reruns the analysis and sends the summary by email or Slack.

Google Ads Search Terms Report: Find Waste and New Keywords

Build a Google Ads search terms report that shows what people typed, what it cost and what converted, plus negative keyword candidates, with AI.

By David Bressler
Published November 9, 2026
Updated November 9, 2026

Summary

A Google Ads search terms report lists the queries that triggered your ads, with cost, clicks and conversions for each. Connect your account to Better Analyst and ask which terms spent without converting, or which converting terms aren't keywords yet. Google hides low-volume queries, so the report never covers all of your spend.

On this page

Who this report is for
What the report includes
How to build it in Better Analyst from Google Ads
Questions to ask
Sample output
Charts to use
Keep it up to date
Further reading
FAQ

Who this report is for

PPC managers and agency account leads who review search queries every week or two, looking for negative keywords to add and converting queries to promote, across one account or several client accounts.

What the report includes

Metrics and dimensions in this report

Metric	Source field	Why it matters
Search term	search_term_view.search_term	The query someone actually typed, which is often quite different from the keyword you bid on.
Status	search_term_view.status	Shows whether the term is already added as a keyword or excluded, so you only review new ones.
Campaign	campaign.name	Keeps a term in context, because the same query can perform differently from one campaign to another.
Ad group	ad_group.name	Tells you where a new keyword or negative keyword belongs when you act on the report.
Cost	metrics.cost_micros	Spend on the term, returned in micros, so divide by 1,000,000 to get account currency.
Clicks	metrics.clicks	Shows whether a term has enough volume to judge before you exclude it.
Conversions	metrics.conversions	The split between terms that earn their spend and terms that only cost money.
Conversion value	metrics.conversions_value	Ranks converting terms by revenue, not by conversion count alone.

How to build it in Better Analyst from Google Ads

In Better Analyst, open Connectors and choose Google Ads.
Click Connect with Google and sign in with the Google account that can see the ads. Accounts under a manager (MCC) account are discovered for you.
Select the customer account to review and click Save. Manager accounts appear for context but can't be selected.
Attach that account to a chat and ask for search terms over a fixed window, such as the last 30 days, sorted by cost.
Check the query behind the table, then ask for the terms with spend and no conversions as a separate list.

Questions to ask

“Show search terms from the last 30 days with cost, clicks, conversions and conversion value, sorted by cost.”
“Which search terms spent more than 50 in the last 90 days without a conversion?”
“List converting search terms that aren't already added as keywords.”
“Which campaigns have the highest share of spend on terms with no conversions?”
“Group search terms containing "free" or "jobs" and total what they cost this quarter.”

Sample output

Sample data for illustration, not real account data.

Sample data: search terms for one account over 30 days (illustrative, not a real account)

Search term	Status	Clicks	Cost	Conversions	Suggested action
crm for small agencies	None	84	$412	9	Add as exact keyword
free crm software	None	131	$388	0	Add negative
agency crm pricing	Added	46	$297	6	Keep
crm jobs remote	None	38	$121	0	Add negative
best crm for client reporting	None	27	$164	3	Add as phrase keyword

Charts to use

Spend by converting versus non-converting terms (Stacked bar chart): How much of each campaign's search term spend produced no conversions.
Top terms by cost (Horizontal bar chart): The handful of queries taking the most budget, so review starts where the money is.

Keep it up to date

Schedule a task to rerun the review every Monday and send the terms with spend and no conversions by email or Slack. Better Analyst only reads the account, so adding the negatives stays with you in Google Ads.

Frequently asked questions

Why doesn't the search terms report add up to my total spend?

Google leaves out queries that too few people searched, for privacy. The report only shows terms that clear that threshold, so its totals usually come in below campaign totals. Compare the two to see how much spend is hidden.

What is the difference between a search term and a keyword?

A keyword is what you bid on. A search term is what the person typed. Broad and phrase match can show your ad for many different queries, which is why this report is where wasted spend usually turns up.

Can Better Analyst add negative keywords for me?

No. The connector is read-only and cannot change campaigns. It gives you the list, and you add the negatives in Google Ads or Google Ads Editor.

Does this cover Performance Max?

Mostly not. Search term detail mainly covers Search campaigns, and Google exposes less for Performance Max, which you can still report on at campaign level.