Search Term Visibility

What To Do About Google Ads’ Reduced Search Term Visibility

In September 2020, Google made a big decision to change its Search Term Reports. Google Ads users were undoubtedly affected since the reports now only show terms that reach a significant volume threshold. This means that low-volume, irrelevant keywords are now omitted from the reports.  

While our Search Engine Marketers were skeptical about this change since Search Term Reports were a crucial tool in account optimization, we’ve been working with our team to find how we can make up that loss of data and ensuring our clients only pay for relevant clicks

Here are our top three tips on how to improve your SEM strategy after this Google Ads update:

1. Adjust Your Max CPC

Even though marketers are losing some data from search term reports, we’re still getting the bulk of it that can help with optimizing your campaigns. For those keywords that are broad match or modified broad match, reducing bids can help decrease the amount of potentially irrelevant terms that can trigger ads. For phase and exact match keywords, increase the bids since those are the actual clients you want.

2. Update Search Ad Copy

If a user is looking at your ad, it should be clear to them what your business is trying to provide them. Vague ad copy can cause someone who is not searching for your product or service to click on your ad. Emphasize what your business, product, or service is within the first 2-5 words of an ad copy ensure that the people who click on the ads might lead to a conversion.