Quick Answer: What Should You Check First?
If your Google Ads budget is being spent but orders are not growing, start by checking the actual searches that triggered your ads. Open the Search terms report, review high-cost queries, classify each query as Keep, Investigate or Exclude, and add negative keywords only when the search is clearly irrelevant to your products or business model. Do not automatically block every search term with zero conversions. A relevant query may need more data, a better landing page, clearer offers or accurate conversion tracking.
For an Indian ecommerce brand running a Diwali sale, the goal is not simply to spend less. The goal is to stop paying for irrelevant traffic while protecting searches that can bring profitable customers.
Why a Search-Term Audit Matters During Diwali
During a major sale, a store may receive more clicks and spend more money. But not every click comes from a person who wants to buy the product you sell. A gift-hamper store, for example, may pay for searches about gift-hamper jobs, free samples, DIY tutorials or wholesale supply even when it only sells finished retail products.
The Search terms report helps you inspect searches that triggered your ads. Google Ads also lets advertisers use negative keywords to prevent ads from showing for selected searches. [1][2] The important part is making the right decision for each query.
This guide uses a simple audit framework: collect the data, classify search intent, decide what to keep or exclude, check the risk of blocking buyers, and measure the effect after changes.
1. First, Understand Keywords vs Search Terms
A keyword is a term or phrase you add to a Google Ads campaign to help target searches. A search term is the actual query a person entered that triggered an ad. The two can be related without being identical.
| Term | Simple meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Target keyword | The phrase you added in Google Ads. | diwali gift hamper |
| Search term | The actual query reported as triggering the ad. | free diwali gift hamper sample |
| Negative keyword | A term you use to exclude searches you do not want to target. | A job-related term for a retail-only gift store |
The target keyword may be relevant, while one search term it triggers may not be. That is why you should review search terms instead of assuming that every query triggered by a relevant keyword is also relevant.
2. Where Can Google Ads Budget Be Wasted?
Budget waste is not only a search that has spent money without recording an order. Investigate these different possibilities.
- Clearly irrelevant intent: job vacancies, salary, repair manuals or DIY instructions when your store only sells finished products.
- Business-model mismatch: wholesale or distributor searches for a brand that sells only to individual consumers.
- Product mismatch: searches for a category or item that your store does not sell.
- Location mismatch: searches from areas where you cannot deliver or serve customers, after confirming the campaign’s location settings.
- Offer mismatch: the ad promotes a Diwali discount, but the landing page does not show the same offer or conditions.
- Tracking problems: purchases are missing, duplicated or counted before an order is confirmed.
- Low-profit orders: a query generates sales, but discounts, shipping, product cost, payment fees or returns leave little contribution profit.
These are possible audit categories, not claims about what is happening in your account. Use your own search-term, conversion and order data to establish the cause.
3. Set the Audit Goal and Choose a Useful Date Range
Before opening the report, decide what you are trying to diagnose. Your goal may be irrelevant clicks, high cost per acquisition (CPA), low conversion value, wrong-location traffic, out-of-stock product traffic or poor profit after fulfilment.
For a Diwali campaign, compare suitable time periods such as the last 7 days, last 30 days, pre-sale days and the active sale period. Keep the comparison fair: changes in budget, prices, inventory, landing pages, promotions and conversion tracking can affect the result.
Avoid making a large account change based on one unusually quiet day. Consider the query’s cost, relevance, buying intent and normal conversion delay.
4. How to Review the Search Terms Report
Use this repeatable workflow. Google may not show every individual query in the report, so the visible data is not a complete record of every search. [1]
- Open your Google Ads account and go to the Search terms report from the relevant campaign or reporting view. Interface labels may change over time.
- Select a date range that matches your audit question.
- Review columns such as search term, campaign, ad group, triggering keyword, match type, impressions, clicks, cost, conversions, conversion value and cost per conversion where available.
- Sort by cost to find expensive queries that deserve review first.
- Compare the query with the product, ad promise, landing page, delivery area and campaign objective.
- Write a proposed decision and the reason before applying a negative keyword.
Do not treat one cost threshold as universal. The supplied research used ₹500 as an illustrative filter, but the right threshold depends on your budget, target CPA, average order value and margin. For one store ₹500 may be significant; for another it may be a small sample.
5. Use the Keep, Investigate and Exclude Framework
This framework makes the audit easier for beginners and reduces the risk of blocking valuable traffic.
| Bucket | When to use it | Example action |
|---|---|---|
| KEEP | The query clearly matches a product or service you sell and has plausible buyer intent. | Keep it active; consider adding a more specific positive keyword if it merits separate control. |
| INVESTIGATE | The query is relevant but performance is unclear, sample size is small, or the landing page and offer may be the problem. | Check cost against target CPA, conversion delay, product fit, landing page and tracking before deciding. |
| EXCLUDE | The query is clearly unrelated to the product or business model, or repeatedly shows irrelevant intent supported by evidence. | Choose a suitable negative keyword and scope it to the relevant campaign or ad group. |
A zero-conversion query is not automatically irrelevant. Someone may search for a product, compare options, return later or purchase through a longer journey. Review the evidence before excluding it.
6. Negative Keywords for Ecommerce: Examples and Cautions
Negative keywords can help filter irrelevant searches. But a copied list can block customers if it does not match your business. Use the examples below as a review checklist, not as a ready-to-upload universal list.
| Search pattern | Example | Possible decision |
|---|---|---|
| Employment | diwali gift packing jobs | Likely exclude for a retail-only gift store with no recruitment campaign. |
| Free-seeking | free diwali gift hamper sample | Likely exclude if the store sells paid products and does not offer samples. |
| DIY / instructions | how to make a gift hamper at home | Usually irrelevant to a store selling finished hampers; verify the business model. |
| Wholesale | diwali hamper wholesale price | Exclude only if wholesale and bulk enquiries are not part of the business. |
| Price-led buyer | best diwali gift under ₹500 | Do not automatically exclude if the store sells products in that price range. |
| Delivery offer | gift hamper with free delivery | Do not exclude the word “free” blindly if your store offers free delivery. |
| Research query | diwali gift hamper review | Investigate intent and performance; a research-stage shopper may still buy. |
| Order support | track my gift hamper order | Usually not acquisition intent, but check whether a separate support or brand campaign is intended. |
The rule is simple: decide based on meaning in context, not on a word alone. Terms such as “cheap”, “free”, “review”, “price” or “wholesale” can be relevant for some ecommerce businesses.
7. Negative Keyword Match Types: Broad, Phrase and Exact
Negative keyword match types affect which searches are excluded. Their behaviour is not identical to positive keyword match types. Check the current Google Ads documentation before building a large exclusion list. [2]
| Negative match type | Practical explanation | Audit caution |
|---|---|---|
| Negative broad | Can exclude a search when the specified negative terms are present according to Google’s negative broad-match rules. | Check the whole phrase and the possible impact on relevant longer queries. |
| Negative phrase | Can exclude searches containing the negative phrase in the specified order, subject to Google’s rules. | Review wording and order; do not assume it behaves like positive phrase match. |
| Negative exact | Targets the specified search without additional words, under the documented negative exact rules. | Useful when the exclusion should be narrow; confirm whether variants remain eligible. |
Negative keywords do not automatically expand to every close variant in the same way positive keywords can. Singular/plural and other variations may need review. Google’s current documentation should be the final reference for exact behaviour. [2]
8. Choose the Correct Scope for a Negative Keyword
A negative keyword can be applied at different levels depending on the campaign setup and the tools available. Scope matters: an exclusion that makes sense for one campaign may be harmful in another.
- Ask whether the term is irrelevant to one ad group, one campaign or the whole account.
- Check whether a shared negative keyword list is connected to campaigns with different goals.
- Review brand, non-brand, retail, wholesale and support campaigns separately.
- Before applying a broad exclusion, search for legitimate products, offers or customer needs that contain the same word.
- Record the reason, scope, date and owner so another marketer can understand the change later.
9. Diwali Search-Term Checks for Indian Ecommerce
Festive searches can contain different purchase needs. A brand selling Diwali hampers may receive consumer gifting, corporate gifting, premium gifting, budget gifting and local-delivery queries. These groups can have different margins, order sizes and fulfilment needs.
- Consumer gifting versus corporate or bulk gifting.
- Products actually sold, including gift boxes, hampers, decor or apparel.
- Budget phrases such as “under ₹500” or “under ₹1,000” when those price ranges match the catalogue.
- Same-day delivery or city-specific terms, only where delivery promises are accurate.
- English, Hindi and Roman-Hindi query variations that match your real customers.
- Offer searches that match the active promotion and landing page.
- Searches for out-of-stock or discontinued products.
Do not automatically exclude every bulk, price or festive term. First confirm whether the query fits the products, locations and campaign objective.
10. Do Not Forget Shopping Ads and Performance Max
Ecommerce advertisers may also use Shopping ads and Performance Max. The audit should include product data and the available search-category or search-term insights, not only standard Search campaigns. The exact controls and reporting available can differ by campaign type and may change. [3]
Product feed checks
- Product title, brand and category accurately describe the item.
- Size, colour, material and other important attributes are correct where relevant.
- Sale price in the feed matches the landing page.
- Out-of-stock and discontinued products are handled correctly.
- Product images and landing pages represent the item accurately.
- Price, availability and delivery information do not conflict between the ad and the website.
Performance Max checks
- Review available search-category insights and campaign-level performance signals.
- Compare brand and non-brand demand where reliable data is available.
- Check product-level margin, stock, discount and fulfilment costs.
- Do not assume that a high reported ROAS means the campaign is profitable.
- Use only the negative-keyword controls and reporting available for the campaign type, and check current Google documentation before applying changes.
11. Measure Profit, Not Only ROAS
ROAS means return on ad spend. It compares conversion value with ad spend. It is useful, but it does not include every cost of selling and delivering the product.
ROAS = Conversion value ÷ Ad spend
Search-term spend share = Spend on confirmed irrelevant terms ÷ Total ad spend × 100
Contribution profit ≈ Revenue − product cost − shipping − payment fees − discounts − expected returns/RTO costs
These are simplified management formulas. Use consistent definitions and your own finance data. For example, a campaign can report strong revenue while high discounts, shipping, payment fees or returns reduce the profit left after fulfilment.
12. Worked Search-Term Audit Example
The following figures are hypothetical and are not MaxLeadz client results or industry benchmarks.
| Search term | Spend | Orders | Intent / context | Suggested action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| buy Diwali gift hamper online | ₹1,250 | 5 | High commercial intent | Keep; consider promoting as a positive keyword candidate. |
| Diwali gift hamper free sample | ₹620 | 0 | Free-seeking; store sells only paid hampers | Likely exclude after confirming the offer and business model. |
| Diwali hamper wholesale price | ₹980 | 0 | Wholesale intent | Exclude only if the brand does not accept wholesale or bulk orders. |
| best Diwali gift under ₹1,000 | ₹1,400 | 3 | Price-led buyer intent | Keep and consider segmenting the query. |
| Diwali gift packing jobs | ₹430 | 0 | Employment intent | Likely exclude for a retail acquisition campaign. |
| how to make Diwali hamper | ₹310 | 0 | DIY intent | Usually exclude for a store selling finished hampers. |
| Diwali gift delivery Surat | ₹760 | 2 | Local commercial intent | Keep if Surat delivery is supported; review performance. |
| Diwali gift hamper review | ₹260 | 0 | Research intent | Investigate rather than automatically exclude. |
The example shows why zero conversions alone are not enough. A job query may be clearly irrelevant, while a product-review or budget query may still fit a buyer journey. Use your own actual report before making changes.
13. Negative Keyword Safety Checklist
Before applying an exclusion, ask:
- Could this word appear in a relevant product name or buyer search?
- Could excluding “free” block a legitimate free-delivery offer?
- Do we actually sell wholesale, bulk or distributor orders?
- Is the location truly outside our delivery area?
- Could this exclusion block brand searches, support needs or an active promotion?
- Is the match type appropriate for the query we want to block?
- Is the negative list attached to the right campaign?
- Have we documented why this term is being excluded?
- Do we have a plan to review the result after the change?
After applying negatives, continue monitoring relevant impressions, clicks, conversions, conversion value and profit. A lower spend is not a success if profitable demand was blocked.
14. A Practical Diwali Audit Schedule
| Timing | What to do |
|---|---|
| 14–21 days before sale | Review search terms and negative lists; verify purchase tracking; check product feed, stock and campaign structure. |
| 7 days before sale | Confirm ad-to-landing-page offer consistency, delivery promises, location settings and product availability. |
| During the sale | Review high-cost and clearly irrelevant queries frequently; monitor stock, conversion tracking and order quality. |
| After the sale | Classify terms as Keep, Exclude or Test; save converting queries as positive-keyword candidates; record what changed and what happened. |
The frequency should match spend, traffic volume and risk. During peak sale days, high-cost or clearly irrelevant queries may deserve daily review. This is a practical operating recommendation, not a universal Google rule.
15. The 30-Minute Quick Audit
| Time | Task |
|---|---|
| First 5 minutes | Choose the date range, open the Search terms report and sort by cost. |
| Next 10 minutes | Mark high-cost zero-conversion terms and group clearly irrelevant patterns such as jobs, DIY or unrelated products. |
| Next 5 minutes | Review existing negative lists, match types and campaign scope. Check over-blocking risk. |
| Next 5 minutes | Identify converting or high-intent queries that could become positive-keyword candidates. |
| Final 5 minutes | Apply only justified changes, update the audit sheet and set a review date. |
A quick audit is a starting point. Complex accounts, large budgets or ambiguous search intent need a more complete review.
16. Downloadable Search-Term Decision Worksheet
Use this structure in Google Sheets or Excel. The worksheet turns the article into a repeatable process.
| Column | What to record |
|---|---|
| Search term | The reported user query. |
| Campaign / ad group | Where the query appeared. |
| Keyword and match type | The targeting keyword and match type, where available. |
| Date range | The exact reporting period. |
| Clicks, cost and conversions | Observed performance for that period. |
| Conversion value / CPA | Business result and acquisition cost. |
| Product fit | Relevant, irrelevant or uncertain. |
| Intent | Purchase, research, support, job, DIY, wholesale or other. |
| Decision | Keep, Investigate, Exclude or Promote. |
| Negative match type and scope | Only if exclusion is justified. |
| Reason and owner | Why the decision was made and who owns it. |
| Review date / result | What changed after the decision. |
Suggested CTA: “Want to find where your Google Ads budget is going? Use the Search-Term Decision Worksheet to classify queries before you add negatives.”
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Google Ads search terms audit?
It is a review of reported searches that triggered your ads. The audit checks relevance, cost, conversions and business fit so you can decide what to keep, investigate or exclude.
What is the difference between a keyword and a search term?
A keyword is what the advertiser adds to target searches. A search term is the user’s actual query reported as triggering an ad. A relevant keyword can trigger a search term that is not relevant.
How do I find irrelevant searches in Google Ads?
Review the Search terms report, sort by cost, compare each query with your products and campaign goal, and classify it by intent. Use negative keywords only when the exclusion is justified.
Should I add every zero-conversion search term as a negative?
No. Check the cost, sample size, buying intent, conversion delay, landing page and tracking. A relevant query with no recorded order is not automatically irrelevant.
Can negative keywords block profitable searches?
Yes. An exclusion that is too broad or applied at the wrong scope can block relevant buyer searches. Review the meaning, match type, campaign scope and post-change performance.
Should ecommerce stores exclude the words “free”, “cheap” or “discount”?
Not automatically. A store may offer free delivery, affordable products or valid discounts. Decide based on the complete query and the actual offer.
How should Indian ecommerce brands audit Diwali campaigns?
Review the actual search terms, offer consistency, product stock, location and delivery fit, conversion tracking and order profitability. Separate consumer, corporate, bulk and budget intent when the business supports those segments.
How can I measure whether negative keywords worked?
Compare relevant traffic, cost, conversions, conversion value and profit before and after the change using comparable date ranges. Record other changes that may affect results.
How MaxLeadz Can Help Your Business Grow
At MaxLeadz, our recommended approach is to understand where paid traffic is losing value before making large budget changes. A search-term audit is one part of a wider performance-marketing review.
For an ecommerce business, MaxLeadz can help review Google Ads campaign structure, search-term relevance, conversion tracking, ad-to-landing-page consistency and performance reporting, depending on the account setup and access available. The aim is to separate irrelevant traffic from relevant searches that may need better offers, product pages or measurement.
- Search-term review: identify queries that clearly do not match the products or campaign goal.
- Negative-keyword governance: choose the right exclusion, match type and scope instead of uploading a generic list blindly.
- Conversion measurement: check whether recorded purchases match real ecommerce orders and the business’s reporting definitions.
- Commercial evaluation: review conversion value, product margin, discount, shipping and return-to-origin (RTO) costs where reliable data is available.
- Next-step plan: document priorities, owners, evidence and the date for reviewing results.
The right actions depend on the account, catalogue, customer intent, margins and tracking quality. MaxLeadz does not guarantee rankings, sales or a specific ROAS. The goal is to make better decisions using clearer evidence.
Want a structured review of your ecommerce Google Ads search terms? Explore MaxLeadz ecommerce marketing
Website: https://www.maxleadz.in/
Key Takeaways
- Start with actual search terms, not assumptions about why budget is being spent.
- Separate SEO keywords from campaign negative keywords; they solve different problems.
- Classify each query as Keep, Investigate or Exclude.
- Do not automatically exclude every zero-conversion term.
- Check match type and scope before applying a negative keyword.
- Review Shopping and Performance Max data and product-feed quality where relevant.
- Measure profitable business outcomes, not only lower spend or reported ROAS.
Sources and References
- [1] Google Ads Help — About the Search terms report https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2472708?hl=en
- [2] Google Ads Help — About negative keywords https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2453972?hl=en
- [3] Google Ads Help — Performance Max campaigns and reporting resources https://support.google.com/google-ads/topic/10631992?hl=en
- [4] Google Search Central — AI features and your website (standard SEO fundamentals and content accessibility) https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features
- [5] Semrush — Negative keywords guide (research reference provided in the supplied research brief) https://www.semrush.com/blog/negative-keywords/
- [6] Ahrefs — PPC keyword research guide (research reference provided in the supplied research brief) https://ahrefs.com/blog/ppc-keyword-research/
- [7] MaxLeadz — Ecommerce marketing India https://www.maxleadz.in/ecommerce-marketing-india
Share the offer, funnel and current campaign problem with MaxLeadz. The audit starts with the first measurable leak, not a generic promise.