A search term is what the customer typed
A keyword is a targeting instruction in the account. A search term is the wording a customer used before seeing the ad. Those are not always the same, which is why the owner needs to see the search-term report.
Google describes the report as a view of searches that resulted in an ad being shown and says it can be used to refine keywords and match types. See Google Ads search-terms guidance.
Put searches into owner-friendly buckets
| Bucket | What it means | Owner question |
|---|---|---|
| Urgent repair | Stuck door, spring, cable, track, immediate problem | Can we answer and serve it now? |
| Opener | Repair, replacement, remote, sensor, brand need | Do we handle this equipment and job? |
| New door | Replacement, installation, style, estimate | Does the page support a planned sale? |
| Commercial | Business, warehouse, property, door type | Is this inside our commercial scope? |
| Mismatch | Unsupported work, customer, area, or intent | Why did the ad appear? |
This is more useful than debating every phrase one at a time. Repeated buckets reveal where account settings, ads, or pages need to change.
Connect each bucket to phone outcomes
A relevant-looking search can still fail because the location is wrong, the requested service is unsupported, the phone is missed, or the page promises something the company cannot deliver. Use garage door call tracking before blaming the keyword.
Use business rules instead of a giant block list
- Service: does the company repair, replace, install, sell, or service what was requested?
- Customer: residential, landlord, property manager, commercial, or unsupported request?
- Area: is the property inside the real dispatch boundary?
- Timing: does the campaign promise a response the team can support?
- Evidence: is the mismatch repeated enough to justify a change?
Run the same 20-minute review every week
- Sort search themes by spend and clicks.
- Add qualified calls, booked jobs, and revenue where available.
- Inspect repeated no-call and bad-call themes.
- Choose whether the fix belongs in targeting, ad copy, page copy, service area, or phone handling.
- Make a small number of clear changes and record why.
- Compare the next week without changing the definition of a good lead.
The owner report should fit on one screen
Waste themes → spend, reason, action taken
Watch themes → not enough evidence yet
Next decision → one change, owner, and review date
For the full campaign system, use Google Ads for garage door repair and the broader local-service search control guide.