The Search Terms Report: Finding Waste Before You Turn On AI Max
Objective: Given a 25-row search terms export from a broad-match campaign, apply the lesson's negative-keyword and conversion-threshold framework to decide which terms to cut, which to promote, and whether the account has enough conversion volume to safely launch AI Max.
You're a PPC analyst for Robinhood's brokerage app marketing team, reviewing a 30-day search terms export from a broad-match Search campaign before deciding whether to migrate it to AI Max.
Sort the export by conversions, flag low-intent terms as negatives, flag high-converting patterns for a future Standard Search brand campaign, and check the account against the 30-conversion monthly threshold.
Before you start
What you'll need
Free path (everything below is enough to finish)
Free, works on any exported CSV
Free with any active Google Ads account
The process
2 steps
Step 01 of 02
The lesson sets a hard floor: don't launch AI Max without at least 30 conversions/month baseline, because below that the algorithm is under-trained and defaults to bidding high and broad, wasting budget.
The 30-day export totals 22 conversions across the account. Does this account clear the threshold to launch AI Max this month?
Procedure
- Import the 30-day search terms export into Sheets
- Sum the conversions column across all 25 rows
- Compare the total (22) against the lesson's 30-conversion floor
- Write the go/no-go recommendation with the gap to close
Total 30-day conversions: 22 Threshold: 30 Gap: 8 conversions short Recommendation: hold on AI Max, run Standard Search for another 2-3 weeks to close the gap
Healthy
The account waits until it clears 30 conversions/month before migrating, even though it's tempting to switch now.
Unhealthy
Launching AI Max at 22 conversions/month because 'it's close enough.'
What this means
The threshold is not a soft guideline; 8 conversions short means the algorithm is still under-trained and will default to broad, expensive bidding.
So what do I do about it?
| Symptom | Action | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| An account is 5-10 conversions short of 30/month | Hold on AI Max, extend Standard Search 2-3 more weeks, recheck the total | 5 min |
Step 02 of 02
The lesson's workflow: export search terms, sort by conversions, add low-relevance bottom performers as negatives, and identify high-converting patterns as candidates for their own Standard Search brand campaign.
Two rows stand out: 'robinhood app free download' (340 clicks, 0 conversions) and 'robinhood options trading fees explained' (85 clicks, 9 conversions). What does each become?
Procedure
- Sort the 25-row export by conversions ascending to surface zero-conversion, high-click terms first
- Add 'robinhood app free download' as an exact-match negative: high clicks, zero conversions, low-intent 'free' modifier
- Flag 'robinhood options trading fees explained' as a Standard Search candidate: high conversion rate on a specific, high-intent query
- Repeat the sort weekly per the lesson's monitoring cadence
NEGATIVE (exact match): robinhood app free download -- 340 clicks, 0 conv STANDARD SEARCH CANDIDATE: robinhood options trading fees explained -- 85 clicks, 9 conv (10.6% CVR)
Healthy
The zero-conversion, high-click term gets excluded before more budget flows to it; the high-converting specific query gets promoted to its own tightly controlled campaign.
Unhealthy
Leaving 'free download' unaddressed because it's still technically driving clicks and impressions.
What this means
A search terms report isn't just a negatives source, it's also a discovery tool for queries specific enough to deserve dedicated, tightly-controlled campaigns.
So what do I do about it?
| Symptom | Action | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| A high-click term has zero conversions after 2+ weeks | Add it as an exact-match negative this week, don't wait for a full month of data | 5 min |
Final deliverable
A go/no-go recommendation on launching AI Max plus a sorted negatives list and a Standard Search candidate list from the search terms export.
See a reference example
Peloton, connected fitness app, search terms audit (excerpt) CONVERSION THRESHOLD: 34 conversions in the last 30 days -- clears the 30-conversion floor, AI Max migration approved NEGATIVES ADDED (exact match) peloton bike free trial cancel 210 clicks 0 conv peloton jobs remote 95 clicks 0 conv STANDARD SEARCH CANDIDATES peloton bike vs tread monthly cost 60 clicks 7 conv (11.7% CVR)
Success criteria
You're done when you can:
- Correctly totals conversions and recommends holding at 22/month against the 30 threshold
- Correctly separates the zero-conversion high-click term as a negative from the high-converting specific term as a Standard Search candidate