Changes Coming to Google Ads Search Terms Report

Google to Start Limiting Search Terms Report for Users Due to Privacy

Google once again is causing turmoil in the digital marketing industry with their recent notification to advertisers running Google Ads accounts:

google ads search term

When you click on the learn more link, though, you are not taken to a page explaining this update, but a help page to educate users on search terms reports.

What This Means for Marketers and Business Owners

While we do not yet know what a “significant” number is in Google’s eyes, we know that the overall consequence of this update is that it means we will have less control of our account, and may not know all the terms that we spend money on for clicks.

Google’s Statement on Privacy

Luckily, a Search Engine Land writer was able to secure a statement from a Google representative to get a little more detail on why they are rolling out this update, as it is only going to hurt advertisers:

“In order to maintain our standards of privacy and strengthen our protections around user data, we have made changes to our Search Terms Report to only include terms that a significant number of users searched for. We’re continuing to invest in new and efficient ways to share insights that enable advertisers to make critical business decisions.”

Initial Industry Reaction

Twitter user @PPCRachel seems to be the first one to react online, opening the eyes of various experts in the industry and starting the conversation on the response to the update.

Here is a look at some thoughts by some Twitter users on the matter:

More Details to Come

Be sure to follow our blog and subscribe to our email list to stay on top of any new information we uncover about this update.

In the meantime, be sure to check out some other recent developments in the digital marketing industry you may have missed out on:

About the Author

Sarah Blocksidge

Sarah is the Marketing Director at Sixth City Marketing and has been with the company since 2016. She has been mentioned in Fast Company, GoDaddy, American Express, and many other notable publications.

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