Last week, I joked about a new match type from Google: blind match.
The email got a lot of responses, including many questions about how I handle these searches.
“Is there a way, a script maybe, to get access to hidden search term data?“
Short answer: No. We cannot access the data that Google has intentionally hidden from us.
However, there are some ways to get a glimpse of what is most likely part of that hidden search term data.
1. Inside the Google Ads UI
a. I use Search Term Insights on the Insights page. It groups hidden queries into themes, so even when Google withholds the actual terms, you still get category-level visibility into where that mystery spend is going.
b. I use Keyword Planner. Google’s ‘keyword ideas’ give me information about searches Google will most likely match to my existing keywords.
2. Microsoft Ads
By targeting the same keywords in MS Ads and looking at the search term data in MS Ads, I get to see some more search terms that are not in Google’s SQRs.
3. Third-party keyword research tools
Tools like Ubersuggest, Keywords Everywhere, or my favorite Keyword Researcher provide a ton of data on long-tail searches with low search volume (the ones hidden from us in Google Ads).
I use the information from the sources above to update my negative keywords, ad copy, assets, and landing page content.
I hope this helps!
– Nils