Keyword Performance Tracking: Complete utm_term Guide for GA4

You're bidding on 100 keywords across Bing, DuckDuckGo, and other search platforms. $10,000/month budget. Some keywords convert at 20%, others at 2%.

Question: Which keywords should get more budget? Which should you pause?

Without utm_term: You're guessing.

With utm_term: GA4 shows exact conversion rate per keyword. Data-driven optimization becomes possible.

This guide shows you how to implement complete keyword tracking with utm_term, from setup to optimization.

What utm_term Tracks

utm_term captures the specific search keyword that triggered your ad.

Example flow:

1. User searches: "buy crm software"
2. Your ad shows
3. User clicks
4. URL includes: ?utm_term=buy-crm-software
5. GA4 records keyword with session
6. User converts
7. GA4 attributes conversion to "buy-crm-software"

Result: You know this keyword drives conversions.

Complete Setup Guide

Step 1: Add utm_term to Search Campaigns

Bing Ads:

Campaign → Keywords → Destination URL:

?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=product-search&utm_term=`{"{"}{"{"}QueryString{"}"}{"}"}}`

{"{"}{"{"}QueryString{"}"}{"}"}} = Bing's macro for actual search query

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DuckDuckGo:

?utm_source=duckduckgo&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=product-search&utm_term=`{"{"}{"{"}keyword{"}"}{"}"}}`

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Other platforms: Check documentation for keyword macro:

• Baidu: {"{"}{"{"}keyword{"}"}{"}"}}
• Yandex: {"{"}{"{"}keyword{"}"}{"}"}}
• Yahoo: {"{"}{"{"}keyword{"}"}{"}"}}

Step 2: Verify Tracking

Test clicks:

1. Search for your ad (use preview tool if available)
2. Click ad
3. Check browser URL bar
4. Confirm you see utm_term=your-keyword

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GA4 real-time:

1. After clicking, open GA4 → Real-time
2. Find your session
3. Verify "Manual term" dimension shows keyword

Step 3: Collect Data

Minimum for optimization:

• ✅ 50+ clicks per keyword
• ✅ 5+ conversions per keyword (or 2 weeks data)

Don't optimize too early. Small sample sizes = unreliable conclusions.

GA4 Analysis: 5 Essential Reports

Report 1: Keyword Performance Overview

GA4 → Explore → Free form

Dimensions: First user manual term

Metrics:

• Sessions
• Conversions
• Conversion rate
• Revenue (if e-commerce)
• CPA (if tracking cost)

Sort: Conversion rate descending

What you see: Which keywords have highest conversion rates.

Example:

Term                          Sessions  Conv  CVR
buy-crm-software              100       20    20.0%
best-crm-for-small-business   200       25    12.5%
free-crm-tools                500       25    5.0%
crm-comparison                300       9     3.0%

Insight: "buy-crm-software" has 4x better CVR than "crm-comparison"

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Report 2: Campaign + Keyword Breakdown

GA4 → Reports → Acquisition → Traffic acquisition

Primary dimension: Campaign Secondary dimension: First user manual term

What you see: Each campaign broken down by keywords.

Use case: Compare keyword performance across different campaigns.

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Report 3: High-Traffic, Low-Converting Keywords

GA4 → Explore → Free form

Dimensions: First user manual term Metrics: Sessions, Conversions, Conversion rate

Filter:

• Sessions > 100 (high traffic)
• Conversion rate < 3% (low converting)

What you see: Keywords burning budget without conversions.

Action: Add as negative keywords or pause.

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Report 4: High-Converting, Low-Traffic Keywords

GA4 → Explore → Free form

Dimensions: First user manual term Metrics: Sessions, Conversions, Conversion rate

Filter:

• Sessions < 50 (low traffic)
• Conversion rate > 10% (high converting)

What you see: Hidden gems - keywords that convert well but need more traffic.

Action: Increase bids to drive more traffic.

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Report 5: Keyword Search Query Report

Compare triggered keyword vs actual search query:

GA4 → Explore → Free form

Dimensions:

• Campaign
• First user manual term

Metrics: Conversions

Use case: See if broad match keywords are triggering on irrelevant searches.

Example:

Target keyword: "crm software"
Broad match triggers for:
- "free crm" (good)
- "crm jobs" (bad - irrelevant)
- "crm courses" (bad - no purchase intent)

Action: Add negative keywords: "jobs", "courses"

Keyword Optimization Framework

Phase 1: Categorize Keywords (Week 1)

Winners (Top 20%):

• High conversion rate (>10%)
• Action: Increase bids +30-50%

Average (Middle 60%):

• Moderate conversion rate (5-10%)
• Action: Maintain current bids

Losers (Bottom 20%):

• Low conversion rate (<3%)
• Action: Decrease bids -50% or pause

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Phase 2: Budget Reallocation (Week 2)

Shift budget from losers to winners:

Before optimization:

50 keywords × $200/month = $10,000 total
All keywords performing at 8% average CVR

After optimization:

15 winner keywords × $500/month = $7,500
15 average keywords × $150/month = $2,250
10 loser keywords × $25/month = $250 (test budget)
10 keywords paused = $0

Total: $10,000 (same budget, better allocation)

Result: Average CVR increases from 8% to 12% (same spend, +50% conversions)

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Phase 3: Continuous Testing (Ongoing)

Always keep 10-20% budget testing new keywords:

Sources for new keywords:

• Google Keyword Planner
• Competitor analysis tools
• Customer support questions
• Sales team feedback
• Reddit/Quora questions

Test format:

New keyword: "affordable-crm-for-startups"
Budget: $100 test budget
Duration: 2 weeks
Decision: If CVR > 8%, scale. If < 5%, pause.

Advanced Keyword Insights

Insight 1: Match Type Performance

Track performance by match type:

Setup:

Exact match: utm_term=buy-crm-software-exact
Phrase match: utm_term=buy-crm-software-phrase
Broad match: utm_term=buy-crm-software-broad

Analysis: Which match type drives best ROI?

Common finding: Exact match has highest CVR but lowest volume. Phrase match = best balance.

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Insight 2: Keyword Intent Analysis

Categorize by intent:

Commercial intent (high conversion):

• "buy crm software"
• "crm pricing"
• "crm demo"

Informational intent (low conversion):

• "what is crm"
• "crm tutorial"
• "crm benefits"

Navigational intent (brand):

• "yourcompany crm"
• "yourcompany login"

Analysis: Commercial intent keywords convert 5-10x better than informational.

Action: Allocate 80% budget to commercial, 20% to informational (brand building).

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Insight 3: Long-Tail vs Short-Tail

Short-tail (1-2 words):

Term: "crm"
Sessions: 1,000
CVR: 2%
Cost: High (competitive)

Long-tail (4+ words):

Term: "best-crm-for-small-business-with-email-marketing"
Sessions: 50
CVR: 15%
Cost: Low (less competitive)

Finding: Long-tail keywords often have:

• Lower traffic
• Higher conversion rates
• Lower cost per click
• Better ROI

Strategy: Bid aggressively on long-tail, use for prospecting.

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Insight 4: Seasonal Keyword Patterns

Track CVR over time:

GA4 → Explore → Line chart

X-axis: Month Y-axis: Conversion rate Breakdown: First user manual term (top 10 keywords)

Finding: Some keywords perform better in certain months:

"tax crm software" - peaks in Jan-April (tax season)
"back-to-school crm" - peaks in August-September
"holiday crm" - peaks in November-December

Action: Increase bids seasonally for relevant keywords.

Negative Keyword Strategy

Use utm_term data to find negative keyword opportunities:

GA4 Report: Negative Keyword Candidates

GA4 → Explore → Free form

Dimensions: First user manual term Metrics: Sessions, Conversions Filter:

• Sessions > 100
• Conversions = 0

What you see: Keywords driving traffic but zero conversions.

Example negative keyword list:

Keywords with 0 conversions:
- "free crm" (100 sessions, 0 conv) → Add negative: "free"
- "crm jobs" (80 sessions, 0 conv) → Add negative: "jobs"
- "crm courses" (60 sessions, 0 conv) → Add negative: "courses"
- "crm definition" (50 sessions, 0 conv) → Add negative: "definition"

Action: Add to campaign negative keyword list.

Result: Reduce wasted spend by 10-20%.

Common Mistakes

Mistake #1: Not Using Dynamic Insertion

Wrong (static):

All keywords: utm_term=search-campaign

Can't differentiate keywords.

Fix (dynamic):

utm_term=`{"{"}{"{"}QueryString{"}"}{"}"}}`

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Mistake #2: Mixing Auto-Tagging with utm_term

Wrong:

Google Ads: ?gclid=abc123&utm_term=keyword

Breaks auto-tagging.

Fix: Use EITHER gclid OR manual utm_term, never both.

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Mistake #3: Optimizing Too Early

Wrong: Pause keyword after 3 days with 2 conversions.

Problem: Sample size too small.

Fix: Wait for 50+ clicks or 5+ conversions per keyword.

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Mistake #4: Only Looking at Conversions

Wrong: "Keyword A has 10 conversions, Keyword B has 15. B wins!"

Problem: Keyword A might have 50 clicks (20% CVR), Keyword B has 300 clicks (5% CVR).

Fix: Compare conversion RATE, not absolute conversions.

Prevention Checklist

✅ Add utm_term to all non-auto-tagged search campaigns ✅ Use dynamic keyword insertion macros ✅ Verify tracking in GA4 real-time ✅ Collect minimum 50 clicks per keyword before optimizing ✅ Analyze keyword performance weekly ✅ Categorize keywords: winners/average/losers ✅ Reallocate budget to high-converting keywords ✅ Build negative keyword list from zero-conversion terms ✅ Test new keywords with 10-20% of budget

FAQ

How many keywords should I track?

No limit. utm_term can track thousands of keywords. The limit is your ability to analyze and act on data.

Recommendation: Start with 20-50 keywords. Scale as you optimize.

What's a good keyword conversion rate?

Varies by industry:

• B2B SaaS: 5-15%
• E-commerce: 2-8%
• Lead gen: 10-25%

Your goal: Beat YOUR baseline. If average is 8%, any keyword with 10%+ is a winner.

Should I pause keywords with zero conversions?

Not immediately.

Check:

1. Sample size: Has it had 50+ clicks?
2. Timeframe: Running for 2+ weeks?
3. Industry: Some B2B keywords take months to convert

If yes to all and still zero conversions → Pause.

Can I track keywords from organic search with utm_term?

No. utm_term is for PAID search only.

Organic keyword tracking:

• Google Search Console (keyword query report)
• GA4's organic search queries (limited data)

How often should I review keyword performance?

Weekly: Quick check (top 10 winners/losers) Monthly: Full analysis, budget reallocation Quarterly: Strategic review, test new keywords

What if my platform doesn't support keyword macros?

Manual approach:

1. Create spreadsheet with all keywords
2. Generate unique URL for each:

   Keyword 1: ?utm_term=buy-crm-software
   Keyword 2: ?utm_term=free-crm-tools
   ...
   

3. Upload to platform

Labor-intensive but necessary for tracking.

Conclusion

Keyword performance tracking with utm_term:

1. Setup: Add utm_term={"{"}{"{"}QueryString{"}"}{"}"}} to search ads
2. Collect: Minimum 50 clicks per keyword
3. Analyze: GA4 reports showing CVR by keyword
4. Categorize: Winners (top 20%), losers (bottom 20%)
5. Optimize: Reallocate budget from losers to winners
6. Negative: Add zero-conversion keywords as negatives
7. Test: Always keep 10-20% budget testing new keywords

Result: Same budget, 50-100% more conversions by focusing on high-converting keywords.

Key insight: Not all keywords are created equal. utm_term reveals which drive ROI.

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Related: utm_term vs gclid: When to Use Which