# Bid Up the Search Terms That Actually Bring Leads

Keyword performance ranks the search terms (utm_term) behind your leads and sorts each one by intent with plain, visible rules: brand, competitor, problem or urgent, and generic. It answers “what were people searching for when they became leads, and which terms deserve more budget?”

Published Oct 19, 2026. Updated Oct 20, 2026.

## What were people searching for before they became leads?

It depends on whether you're looking at search terms or ads. To rank the search terms behind your leads and sort them by intent (brand, competitor, urgent or generic), Keyword performance is the report to run. Type /keywords to get it. To compare ad variants, use Ad creative performance. For leads from ChatGPT and other assistants, Leads from AI assistants fits better. To model a budget shift, pick the Budget simulator.

What it is: Keyword performance is a search-term report from the free UTM Grabber Reports skill for PPC managers that ranks the terms behind your leads by intent and shows which ones deserve more budget.

- Page: https://utmgrabber.com/mcp/reports/keyword/
- Report: Keyword performance (Paid media, revenue and journeys)
- Shortcut: `/keywords`
- Sample data from Northwind Dental, a fictional dental practice. Sample headline: “Problem or urgent searches brought 52% of 382 keyword leads.”

## What this report answers

- Which search terms brought the most leads?
- How much of our search volume is people searching our name?
- Are urgent searches like “near me” or “emergency” bringing leads?
- Which terms need a negative keyword?

Built for: PPC managers working in Google Ads and Microsoft Ads.

## What's in the report

1. A headline naming the intent that brought the most keyword leads, with the top term.
2. Up to 5 numbers, such as keyword leads, brand share, urgent share, keyword spend and paid search leads with no keyword.
3. Leads by search intent, with how many terms fall in each.
4. A keyword table with an intent badge, share, change, and cost per lead when spend matches.
5. Next steps: negatives for zero-lead spenders, push the growing term, grow non-brand search, answer urgent searchers first.

## Why You Can Trust What It Tells You

- **Brand and competitor terms sorted.** A term counts as brand when it contains your name, domain stem or brand words, and as competitor when it names a competitor you list.
- **Urgent searches stand out.** Terms with words such as emergency, near me, today, fix, cost, price or quote count as problem or urgent searches.
- **Negatives backed by real spend.** The report suggests a negative keyword only when your ad account shows spend on a term with no leads.

## Ask your AI

- `/keywords`
- “Which keywords bring us leads?”
- “How much of our search traffic is brand searches?”
- “Which search terms should we add as negatives?”

## What it uses

- Your UTM Grabber leads with utm_term, for the period and the period before.
- Add utm_term={keyword} to your tracking template and UTM Grabber saves the search term with each lead.
- Optional: Google Ads or Microsoft Ads keyword rows, for spend, cost per lead and negative keyword suggestions.

On Free and Starter your AI reads only your last 30 days, so a 30-day report leaves out the change against the period before. Starter+ and Premium add it.

### Which plan do you need?

What your AI can read from UTM Grabber:

- Free plugin: Your last 30 days, with a fair-use allowance (this report)
- Starter: Your last 30 days, with first touch and more click IDs
- Starter+ or Premium: Your full history, unmetered

Compare Plans: https://utmgrabber.com/mcp/plans/

The report designs need an AI app that supports skills: Claude, Codex or Cursor. ChatGPT gives the same plain-English answers from your leads, without the report designs.

## Sample in 4 looks

- Studio (Client-facing reports): [Web page](https://utmgrabber.com/skills/utm-grabber-reports/samples/html/keyword-studio.html), [PDF](https://utmgrabber.com/skills/utm-grabber-reports/samples/pdf/keyword-studio.pdf), [PowerPoint](https://utmgrabber.com/skills/utm-grabber-reports/samples/pptx/keyword-studio.pptx), [full screen](https://utmgrabber.com/mcp/reports/#report=keyword&look=studio)
- Boardroom (Presenting to leadership): [Web page](https://utmgrabber.com/skills/utm-grabber-reports/samples/html/keyword-boardroom.html), [PDF](https://utmgrabber.com/skills/utm-grabber-reports/samples/pdf/keyword-boardroom.pdf), [PowerPoint](https://utmgrabber.com/skills/utm-grabber-reports/samples/pptx/keyword-boardroom.pptx), [full screen](https://utmgrabber.com/mcp/reports/#report=keyword&look=boardroom)
- Ledger (Weekly ops reviews and analysts): [Web page](https://utmgrabber.com/skills/utm-grabber-reports/samples/html/keyword-ledger.html), [PDF](https://utmgrabber.com/skills/utm-grabber-reports/samples/pdf/keyword-ledger.pdf), [PowerPoint](https://utmgrabber.com/skills/utm-grabber-reports/samples/pptx/keyword-ledger.pptx), [full screen](https://utmgrabber.com/mcp/reports/#report=keyword&look=ledger)
- Classic (Printed reports and long reads): [Web page](https://utmgrabber.com/skills/utm-grabber-reports/samples/html/keyword-classic.html), [PDF](https://utmgrabber.com/skills/utm-grabber-reports/samples/pdf/keyword-classic.pdf), [PowerPoint](https://utmgrabber.com/skills/utm-grabber-reports/samples/pptx/keyword-classic.pptx), [full screen](https://utmgrabber.com/mcp/reports/#report=keyword&look=classic)

## Questions

### How do I get keywords into my leads?

Add utm_term={keyword} to your Google Ads or Microsoft Ads tracking template. UTM Grabber saves the term with each lead. Without it, you get a short version that explains the template.

### Will it mark competitor searches?

Only if you tell it who your competitors are. Without a list, no term is marked competitor, and the chart says so.

### Does it say a term converts better?

Not without spend data. It ranks terms by leads, and only adds cost per lead and negatives when your ad account is connected.

## Related reports

- [Ad creative performance](https://utmgrabber.com/mcp/reports/ad-creative/): Which ad variant wins and which is wearing out, matched by utm_content.
- [Budget simulator](https://utmgrabber.com/mcp/reports/budget-simulator/): “What if we moved 20% from Google to Meta?” Modeled on your real numbers, with a range.
- [Leads from AI assistants](https://utmgrabber.com/mcp/reports/ai-referrals/): Leads that found you through ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude or Copilot.

## Capture the Whole Journey, Starting Today

The free plugin remembers each lead's last click. Every UTM Grabber Premium plan, from Starter up, also records where they first found you, more ad click IDs and what kind of visit it was, from the day you upgrade.

- Last-click UTM tags: free plugin yes, UTM Grabber Premium yes
- Google Ads click ID (gclid): free plugin yes, UTM Grabber Premium yes
- First touch: free plugin no, UTM Grabber Premium yes
- Meta and Microsoft Ads click IDs (fbclid, msclkid): free plugin no, UTM Grabber Premium yes
- Traffic labels: free plugin no, UTM Grabber Premium yes
- AI assistant visits: free plugin no, UTM Grabber Premium yes
- WooCommerce orders: free plugin UTM tags saved, UTM Grabber Premium Full source on every order
- Cookie length: free plugin 30 days, UTM Grabber Premium You choose

Premium starts recording the day you upgrade. It can't fill in visits the free plugin never recorded, so every week on free is a week of first touches and click IDs you won't get back.

See UTM Grabber Premium Plans: https://utmgrabber.com/mcp/plans/

## Want Us to Build This for You?

Get reports like this one with your logo and colors, set up for you. With the Support Package, we connect the AI Connector (MCP) to your data and hand you your own AI report builder, tuned to your business, for weekly, monthly and annual reports.

The UTM Grabber Support Package is $199/yr (regular $349, launch price, real value: $1,700). Works on free and paid plans, and with your agency. Cancel anytime, no contracts.

- **Expert Setup:** Our resident expert team installs UTM Grabber and wires every form, with a live test.
- **Diagnostics & Fixes:** Caching, cookie and GDPR leaks found and fixed, then audited again all year.
- **Custom Reporting + MCP:** We connect the AI Connector (MCP) to your data and hand you your own AI report builder.
- **Ongoing Support:** New funnels and forms wired all year, with priority answers.

[Get the Support Package](https://utmgrabber.com/payment/?plan_id=support_v2) · [See What's Included](https://utmgrabber.com/support/)

## Get it on your own leads

1. Connect UTM Grabber to your AI with the AI Connector (MCP). Step-by-step guide: https://utmgrabber.com/mcp/connect/ (no plugin yet? Get the free plugin: https://utmgrabber.com/?signup=1&return_url=%2Fget-started)
2. Install the free Reports skill: https://utmgrabber.com/skills/utm-grabber-reports/
3. Type `/keywords`, or ask in your own words.

Book a demo: https://utmgrabber.com/book-a-demo/