Should you have different ad groups for each location?

Hi karmadog,

If you are referring to a search ads, you don't really have an option to target location at the ad group level. Location targeting is only possible at the campaign level, not the ad group level.

The purpose of an ad group is to pair the keyword, or keywords that will trigger you competition in an ad auction with the ad, or set of ads, that will be displayed in the event you win an ad slot position.

In other words, it is how you tell the ad platform which ads are to be displayed with which search terms.

The mechanics of what and where you can target at the ad group level may vary based on the ad platform, but generally you would target devices either at the campaign level, or at the individual ad level, not at the ad group level. It is typically possible to have mobile ads and desktop ads within the same ad group.

You also have the option of making bid adjustments based on device type at the ad group level. So you can choose to organize your account to target devices at the ad group level using the bid adjustment for device type feature.

Ultimately, how you structure your account is dictated by your campaign optimization strategy. There are many possibilities, and it can get very complex if you want to go that route. In the end, you must decide how granular you wish to go, you must decide which way you want to organize you account there is not just one way to do it, but some will work better than others.

I suggest you pick a strategy that may give you an advantage against your competitors, but try not to go overboard with too much complexity else it will become unmanageable.

To answer your question about how similar keywords must be, there are no mandatory requirements, but generally speaking the more similar the keywords the better. In fact some people often choose a SKAG (Single Keyword Ad Group) strategy to get the most precise results possible. In the end you need to weigh the balance between granularity and data volume, because you need adequate levels of both to get optimum results.

HTH,

Don Burk

Three weeks and only one reply? Strange, this is a very important subject. And well said Dburk, you nailed it.

I would just add this, don't be afraid to create a campaign for each location. You can have as many as 10,000 campaigns in an account. You might want to use the AdWords Editor so you can copy campaigns and just change the target locations afterwards.

;-)

Hi Robert,

Yes, the AdWords Editor is a great tool that we use extensively in my agency. However, the AdWords web interface has this same capability built right into the web interface.

https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/3400898?hl=en

I thought I'd mention this since many people may not have a desktop PC that can run the AdWords Editor.

HTH,

Don Burk