How many keywords should I have per ad group?

53 replies
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How many keywords should I have per ad group?
#group #keywords
  • Profile picture of the author dburk
    Hi Camila123,

    Never aim for a specific number of keywords within your ad group.

    There is no magic number of keywords. What is important is that all the keywords in your ad group must be extremely relevant to the message contained within each and every ad within that same ad group.

    Search Ads

    Since your ads need to be highly specific to be effective, your keywords within an ad group need to be limited to keywords that will trigger relevant searches for that specific message only. As a result the list of keywords need to be quite small perhaps only a single keyword in some instances.

    Display Network Ads

    For contextual keyword targeting within the Display network you need to include more keywords within an ad group to help define the overall broad context of your topic. In those types of campaigns you typically need to have a couple dozen keywords, or more, to make the overall context easier to be understood.

    HTH,

    Don Burk
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    • Profile picture of the author New Tree
      Good Value provided. thanks for sharing this it helped me to understand how to stuff keywords in adgroup.
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  • Profile picture of the author etdigital1
    Hello,

    You are right dburk, number of keywords in an Adgroup doesn't matter. The keywords which you club in the adgroup should be relevant.

    Keywords, ad group, ad copies and landing page should be relevant to each other that is important. More the relevancy more the quality score and lesser the amount to spend on per click, depends on the competition.
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  • Profile picture of the author sallaid
    I think adwords specialists recommend less than 20 words.
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  • I think , is's better to use 10-15 keywords.
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  • Profile picture of the author seangibson
    You should use more then 20 keywords in one add group
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  • Profile picture of the author solutionstechly
    As per my experience you should use more than 10 keywords also add keywords which has good quality score.
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  • Profile picture of the author dburk
    Hi Warriors,

    Be warned, people on this thread that are saying you should use a specific number of keywords either have no idea what they are talking about, or they are simply trying to mislead you.

    Never add a keyword to an ad group if it isn't perfectly relevant to the ad text of every ad within the same ad group. And, never write generally worded ads. Make sure that your ads are really very specific, in doing so it will severely limit the number of keywords that are extremely relevant and suitable for an ad group.

    There is no specific number, of keywords you should be aiming for, just make sure that all keywords are specific and relevant to the ad text in the same ad group, and that all the ads are specific and relevant to all the keywords within the a\same ad group. If that number is just one or 2 keywords, or 20 or more, it doesn't matter, what matters is that they are all extremely relevant and the message matches the intent of the search terms.

    Anyone saying otherwise is offering bad advice.

    HTH,

    Don Burk
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  • Profile picture of the author martworld
    Start with 10 keywords, analyze it, optimize it for maximum profit.
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  • Profile picture of the author omnitec1018
    When it comes to ad groups, the typical answer is somewhere in the 20-25 keyword range, and definitely no more than 30 keywords per ad group.
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  • It's weird how people ignore advice from a senior WF member, one that clearly knows what he's talking about.

    Don't get into the mindset that you need a certain number of keywords in your group. Like Don said, it's not a question of quantity but one of quality. If a keyword if not relevant to the theme of the group, it doesn't belong there. Groups have to be tightly themed as well. I've seen for instance a dentist throw everything into one group, keywords about teeth cleaning, dentures and braces. Of course he had dozens of keywords but they were not related to each other and certainly not the the ad itself. Successful campaigns are ones that are granular. If that means that a group has just one keyword, that's what it should be.
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    • Profile picture of the author sierracharlie
      so for a dentist , how do these ad groups sound?


      ad group 1

      dentist for caries
      dentist for fillings
      replace tooth filling
      fix broken filling
      fix loose filling



      ad group 2
      teeth whitening
      teeth brightening
      laser teeth whitening
      tooth whitening service
      tooth whitening dentist

      ad group 3
      tooth extraction
      tooth removal
      sedated extraction dentist
      dentist for tooth extraction
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      • Profile picture of the author MikeFriedman
        Originally Posted by sierracharlie View Post

        so for a dentist , how do these ad groups sound?


        ad group 1

        dentist for caries
        dentist for fillings
        replace tooth filling
        fix broken filling
        fix loose filling



        ad group 2
        teeth whitening
        teeth brightening
        laser teeth whitening
        tooth whitening service
        tooth whitening dentist

        ad group 3
        tooth extraction
        tooth removal
        sedated extraction dentist
        dentist for tooth extraction
        I don't like these at all.

        I make my ads very specific to match the search terms as close as possible.

        Looking at the first group:

        I would put this in its own group:
        dentist for carings

        I would probably put these in another group:

        dentist for fillings
        replace tooth filling

        This would be in a third group:

        fix broken filling
        fix loose filling


        The reasoning being that my ads for the last two are going to specifically mention "fixing fillings". The ads for the previous two are going to talk about "replacing fillings". In fact, I might even separate those two also.

        In the second group:

        Anything mentioning "laster whitening" I would put in its own ad group. I would probably move anything mentioning whitening dentists or services into a separate group too.

        Group 3:

        Keywords with extraction are going to be in a separate group from removal. Also, anything about being sedated would have its own group too.

        That's how I would organize those kind of keywords.
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  • Profile picture of the author manivel
    It is actually perfectly okay to have an ad group with less than 30 keywords. Having too many keywords in your PPC account is actually consistently listed as one of the most common PPC mistakes.
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  • Profile picture of the author Castor Troy7
    Nobody can tell you that what numbers of keywords you should use per ad group, but just one thing i can tell you, you should choose your keyword more wisely, it can be 10, 20 or 50 (actually it depends).
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  • Profile picture of the author solarwarrior
    The best practice is not the number of keywords but how relevant the keywords are grouped together.
    Always make sure the keywords in the ad group are relevant to the ads you are promoting to ensure you get the best quality score for your campaigns.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ash2994
    for ad groups, the typical answer is somewhere in the 20-25 keyword range
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  • Profile picture of the author pammy mandal
    The best rule of thumb is to use no more than 20 keywords per ad group.
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  • Give those groups proper names for one thing. In group 1, that first keyword looks out of place. All the rest are about fillings. Otherwise, you got the right idea. Maybe split off the laser whitening one to another group. You could have a more specific ad for those looking for laser whitening vs plain whitening.

    Are you a dentist? If so, is that laser whitening better? Safe? I've been thinking about that lately as I could use it.
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  • Profile picture of the author uncia
    For Search:
    All depends on the type of match you use.
    3-5 broad match might be enough to keep it relevant to the ad copies.
    For the exact match and phrase that could be more

    For Display:
    20-40 broad match.
    Anyway, the majority of traffic most probably be coming from only a couple of them
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  • Profile picture of the author Marty Foley
    Originally Posted by Camila123 View Post

    How many keywords should I have per ad group?
    At risk of restating what others have said in this thread, while bringing up more ideas not mentioned yet...

    1. A common recommendation is no more than 20 keywords per ad group.

    2. Others recommend using the SKAG approach (Single Keyword per Ad Group).

    Personally I don't like the SKAG approach because of the bloat it can add to an account, often generating little or no activity in at least some of the ad groups.

    However, the SKAG method is a good way to increase CTR, because the ads can be written to be highly relevant, laser focused, on the keyword in the ad group (which can't really be done in multi-keyword ad groups).

    3. My recommendations:

    * There's no set number; it depends on how well a keyword performs. If it hasn't converted, it hasn't proven its value and doesn't deserve as much attention or as high of a priority as converting keywords. It's similar for keywords that don't get many impressions.

    * It's okay to start with a higher number of keywords, in fewer ad groups. But as performance data accumulates it's smart to move the better (converting, or higher-impression) keywords to their own ad groups, using ads with copy highly relevant to the keyword(s) in them.

    Marty Foley ~ ConvertMoreTraffic.Com
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  • Marty, I think you are taking the SKAG idea too literally and why you are saying it bloats the account. It's not one keyword per group as in the exact match by itself in its own group, the phrase match in its own group and so on. It's the keyword in all match types in one group.

    For example, if you do SEO, your keyword being "seo services" would all be in one group:

    "seo services"
    [seo services]
    +seo +services

    not three different groups. In fact, I would put the singular "seo service" and [seo service] in that group as well since it's the same and over time you can gauge the differences if any, know what the tendency is (do most search on the plural?) and if the QS is affected by at least two factors in which case you may want to split the singular and plural forms.

    The idea behind SKAG is that each group has a specific keyword and not related ones. So if you want to use "seo agency", that keyword would be in a separate group from the services group above. They are related ideas and similar (lateral) but you want to keep each separate.
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    • Profile picture of the author Marty Foley
      Originally Posted by LucidWebMarketing View Post

      Marty, I think you are taking the SKAG idea too literally and why you are saying it bloats the account. It's not one keyword per group as in the exact match by itself in its own group, the phrase match in its own group and so on. It's the keyword in all match types in one group.
      <snip>
      The idea behind SKAG is that each group has a specific keyword and not related ones.
      <snip>
      Thanks for your thoughts, LWM.

      Different people define SKAG in different ways. To define it literally does mean SINGLE Keyword per Ad Group, not multiple of the same keyword but with different match types.

      For example, a Convert More Traffic client recently asked for a campaign to be set up using the SKAG approach, with 9000+ keywords they provided in a spreadsheet.

      I cautioned against it, but they insisted that they saw it in some training video, and felt that it should be set up that way. So the spreadsheet was configured for copy & paste into Adwords editor, which created 9,546 separate ad groups.

      Since starting the campaign on Jan 24th, only *76* (out of 9,546 total ad groups) have generated at least one impression! Of course there are a number of variables that will affect search volume, such as the quality of the research behind the keywords they provided, the bids, and the geographic targeting, but talk about BLOAT!

      Marty Foley ~ ConvertMoreTraffic.Com
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  • Profile picture of the author sam saif
    excellent discussion, learned several things.
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  • Yes, I'm sure that many, if not most, take SKAG literally and have just one keyword in a group. But that was in my view never the real intent. In fact, SKAG, the way I define it, has been what the gurus have been preaching since the beginning. They just never called it SKAG until someone coined that phrase. Granted, it's a cool acronym and fun to say.

    The problem as you point out is someone reading or seeing something and following blindly not fully understanding or realizing the implications. The reverse is overdoing it and just as bad. I had a client that had set up his campaign with hundreds if not thousands of keywords in their groups. The problem: he came with every possible variation he could think of such as "oil filter for toyota camry", "oil filter for a toyota camry" and "oil filter for my toyota camry", 99% of which never got any impressions.
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  • Profile picture of the author kate50
    I would recommend 5 to 10 highly targeted keywords are more than enough.
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  • Profile picture of the author NickLenihan
    There is no right amount of keywords to put in an ad group. Some ad groups may have 1 keyword, while others have 20+. The secret is to group all the relevant keywords together in the same ad group so you can show the most relevant ads, resulting in more clicks, higher QS, and more conversions.

    Google specialists will recommend 15 - 20, but this is bad advice particularly if your keywords could be broken down into smaller ad groups to further improve ad relevancy.
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  • Profile picture of the author JhonnyH
    You can put keywords as per your targeted conditions. Not any length are mentions
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  • Profile picture of the author JhonnyH
    I think 20 keywords is preferred for ad groups
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  • I think a moderator should close this thread. Nothing new nor informative is being said.
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  • Profile picture of the author Martin smith
    Better to use 10 to 15 keywords
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  • Profile picture of the author swetha gowda
    I usually strive for no more than 15 keywords per ad group. But I also have ad groups with 50 keywords or more, and that's fine too. It just depends.

    While Google itself suggests on using 10-20 keywords when creating a new ad group. You might think of it as a best practice to continue, adding similar/related terms that stick with the theme of the ad group
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  • Profile picture of the author manish123
    There can be any number of keywords in an Adgrowup as far as your Ad --> Keywords --> Landing page is relevant.

    The goal for keeping separate Adgroups should be to maintain a good quality score.


    Originally Posted by Camila123 View Post

    How many keywords should I have per ad group?
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  • Profile picture of the author Techly Solutions
    There is no such limit or a magic number for keywords. It totally depends on you how many suits for your campaign? but yes definitely, later on, you have to optimise that keyword list as per their working.
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  • Profile picture of the author Awais_Afzal1
    I would say you should have the least amount of keywords per ad group. If possible go only with 1 keyword per ad group. Just focus on to get the maximum quality score on most relevant keywords that describe your products effectively.
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  • Profile picture of the author Daijon Moss
    According to my experience 15 to 20 keywords are the perfect for 1 Ad group. It all depends on you that's how much but as per my experience this is the quick and effective.
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  • Profile picture of the author affmarketer101
    I would like to recommend max 20 keywords. And 15 is the number I prefer.
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  • Profile picture of the author satyendrasingh06
    Its better to use 5 to 10 keywords per ad group.
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  • Profile picture of the author Pradeep k
    Up to 15 Keywords is fine , and need to choose them after making good research which are having more keyword density and being most searched by the audience.
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  • Profile picture of the author kenyan
    The number of keywords depends on you, since you may have many keywords but you get the most of them are not competitive therefore lowering the CTR which will result you to pay more . but with fewer and competitive keywords it will result to a high CTR therefore more impression and less pay more sells.So the best thing is to find the best keywords that are competitive . and this you can get by using some software which helps you to know the best keywords and how they are competitive in the market.
    some best software for keyword search are ....
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  • Profile picture of the author Samsungtab
    I usually strive for no more than 15 keywords per ad group. But I also have ad groups with 50 keywords or more, and that's fine too. It just totally depends.
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  • Profile picture of the author iprism
    Keywords are not a matter, Ad relevancy is very important. You can create unique ad copies to your keywords.
    For example each Ad Words account you can create 10,000 Campaigns and each campaign you can create 20,000 Ad Groups and each ad group you can create 50 Ad Texts and each AD Group you can create 5 Millions Keywords.

    Campaigns 10,000
    AD Groups 20,000
    Ad Texts 50
    Keywords 5 Millions
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  • Profile picture of the author Janvi Arora
    Banned
    10 - 20 keywords per ad group is ideal as we can serve a much more specific ad for those keywords. Around 50% of advertisers paracticing and this works for them.
    I always recommend to mix n match the strategies that help you increase CTR. So including both generic and SKAG ad groups with a mix-n-match in the campaign will benefit to get good results.
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  • Profile picture of the author volcan
    By the way, who Is the best network that optimize ad keyword?
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  • Profile picture of the author stephenchong
    That all depends on the Keywords you want to focus. I always prefer to add 10-15 keywords in an add group and some time even less so that i can effectively optimise the Advertisement. Placing keywords which are not specific to you Ad will result in Less Quality score and your ad can never place higher in placement.
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  • Profile picture of the author sakshidmp
    you should target all the combination which will bring right customers to the landing page.
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  • Profile picture of the author eMarketeducation
    First, you can start with 10-15 Keywords in an Ad Group. Then after it starts performing you get search term report. From the search term report, you can add new keywords
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  • Profile picture of the author Glennhiles
    Starting with 10 to 15 keywords is the best thing according to me. Rather you can also use below 20 keywords.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ankitshah
    Hi,
    As we know, if we go with Google, there is mention that not used more than 20 keywords per ads groups.
    According to me, there is no such limit for that but used such keywords which are relevant to the content of your website. What I used it is between 10-15 keywords per ads group for better results or for better ranking.
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  • Profile picture of the author bargainbed
    Banned
    You can use upto 10 keywords per ad group.
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  • Profile picture of the author fastreplies
    Originally Posted by Camila123 View Post

    How many keywords should I have per ad group?
    KWs are not about quantity but rather how they are
    related to content they're representing.

    You may have group of 2 and it will be enough to place
    your site on top or 5 but nowhere to be found.



    fastreplies
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  • may be it is upto 25 i think so.
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  • Profile picture of the author PPC Papa
    There is no such magic number it depends upon how many keywords an ad copy describes. It is always good to have more specific ad copy over having a general ad copy.
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