What Is the Strategy for Adding Keywords to Ad Groups?

The key strategy for adding keywords to ad groups is to create separate ad groups for each main service your business offers and focus on targeting one to three main keywords within each ad group. This approach leverages Google’s ability to understand context, eliminating the need to overload ad groups with excessive keywords.

Full Explanation

When organizing keywords in your Google Ads campaign, it’s important to structure them around the core services your business provides. Each main service should have its own distinct ad group. Within these dedicated ad groups, you limit your focus to a small set of primary keywords—typically one to three—that best represent that service. This targeted setup allows Google’s algorithms to better comprehend the context and intent behind your ads, improving relevance and performance. It also means you don’t have to crowd an ad group with a large number of keywords to cover every possible variation, as Google’s smart algorithms interpret related meaning effectively.

Step-by-Step Breakdown

Identify Main Services: List out each primary service your business offers.
Create Separate Ad Groups: For each service, set up a distinct ad group within your campaign.
Select Keywords: Choose one to three key keywords that best capture the essence of that service to include in the ad group.
Leverage Google’s Understanding: Allow Google’s contextual algorithms to interpret related search queries, reducing the need for extensive keyword lists within each ad group.

Real Examples

Imagine your business offers web design and SEO consulting. You would create one ad group for web design, targeting one to three keywords such as “web design services” or “professional web design.” Another ad group would be solely for SEO consulting, with keywords like “SEO consultant” or “search engine optimization help.” By doing this, each ad group remains tightly themed around a single service, improving ad relevance and user experience.

Common Mistakes

Trying to add hundreds or thousands of keywords into the same ad group, which dilutes relevance and can reduce ad effectiveness.
Merging unrelated services into one ad group, leading to confusion for both the user and Google’s algorithms.
Ignoring the power of Google’s context understanding and overcomplicating keyword strategies unnecessarily.

FAQs

Is it okay to have more than three keywords in an ad group?: While you technically can, it’s best to keep the focus on one to three main keywords to maintain strong contextual relevance according to Google’s algorithms.
Can Google’s algorithms handle long keyword lists in one ad group?: Google does understand context well, so overloading an ad group with many keywords is unnecessary and can hinder performance.
Should every service always have its own ad group?: Yes, creating separate ad groups for each main service helps maintain clarity and improves ad targeting.

Key Takeaways

Base your ad groups on each main service your business offers.
Include only one to three keywords per ad group to maximize relevance.
Trust Google’s ability to interpret context, reducing the need for numerous keywords.
A well-structured campaign with focused ad groups leads to better ad performance and user engagement.