Upon checking my account this morning I find it has been disabled. I never saw whether it was "at risk".
So I ring Google for an explanation. The first thing I find is that the 0.5% rule no longer applies. I don't know whether this was common knowledge but I certainly didn't know.
They were also unable to tell me exactly why this word had been disabled, other than that compared to other ads competing for the same word, it must have been doing poorly. Along with the high CTR it has consistently acheived, the fact that that it was set at the minimum bid and averaged a top 2 position I don't see how this can be possible. (Approx 15 other competitors.)
Anyway, Google are unable to un-disable it for me and suggested I set up a new ad group for this word alone. But why was it disabled in the first place?
Or maybe it is just yet another adwords bug.
This is the reason why my most reward KW is disabled after disabled. This KW is set at the minimum bid and in the top position since there is no other competing ad. Its CTR is always over 1%. I'm tired of adding new ad-group for this KW and its negatives. The life of these new ad-groups become shorter and shorter until now I give it up.
Anyway, Google are unable to un-disable it for me and suggested I set up a new ad group for this word alone. But why was it disabled in the first place?
As keywords are disabled by an algorithm that is monitoring tens of millions of keywords, and not by a person, it is true that Google can not 'un-disable' a keyword. However, one can certainly use the keyword again, after first deleting it everywhere it is used within the account.
The suggestion about putting the keyword into it's own Ad Group was made because this gives you the best opportunity to couple the keyword to an ad that is written specifically for it. A Very Targeted Ad, in other words. This will give the keyword it's best chance for success.
Why was it disabled? Well, the short answer is that the keyword did not meet the performance standard, which is measured on Google alone. (This will be reflected in the 'Status' column of your stats.) The high CTR you mentioned is reflective of the CTR for both Google and all partner sites. So in this case, we are looking at a keyword that did very well on partner sites, while not doing well on Google.
I did not know the 0.5% rule is no longer applied. When did Google abandon this rule?
This occurred in the later part of last year, and was the subject of a thread or two at that time, as I recall.
The actual number is not a simple one to give, as it is 'normalized' for position, keyword parameters, etc. (as has been discussed here in the past). However, for the sake of simplicity, think of it as 1.0% - as measured on Google alone.
Bottom Line: The easiest and most effective way to monitor your keyword's performance on Google is to look at the 'Status' column in your stats. This column specifically tells you how each keyword is performing on Google alone.
AWA
Thanks!
