Inactive keywords still getting some action

a bit strange....

[koncept]

One of my campaigns was hit especially hard. (every single keyword that has ever gotten a click was disabled) However, in several of my adgroups, the "inactive" keywords are still showing impressions, AND clicks for the search network. Although MUCH less than usual, the clicks are there and at CTRs of up to 18%. I'm baffled! (You might say 'don't complain', but I'm talking 5-10% the normal traffic)

Now, I haven't seen the ad myself, it isn't showing when I do a search. But I have this campaign set up to show in 6 countries. In a country where no other ads are showing, maybe they are giving it exposure there?

I don't know... Anyone else seeing this?

[ohwell]

Can't say what that is but I would bet the traffic source is prob not the best.

he he Here's one for ya. I had a KW set at $1.00 for a long time as it was inactive as another guy had the listing. Well I see a campaign went up a tad. Turns out the guy and perhaps others too removed their listing for this KW so I got it.

Bang! 3 impression, 3 hits, $3.00, $1.00 CPC, 100% CTR.

So I say hmm lets lower this to .10 CPC. Guess what, have you seen one of these lately:

"Inactive for search
Increase quality or bid $1.00 to activate"

So guess what, another one bites the dust. That KW you always wanted. You may now get it - at $1.00 a pop! What a nightmare.

[rryan]

I too am getting some search traffic even though the adwords client has the words marked "Inactive for Search". At very reduced volumes.

Sounds a lot like a 3rd string quarterback; coach hates to use you but will insert you when he has to.

There could be some reasons we are seeing this:
The replacement ad may be paying more to get the impression but may not convert as well as your ad did and after some experimenting with the guy willing to pay more, Google might be willing to take your lower bid in exchange for the higher conversion rate your ad offers. Remember they make money on clicks too.

[Bobble2]

I've learned to keep even the most inactive keywords for that reason. Even though AdWords may tell you that a keyword is "inactive for search" because of the bid price, it can still get impressions and clicks because what Google doesn't account for is the fact that most of your competitors don't have impressions shown for every search because of budget reasons or they're using the "spread ads over time" option. I stick to a strict policy of never bidding more than 10 cents for search clicks and 5 cents for content clicks (because those are just window shoppers).

The key is using as many relevant keyword combinations as possible. No you don't have to spend hours with a dictionary in front of you to accomplish this. Find only the nouns that are related, and then use a keyword expansion tool to do the rest. A company called Latshaw Systems just made one but due to this forum's rules, I can't tell you where to get it, but you can figure it out by the company name.

Google limits ad groups to 2,000 keywords and limits your account to around 50,000 total. Most people don't even begin to approach this, but if you want to lower your CPC by increasing the possibility of hitting exact matches that your competitors aren't, you have no reason not to.

Let me give you an example. Let's say you have a web site that sells sporting goods and sports related items. Obviously you'd want a keyword list of just about every sport out there like so:

archery
badminton
baseball
basketball
billards
boxing
cricket
cycling
diving
equestrian
fencing
football
golf
gymnastics
handball
hunting
hockey
judo
kayaking
kickball
lacrosse
pentathlon
ping pong
rowing
rugby
sailing
shooting
snooker
soccer
swimming
taekwondo
t-ball
t ball
table tennis
tennis
triathlon
volleyball
water polo
weightlifting
wrestling

The longer your initial list is, the better, but for demonstration sake, we'll stick with this short list. Take those words and use an expansion tool to instantly double it by "tacking on" a relevant word like "gear". In one click you can have this:

archery gear
badminton gear
baseball gear
basketball gear
billards gear
boxing gear
cricket gear
cycling gear
diving gear
equestrian gear
fencing gear
football gear
golf gear
gymnastics gear
handball gear
hunting gear
hockey gear
judo gear
kayaking gear
kickball gear
lacrosse gear
pentathlon gear
ping pong gear
rowing gear
rugby gear
sailing gear
shooting gear
snooker gear
soccer gear
swimming gear
taekwondo gear
t-ball gear
t ball gear
table tennis gear
tennis gear
triathlon gear
volleyball gear
water polo gear
weightlifting gear
wrestling gear

You can see how in no time at all, you can fill your 50,000 word limit. Why wouldn't you? I've hit my limit but I also don't pay much for clicks and I get hits on all kinds of combinations I never expected. You'd be amazed at the different ways people search for the same thing.

[xor0]

Inactive kws have always gotten some clicks, they get periodically tested to see if they can be reactivated. Just that when you have 1000 inactive kws it looks like they are getting lots of clicks...

[sem4u]

xor0 is correct - sometimes 'inactive' keywords will get clicks.

[Green_Grass]

Yes, some inactive words are getting clicks and for a few keywords, the bid prices have also gone down a tad. I have increased my bid prices slightly to see if there is a positive effect, after all we are now living in a changed reality.

I wrote a polite letter to G today asking for a manual review as I have a small e-store. I pray the Google God shows some mercy.