1. The keywords in an ad group share 1 term- e.g blue widget, red widget, yellow widget
2.The keywords in an ad group share 2 terms-
red widget online, red widget buy, red widget great etc.
I understand that option 2 is better, but will I get Penalized (in terms of min cpc, exposure, quality score) for choosing option 1?
If I choose to build my ad groups as in option 2 it would mean breaking down the keyword list into very small and targeted ad groups, which is very time consuming.
I prefer to start with option 1, and break down the ad groups (or "pill and stick") only when I see some traffic that justifies the work. On the other hand if I get penalized (even unknowingly by getting less exposure) I'll go for option 2 from the beginning.
Would love to hear your opinions about this approach.
Write one ad that's very targeted towards a theme and has one explicit user intent.
If a new keyword is not accurately described by that ad, it should be in another ad group.
If the keyword is described by the ad, then it's ok to be in that ad group.
After you do this exercise for an ad group, take a look at your keyword lists. Should the ad have been more targeted? If so, then write another ad and repeat.
Since the ad is what connects the keyword to the landing page via the browser, it needs to accurately describe the keyword and the landing page.
[edited by: eWhisper at 1:33 pm (utc) on Feb. 13, 2007]
