I guess, in essence, both options will end in those keywords not showing your ad when typed in Google; however, we want to be sure we are doing the right thing before we move forward.
If we delete keywords that we've had for a year+, and want to bring them back later (for some reason or another), will that make that keyword less popular than before? (Does a keyword lose validity is it is deleted then re-add?)
Any information would be helpful.
I would suggest not to delete the keywords because in case you need those keywords the quality score gained so far will be lost.
You can pause the same and use it later this way quality score gained will sustain to build up further.
Thank you for the insight. I wasn't sure about the "quality control" aspect of keywords. I had an idea, but I wasn't sure if it was true or not.
So, should we pause words, even if they haven't done ANYTHING at all for over a year and a half? What's the drawing line for pausing a keyword?
[...] If we delete keywords that we've had for a year+, and want to bring them back later (for some reason or another), will that make that keyword less popular than before? (Does a keyword lose validity is it is deleted then re-add?) [...]
I really hesitate to jump in here, since I fear that my answer will be taken as more 'technically' meaningful than it is. So I will start by saying that I am not aware of anything at work in terms of Quality Score that will make an appreciable difference one way or the other. On the other hand, the competitive landscape may have changed during that time, and/or the keyword may have acquired new and unexpected meanings or connotations which might might lead to noticeable changes.
[...] So, should we pause words, even if they haven't done ANYTHING at all for over a year and a half? What's the drawing line for pausing a keyword?
I think this amounts to a personal (and perhaps even an aesthetic) decision. I guess my questions would be along these lines:
* If a keyword has done nothing for you for a year and a half, then why would you want to keep it?
* Is there something about the 'realm' of the keyword that might change, or is expected to change at some point?
* Do the keywords bring any sort of positive ROI (Return on Investment) at all. Or is it negative? Or neutral?
* Would your account be easier to manage if you had fewer keywords, all of which actually worked well for you?
Because I like things to be rather spare and efficient, I'd almost certainly remove them - and folks in this forum have often heard me talk in a rather negative way about 'deadwood' keywords. But that's just me.
This is one of those times when I wish that someone like eWhisper or netmeg would jump in with one of their blinding insights based on years and years of experience and testing every single nuance. Perhaps they will. ;)
AWA
My take on it is that....I would prefer to pause the keywords rather than delete just for the sake of building up the history.
It will assist those who look at the account once you move onto other things and hand it over.
They will know what has already been tried and tested so no extra cash is thrown at those keywords.
Saves people making the same mistake twice of going over tested grounds...
Hope that helps.
