Ad Group

Definition

An ad group contains one or more PPC ads targeted at the same set of keywords. Each PPC campaign must include one or more ad group. Ad groups allow companies to organise their PPC campaign ads into common themes.

To create an ad group each keyword should be allocated to a match type. This clearly defines the queries for when an ad will be shown.

The Seven Match Types for Each Keyword:

1. Exact – Query has to be exact.
2. Exact (Close variant) – Query has to be typed exactly, but can include misspellings or other variations.
3. Phrase – Query has to be in correct order, even if there are additional words before or after the query. Can include misspellings or other variations.
4. Phrase (Close variant) – Query has to be in correct order, even if there are additional words before or after the query. It can include misspellings or other variations.
5. Broad – Query can by typed in any order and will potentially display ads for similar searches
6. Modified Broad – Query can be in any order, but must include words that contain a plus sign
7. Broad (Session-Based) – A broad match that takes into account other searches from the user’s search session.

Here is an example table of match types, keywords and possible search queries for conversion rate optimisation.

Ad groups are important because they determine your:

• Keywords
• Text ad
• Landing pages

Google and other search engines also assess ad groups to identify:

• Which keywords will trigger your ads to be displayed.
• What your ad will communicate.
• The landing page where visitors will be taken if they click on your ad.

Ad groups also determine how you decide:

• The audience to advertise to.
• What to communicate to get their attention.
• What benefits and features are most likely to get them to convert to the ad.

For ad groups to be effective it is necessary for them to be consistent.

• Integration – This means creating keyword groups, ad text and landing pages that are closely integrated with one another.
• Consistency – Integration should result in message consistency. This should ensure your ad text and landing pages closely match the queries users are typing in to land on your site.

Conclusion:

Ad groups are an important element of pay-per-click marketing. Creating effective ad groups is an essential skill of a PPC marketer as it helps generate more traffic and leads at lower costs. This should make your PPC campaigns more profitable by also improving your conversion rate.

Resources:

Conversion marketing – Glossary of Conversion Marketing.

Over 300 tools reviewed – Digital Marketing Toolbox.

SEO – How to do keyword research.

Credit:

Ad icons created by Freepik – Flaticon