Use the Keywords page to search for and view keywords and to review the performance statistics and bid information associated with those keywords. You can search for keywords by various attributes such as name, status, CTR, or cost and compare statistics across your keywords.
Adding Keywords to an Ad Group
While you cannot create keywords directly on the Keywords page, you can create them on the Ad Group Details page for the ad group to which the new keyword will apply. For instructions on creating a keyword, refer to the Ad Group Details help topic.
To download keywords:
Click the Campaigns tab and then the Keywords subtab. The Keywords page opens.
Click the Download Keywords link. The File Download dialog opens.
Click the Save button to save the file to your computer.
Use a spreadsheet program to view and edit the keywords spreadsheet.
The Status column on the Keyword page contains current status information to show you whether or not the keyword is active. For more information on statuses, refer to the Statuses help topic.
To set a date range for keyword statistics:
Click the Campaigns tab and then the Keywords subtab. The Keywords page opens. (Alternatively, if you want to work with keywords from one specific ad group, you could click the Campaigns tab and then the Ad Groups subtab. When the Ad Groups page opens, identify the ad group and click its link. When the Ad Group Details page opens, click the Keywords tab in the bottom of the page.)
Click the calendar icon. The Select Date dialog box opens.
In the Select Date dialog box, select a start date and an end date from the calendars on the right, or select a predefined date range in the selection box.
Click Apply.
The dates you selected are applied to the Keywords page. The keyword statistics will only display data within the selected date range.
To search for a keyword:
Click the Campaigns tab and then the Keywords subtab. The Keywords page opens. (Alternatively, if you want to work with keywords from one specific ad group, you could click the Campaigns tab and then the Ad Groups subtab. When the Ad Groups page opens, identify the ad group and click its link. When the Ad Group Details page opens, click the Keywords tab in the bottom of the page.)
Enter all or part of a keyword name in the search box.
Click the Search button to retrieve results. The search results will display all keywords that contain your search term in the ad group name.
In the table, click the column name in any column header to sort by the information in that column.
Click the Clear Search link to return to the default keywords list.
Searching for Keywords with Advanced Search
To search for a keyword using advanced search:
Click the Campaigns tab and then the Keywords subtab. The Keywords page opens. (Alternatively, if you want to work with keywords from one specific ad group, you could click the Campaigns tab and then the Ad Groups subtab. When the Ad Groups page opens, identify the ad group and click its link. When the Ad Group Details page opens, click the Keywords tab in the bottom of the page.)
Click the Advanced Search link. The Advanced Search dialog box opens.
Enter criteria for your search (you can enter as many advanced search criteria as you wish).
Click the Search button to retrieve your keyword search results.
In the table, click the column name in any column header to sort by the information in that column.
Click the Edit Search link if you want to refine the search, or click the Clear Search link to return to the default keywords list.
To search for all keywords declined in the last month:
Click the Campaigns tab and then the Keywords subtab. The Keywords page opens. (Alternatively, if you want to work with keywords from one specific ad group, you could click the Campaigns tab and then the Ad Groups subtab. When the Ad Groups page opens, identify the ad group and click its link. When the Ad Group Details page opens, click the Keywords tab in the bottom of the page.)
Click the calendar icon to set the date range to the last month.
Click the Advanced Search link. The Advanced Search dialog box opens.
Set Editorial Status to Declined.
Click the Search button.
To search for keywords that are currently paused:
Click the Campaigns tab and then the Keywords subtab. The Keywords page opens. (Alternatively, if you want to work with keywords from one specific ad group, you could click the Campaigns tab and then the Ad Groups subtab. When the Ad Groups page opens, identify the ad group and click its link. When the Ad Group Details page opens, click the Keywords tab in the bottom of the page.)
Click the Advanced Search link. The Advanced Search dialog box opens.
In the Status list, select Paused.
Click the Search button.
To search for keywords that do not meet minimum bid requirements:
Click the Campaigns tab and then the Keywords subtab. The Keywords page opens. (Alternatively, if you want to work with keywords from one specific ad group, you could click the Campaigns tab and then the Ad Groups subtab. When the Ad Groups page opens, identify the ad group and click its link. When the Ad Group Details page opens, click the Keywords tab in the bottom of the page.)
Click the Advanced Search link. The Advanced Search dialog box opens.
In the Status list, select Inactive, Bid Too Low and Pending Inactive, Bid Too Low.
Click the Search button.
Pausing and Unpausing Keywords
To pause or unpause keywords:
Click the Campaigns tab and then the Keywords subtab. The Keywords page opens. (Alternatively, if you want to work with keywords from one specific ad group, you could click the Campaigns tab and then the Ad Groups subtab. When the Ad Groups page opens, identify the ad group and click its link. When the Ad Group Details page opens, click the Keywords tab in the bottom of the page.)
Select the checkboxes that correspond to the keywords you want to pause or unpause.
Click the Pause or Unpause buttons, depending on which action you want to take on the selected keywords.
When the confirmation dialog box opens, click Submit to apply your changes.
Note: If you unpause a keyword that has become inactive because of another circumstance (for example, if the keyword is inactive because minimum bids are not met), then the keyword will still remain inactive until the circumstance is corrected. Also, if you have campaign optimization enabled, the optimizer may pause one or more keywords based on its analysis of how to help achieve your specified business goals. For example, the optimizer might pause certain high volume keywords for campaigns that have relatively small budgets.
To add or remove keywords from your watch list:
Click the Campaigns tab and then the Keywords subtab. The Keywords page opens. (Alternatively, if you want to work with keywords from one specific ad group, you could click the Campaigns tab and then the Ad Groups subtab. When the Ad Groups page opens, identify the ad group and click its link. When the Ad Group Details page opens, click the Keywords tab in the bottom of the page.)
Select the checkboxes that correspond to the keywords to add or remove from your watch list.
Click the Edit Watch List button. The Edit Watch List dialog box opens.
In the Watch Selected Keywords field, select Yes or No.
Click the Submit button to apply your changes.
Your keyword bid is the maximum amount you are willing to pay each time your ad is clicked.
To set a keyword bid for one or more keywords:
Click the Campaigns tab and then the Keywords subtab. The Keywords page opens. (Alternatively, if you want to work with keywords from one specific ad group, you could click the Campaigns tab and then the Ad Groups subtab. When the Ad Groups page opens, identify the ad group and click its link. When the Ad Group Details page opens, click the Keywords tab in the bottom of the page.)
Click the checkboxes that correspond to the keywords you would like to update.
Click the Set Keyword Bids button. The Set Keyword Bids page opens.
In the Set Keyword Bids page, you can select from two options to set your keyword bids:
Use the ad group default bid. If you want to use the bid that was set for the ad group to which the keyword belongs, select the option in the Ad Group Bid column for that keyword.
Specify a keyword bid. If you want to specify a different bid from the ad group default bid, select the option in the Keyword Bid column for that keyword and then type the bid that you want to use for that keyword in the text box. The value below the text box shows you the minimum bid required to keep the keyword active. If you specify a value lower than the minimum required bid, then the keyword will be inactive.
The down arrow button next to the text box for the first keyword on the page applies mass changes using the same bid amount. When you click the button, all keywords on the page are automatically updated to the same keyword bid as the first keyword.
Click the Save Changes button to apply the new bids to the keywords.
To edit a keyword bid:
Click the Campaigns tab and then the Keywords subtab. The Keywords page opens. (Alternatively, if you want to work with keywords from one specific ad group, you could click the Campaigns tab and then the Ad Groups subtab. When the Ad Groups page opens, identify the ad group and click its link. When the Ad Group Details page opens, click the Keywords tab in the bottom of the page.)
Identify a keyword in the table and click its Bid link. The Set a Bid (for campaigns not using optimization) or Set a Bid Limit (for campaigns using optimization) dialog box opens.
Select on of the following bid options:
Use Ad Group Default Bid: Select this option to use the bid that was set for the ad group to which the keyword belongs.
Use Custom Keyword Bid: Select this option to specify a different bid from the ad group default bid and then type the bid that you want to use for that keyword in the text box. The value above these options shows you the minimum bid required to keep the keyword active.
Click the Submit button to apply the new keyword bid.
Note: If the bid you specify is below the minimum amount required to keep the keywords active, then you will be prompted to select one of the following options:
Keep your specified bid and allow keywords that use their Sponsored Search ad group default bid to be inactive.
Change the bid amount to the minimum amount required to keep the keywords using the ad group default bid active.
To view the estimated forecast for a keyword bid and the estimated bid range for prime placement of a keyword:
Click the Campaigns tab and then the Keywords subtab. The Keywords page opens. (Alternatively, if you want to work with keywords from one specific ad group, you could click the Campaigns tab and then the Ad Groups subtab. When the Ad Groups page opens, identify the ad group and click its link. When the Ad Group Details page opens, click the Keywords tab in the bottom of the page.)
Identify a keyword in the table and click its Bid link. The Set a Bid dialog box opens.
In the Set a Bid Dialog box, you’ll notice the following:
In the Estimated Monthly Forecast graph, the red line represents your current bid for the keyword and indicates an estimate for clicks and other statistics that you may receive for this bid. You can move the red line with the slide control to see how different bids may affect clicks.
The section with the label Recent Bid Range for Top Positions shows the bid range based on the most recent data available that would place your ad in the top available positions for the keyword. Bid and ad quality are used to determine an ad’s position in search results.
To delete keywords:
Click the Campaigns tab and then the Keywords subtab. The Keywords page opens. (Alternatively, if you want to work with keywords from one specific ad group, you could click the Campaigns tab and then the Ad Groups subtab. When the Ad Groups page opens, identify the ad group and click its link. When the Ad Group Details page opens, click the Keywords tab in the bottom of the page.)
Click the checkboxes that correspond to the keywords to delete.
Click the Delete button. The Delete Keyword dialog box opens.
Click Yes to delete your keywords or No to keep them.
To learn more about keywords see: