Do Single Keyword Ad Groups Work?

The seasoned marketer is always looking for new and creative ways to drive ROI, and with search engine marketing consistently remaining the best way to capitalize on awareness, traffic, and conversions, it is an area of digital marketing that cannot go ignored. Single Keyword Ad Groups (SKAGs) is a strategy that has been recently popularized by marketers around the world. It is a way to set up ad groups in Google so that they only contain one keyword each, allowing the marketer to deliver an ad that is exactly targeted to what a searcher is looking for. This strategy leaves a lot of marketers wondering, Is this strategy effective? And Should my company be implementing it? But before we answer those questions, let’s review what a SKAGs strategy entails.

What is a Single Keyword Ad Group?

The Single Keyword Ad Group is a method of organizing a Google Ads campaign. It ensures a tight match between search terms and ad copy. SKAGs allow PPC marketers to have more control and add more value to their Google Ads account. If you can deliver an ad that speaks directly to what a searcher is looking for, you are going to enjoy more click throughs and likely, more conversions. You can check out our full explanatory guide. We also love the way Jeffalytics breaks down the SKAG structure in his Youtube video.

The Benefits of Single Keyword Ad Groups

Using the Single Keyword Ad Group method means that your searchers are enjoying higher quality ads due to ad relevance. Since you can tailor your ad copy to an exact keyword or search phrase, searchers will see an ad that was built on exactly what they searched for.

Alternatively, marketers can create a more general ad that is tied to multiple keywords and multiple ad groups. This runs the risk of delivering a searcher less relevant ads, and can increase cost-per-click (CPC) since you are more likely to get clicks without conversions. A PPC marketer who uses SKAGs is more likely to enjoy a lower CPC. SKAGs also supercharge click-through-rates (CTR), and as a result Google will grant you a higher quality score over time.

And it gets better. Single Keyword Ad Group campaigns allow for more control over bids, which allows marketers to spend ad budget more effectively. Adjusting bids based on keyword and match type performance creates a more efficient long-term system.

The Drawbacks of Single Keyword Ad Groups

Creating SKAGs is time-consuming – especially if you have hundreds or thousands of keywords in your Google Ads account due to the duplication and tweaking of every version of the terms you target. Creating specific ads for each keyword can also be challenging. The best way to approach it is to create two ads per SKAG for testing. For more popular keywords it is best to test with three ads. If you follow this strategy, testing can take up a lot of time and energy.

It’s also harder to keep a comprehensive overview of SKAGs. If you have hundreds of ad groups, each will have its own ad and search terms report to keep track of, which can be tough especially for beginners.

Lastly, creating too many ad groups can lead to keywords with a “low search volume” status. As a result, Google will temporarily make these words inactive so they don’t trigger your ads – leading to wasted effort.

Luckily, We Come Bearing Solutions!

The good news is that you can adapt your approach to overcome these obstacles

Even with the drawbacks, you can make the SKAG approach work for your next advertising campaign. Once you master it, you will have an advantage over the competition. It is important to know when to use SKAGs. If you have a low-volume keyword, it may not be worth the effort. However, with high volume keywords, the SKAG method is the most effective. The trick is to not get too granular. Only split off keywords into their own ad groups if they get at least 20-30 searches per month.

Remember that it isn’t all or nothing. You can have a healthy combination of various campaign organizing structures, ensuring the quality of SKAG ads as well as the convenience of others.

And the vast amount of time it takes to set up a SKAG PPC campaign? We have a solution for that too. Use a tool!

SKAGs Are Still Going Strong!

Using the SKAG method for an ad campaign may seem dated to a marketer here and there, but here at Fiuti, we see campaigns being created daily by agencies and can confidentiality say that the technique is not only still relevant but it is very much effective. The SKAGs strategy delivers the best quality results, especially when used with high-volume keywords. There are a few drawbacks that can be overcome, and those who bother to do so tend to conquer the world of PPC advertising. You can perfect each ad based on its own keyword, leading to a higher conversion rate…and you know what they say; “quality rules over quantity”!

We hope you learned something today. If you want to keep it going, check out related articles on our blog, such as The 10 Time Tested Benefits of SKAGs.