PPC Ad Group Split

Having a successful pay-per-click account requires attention to detail. Search engines make the PPC entry-point easy for anyone to advertise. However, because of that ease, Google and Microsoft also make it easy for anyone to fail. Without constant tweaking of ads and keywords, money is spent with little results.

When creating a new PPC account or campaign, the most crucial time is the first month. That first month is when the initial data comes in. These first 30 days, puts solid numbers behind the assumptions and estimates.

The initial count of ad groups are often multiplied within 30 days. This is because of ad group splitting. Ad group splitting is a constant practice with PPC professionals. Granularity is the essence of any strong pay-per-click campaign. The more granular an ad group, the more the keywords are closely related.

Let’s run through a pie example.

Value of Ad Group Splitting

1. Easier Keyword Control – Unsuccessful keywords can be paused at the ad group level. By separating pies, advertisers are able to pause at each specific pie level. This helps if blueberry pies are out of stock, on sale, or anything else unique to this specific pie.
2. Limit use of DKI – All keywords match ad and reduce need for DKI (Dynamic Keyword Insertion). It would not be necessary to use a dynamic keyword insertion for the Apple Pie ad group. The headline should always match, if keywords are tightly connected.
3. Control Cost – Matching keywords are near the same cost. Thus, cost can be controlled easier.

   I will admit I have not done much research on the estimated cost-per-click of blueberry pies. However, I would assume there isn’t much cost difference between “buy blueberry pies” and “blueberry pies online”. Because the cost is relatively the same, it allows advertisers to control the max CPC at the ad group level, not at the keyword level. Plus, certain pies (or whatever product you sell) have higher margins over other pies. That means that advertisers know what they can spend on advertising on each product. $0.50 per click for blueberry pies may be too high to see a return on investment, but it may be just right for apple pies.

4. Targeted Landing Pages – By keeping keywords closely streamlined together, you can make sure searchers land on the right page. This is the most obvious and most essential of ad group splitting. Sending “blueberry pie” queries to page of apple pies or all pies is a common mistake. This is the equivalent, and I see it way too often, of sending users to the home page of a site.



It’s important to take a look at your ad groups often. Can they be split more? I am sure they can. In fact, I am sure many of my ad groups can be split today. It’s a never-ending process.

Tags: ad groups, AdWords, Google, Pay Per Click, PPC
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