The next generation of keyword evaluation

We’ve been hearing that our keyword states are confusing… In the coming weeks, we're aiming to change all that. Read on to learn about changes we’ll be making to our keyword evaluation system, as told by Bindu R., an AdWords Product Manager.

We heard from you that trying to advertise with our current keyword states is like playing keyword roulette. You never know what keyword state will be assigned, and you sometimes can’t run on your most important keywords. In the coming weeks we’ll make changes to simplify our keyword states and give you more control to run on the keywords that you find valuable. Here are the improvements that you’ll see:

Simplified Keyword States: Keywords will be placed in to one of two states – active or inactive. People like the idea of something that’s a little more binary - on/off, day/night, hot/cold – you get the picture.

Increased Control: We’re replacing the static USD $0.05 minimum bid for all keywords with a minimum bid that varies based on the quality of your keyword and ad text. High quality keywords (determined by the Quality Score) will have minimum bids as low as $0.01, while keywords with a lower Quality Score will be assigned higher minimum bids. As long as the maximum CPC meets the minimum bid, your keyword will be active. You no longer have to worry about on hold, in trial, or disabled keywords.

We’re giving you the control you asked for so you can run on the keywords that are important to your business.

We hope that these changes will let you sleep soundly. Feel better already? Learn more about these changes with our new simplified keyword states and added control and what you can do in the coming weeks here.

Posted by Jon, Inside AdWords crew