Comments on: Praise and Caution for the AdWords Opportunities Tab

By: Henrik

Henrik — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 07:05:30 +0000

Hi Carrie

Could you please elaborate on:

“For example, for an ad group that just focuses on ’shoes’, Google suggested I add the keyword ‘buy red shoes’. While this keyword would be good to add if I sell red shoes on my website, it should live in its own ad group for the sake of quality score.”

How is the quality score affected by this action? Does such action decrease quality score on the ad group/existing keywords as such or the newly added keyword only?

Thank you

By: Abertawe

Abertawe — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 01:45:38 +0000

This is just a revenue generator.

I tested this against an adgroup that is targeted at a town for example – Hicksville Cakes, Hicksville Birthday Cakes etc, but came back with no relevant keywords for Hicksville. It even came back with a term for a completely different town.

If you are just after traffic at the lowest cost and don’t care about targeting then fine this is a great tool. BUT if you care about your campaign, be careful, very careful.

I for one will not being using it.

By: Carrie

Carrie — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:08:53 +0000

@Matt Umbro I agree with your method. It can be tempting to use the quick add feature. But in the end it may not be best for you account structure.

@Elizabeth Try using the filters of “relevant” and “not relevant” for the keyword suggestions. The relevance may improve over time.

@All I agree with all of you that this tool is only as good as you make it. We have used is as a resource for keyword and expansion, similar to the keywords tool.

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:59:00 +0000

The opportunities tab has been really hit or miss so far. I tried it for an ad group on “Wedding Etiquette” and was offered up all sorts of keywords for dresses, planning and budgeting, nothing I could use. But on another ad group, I did manage to find one keyword!

By: Mark Kennedy

Mark Kennedy — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:20:35 +0000

I took some time and went through it and it’s not too bad. It’s just like any other keyword tool. You have to find the ones you think will work, ignore the ones you know won’t work, and use the really bad ones as negative keywords.

By: Matt Umbro

Matt Umbro — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:07:48 +0000

Hi Carrie,

Good insight into the Opportunities tab. Whenever Google recommends new keywords, either through this feature or the “quick add keywords” option, I first add them into an Excel spreadsheet and determine which ad groups they should go in. If no current ad group exists I will create a new one. I will take Google’s suggestions, but filter them myself and then add them into my campaign.

By: Siobhan from DragonSearch

Siobhan from DragonSearch — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:35:07 +0000

I agree with Robert. I actually haven’t used the opportunities tab yet and don’t know when I will. Classic Google.

Siobhan from Dragon Search

By: Robert Brady

Robert Brady — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:37:54 +0000

A typical AdWords improvement, adding ways for companies to spend more money. I always advise people that Google is excellent at taking your money and they could care less if you make any money back. The Opportunities Tab is like any other tool, only as good as you make it.