Kyle Garcia
Single Keyword Ad Groups, otherwise known as SKAGs, is an approach to pay-per-click marketing that claims to make your ads more relevant to your target keywords, increase click-through-rates and bring down the average cost-per-click in your campaigns.
The Single Keyword Ad Group (SKAG) strategy aims to:
- Increase click-through rates.
- Lower average cost-per-clicks.
- Reduce wasted ad spend.
- Better focus and optimise search campaigns.
Some people swear they are the best thing to happen to their business and paid campaigns, others think they are better off left as a nice idea.
In any case you should at least test a SKAG campaign to find out if they can help you maximise your valuable ad budget. Testing new theories, strategies and ideas is a habit that will serve you well throughout your PPC career.
SKAG Pros & Cons
SKAG Pros
- Better target keywords.
- Customise ad copy to the keyword being targeted.
- Higher ad scores.
- Lower cost-per-clicks (due to higher ad scores and increased click-through-rate).
- Minimise wasted ad spend.
SKAG Cons
- The focus is on the target keywords rather than the intent behind that keyword (and similar ones).
- Can result in too narrow targeting settings for your ads to be triggered.
- “Exact match targeting” doesn’t actually always mean exact match – there is room for Google’s algorithm to gauge if searches outside your “exact” keyword should trigger your ads.
- SKAG strategies will be more time intensive that standard ones, particularly for those with larger budgets and multiple campaigns.
