Is there a way to check if a keyword is "low search volume" before adding it to an ad group?

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Benjamin Morel

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Apr 25, 2016, 8:52:14 AM4/25/16
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Hello,

I'm listing product references in AdWords as keywords, so that my ads show up when users search for a precise reference.
Some of these keywords show up as "Low search volume", and as far as I can see, they are totally filtered out by Google algorithms and do not even trigger my ads when I search for them.

So basically, it's a waste to keep them in my ad groups, especially because I have very long lists of references. I'd better make room for references that people actually search.

I've checked the values returned in the BiddableAdGroupCriterion, and noticed that the low search volume keywords have this property:

systemServingStatus=RARELY_SERVED


So basically, I can add keywords to my ad groups, then check for their systemServingStatus, then delete them RARELY_SERVED ones.

But two questions arise:

- Is the systemServingStatus immediately trustable right after adding a keyword, or will it take some time to stabilize?
- Is there a way to check if a keyword is "low search volume" before adding it to an ad group?

Thanks in advance for your insights!

Anthony Madrigal

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Apr 25, 2016, 10:25:37 AM4/25/16
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Hello Benjamin,

The systemServingStatus is trustworthy to go by when adding a keyword. You could use the Targeting Idea Service to check estimated search volumes for keywords. This feature is similar to the Keyword Planner tool in the UI.

Cheers,
Anthony
AdWords API Team

Benjamin Morel

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May 2, 2016, 11:05:47 AM5/2/16
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Hi Anthony, thank you for your kind reply.

Just one last question regarding low search volume: is it somehow dependent on the country/language settings of the campaign, or are "low search volume" keywords global?

I'm asking because I manage different campaigns for different countries/languages, and I could for example avoir trying to add keywords to my FR campaign if they already came back as low search volume in my US campaign.

Thanks in advance for your insights!

Benjamin

Anthony Madrigal

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May 2, 2016, 1:48:01 PM5/2/16
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Hi Benjamin,

All of the search parameters including countries and languages should have an affect on the results of the TargetingIdeaService.

Regards,
Anthony
AdWords API Team

Benjamin Morel

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May 2, 2016, 1:50:03 PM5/2/16
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Hi Anthony, I was more thinking about systemServingStatus rather than TargetingIdeaService. But I guess the impact is the same?

Anthony Madrigal

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May 2, 2016, 1:53:37 PM5/2/16
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Hi Benjamin,

Yes, there should still be the same impact for both of those.

Benjamin Morel

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May 2, 2016, 2:14:04 PM5/2/16
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Thanks for the insight!
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