A long-time member of the list, Kevin (name shared with permission), wrote in with a frequently asked question today:
Hey Nils,
[…]
do you still use SKAGS (I do), or are you organizing your keywords differently these days?
thanks for all the knowledge you share, you’re a great sport.
Kev
Thanks, Kev! The answer is short and easy: these days, I like to group my keywords around ads and landers that respond to a single search intent (or theme, if you will), not single keywords.
So, STAGs (Single Themed Ad Groups) all the way.
SKAGs used to be really powerful when match types were (sort of) reliable and we had things like Standard Text Ads and ETAs. These days, with RSAs, fuzzy match types, and smart bidding, my default is STAGs.
The only two exceptions I can think of where I still use SKAGs are Brand campaigns and situations where one search term is responsible for let’s say >50% of clicks and conversions in the account (e.g., “car insurance”). In the latter case, I would create an exact match SKAG for that keyword and fine-tune my audiences, ad copy, extensions, landing page, and negative keywords to perfection.
Another scenario that comes to mind is B2B searches with relatively low volume but high order value. Sometimes, it makes sense to use SKAGs for these searches (especially if conversion tracking does not clearly communicate the high order value). But even then, there’s a big chance I will be adding keywords with similar intent to the same ad group later on.
– Nils
PS: I love receiving and answering questions like these, so if you have any you are willing to share with the list, please send them over. I can’t promise I will answer all of them, but I will surely try!