PPC ad groups, as the name suggests, are groups of pay-per-click ads that share one or more similar themes like target audience or specific products. They’re gathered with the intention to organize and structure a PPC campaign in a more logical way so it can be funneled to the right audience and generate profit.
In this article, we explore everything you need to know about PPC ad groups. You’ll learn what they are, how they work, their benefits, and more!
Table of Contents
What Are PPC Ad Groups?
A PPC ad group is a group of ads targeted toward a shared theme and structured around one or several keywords. These groups are part of your PPC advertising strategy, specifically the structure of your PPC account.
A PPC account may include multiple campaigns, typically containing multiple ad groups. Each ad group includes separate selected keyword groups, your ad copy, and the landing pages that go with these keywords.
Related keywords within each ad group are arranged by themes, and each ad group reflects the goal of your PPC campaign. Hence, you can have:
- Single keyword ad groups (SKAG): Consisting of ads with one single keyword to target
- Multiple keyword ad groups: Consisting of a list of similar keywords
For example, let’s say you sell shoes and want to promote both your high-heel models for special occasions and more casual golf shoes. Since the audiences searching for these two types of shoes are likely to be different, you must create different ad groups, ads, and landing pages for each of these two campaigns. This allows your users to find the exact information they are looking for.
How Do Ad Groups Work?
Ad groups work like every other PPC ad. The only difference is that several campaigns are now triggered at the same time.
Just like Google PPC ads, you set up a bid and when a keyword is triggered, you pay the price. The ads in your ad group share similar targets but are organized using a common theme to better align with search intent. This is why businesses find it easier to base their ads on certain categories they have on their website.
Let’s take the same example as above — you’re selling shoes, and someone is specifically looking for high heels. If they see an ad about sports shoes, they’re not likely to click on it. To answer their search intent, you need to create an ad group containing keywords and ad copy linked to high-heeled shoes, plus a landing page to present your product.
So, words like “black high heels” or “high heels for women” are words that should go in your ad group. A simple Ahrefs keyword research will give you the following examples:
Setting ad groups with selected keywords, ad copy, and landing pages allows you to present the right ads to the right customers.
5 Key Reasons Why PPC Ad Groups Are Important
PPC ad groups are mainly important as they can help with PPC optimization. With them, you can identify which keywords work best for you, whether the ad copy is relevant to the ad, and whether your landing page connects to what your ad offers.
But a PPC group also has other benefits that businesses can gain from:
- Efficiency: Using PPC ad groups helps you organize your advertising materials and reduce the time you would spend on adjusting and modifying your PPC campaign components.
- Relevance: Using ad groups that focus on specific aspects of your business, such as specific products or services, helps you address your target audiences and meet their search intent.
- Flexibility: Using PPC ad groups allows you to modify your campaign elements immediately and easily according to changing market conditions.
- Brand Consistency: Ad groups help you monitor your advertising campaigns on a single platform and ensure consistency across branding, messaging and other key elements.
- Competitive Edge: Analyzing your ad groups allows you to track how each ad group is performing and change your keywords and ads as needed to stay competitive.
How To Create Ad Groups
As established earlier, a PPC group allows you to organize and target ads within your PPC campaign.
Given that Google accounts for 91.47% of the worldwide market share and generates the most traffic, let’s explore how to create and edit an ad group in Google Ads.
Creating
To create a new ad group, follow these steps:
- Sign in to your Google Ads account.
- Select Campaigns icon — the megaphone.
- Go to Ad groups.
- Click the plus button to create a new group.
Editing
If you already have an ad group or want to edit one you’ve just created, follow these steps:
- Sign in to your account and go to the Campaigns icon.
- Click Ad groups.
- Select the ad group you want to edit and click the pencil icon.
From here, you can choose to fix the ad copy, add or remove keywords, or even pause and remove the ad from Google. This last part can be done in the small Status column by clicking the box beside the group you want to modify and selecting “Pause” or “Remove”. The “Enable” button will run your ad.
7 Ad Group Best Practices To Follow
Now that you know how ad groups work and you’re ready to reap the benefits of PPC, keep the following best practices in mind for your campaign to ensure maximum success:
- Organize your ad groups
- Narrow the keywords
- Have at least 3 ads in a group
- Optimize your landing pages
- Pause ineffective ad groups
- Download your ad groups in bulk for changes
- Use ad customizers
1. Organize Your Ad Groups
Your ad groups are there to organize your ads, but it is not a bad idea to organize your ad groups too. A common method is to do it by category or with a business goal in mind.
For example, if you’re selling desserts, one ad group might contain keywords related to ice cream, such as “chocolate ice cream” or “mint-chip scones” — that’s one category. Another one can be about cookies, then about brownies and so on.
2. Narrow the Keywords
Each ad group will have a lot of keywords. But this doesn’t mean they should be just about anything. Make the keywords within each group as narrow as possible to ensure there is no overlapping in targeted searches or that you’re not targeting a very broad audience.
After all, PPC ads are paid each time someone clicks on your campaign — if the keywords target just about anything, get ready to pay more.
3. Have at Least 3 Ads in a Group
Create at least three ads in each ad group so you can rotate them. Although ad groups have ads based on one or more similar targets, this doesn’t mean the ads are the same. Hence, with more ads, you can devise a better PPC strategy.
Simply put, this will help you identify which ads perform best, allowing you to optimize the rest accordingly. Based on the clicks every time there is an auction, you can then tailor the keyword, location, search term, device, or other metrics.
4. Optimize Your Landing Pages
While a PPC group will have more ads, it doesn’t mean you should have more landing pages. In fact, it’s best if you use one landing page per ad group. This way, regardless of the ad, your customers will be driven to one place that will give them the answer to their question.
This is why your landing page must also be relevant, clear, and concise. It should offer buyers the answers to their search queries and make them want to keep going further in the purchase funnel.
5. Pause Ineffective Ad Groups
Don’t remove an ad group if it’s not working as you’ve initially envisioned. Every ad has the potential to teach you something — the ineffective ad groups let you experiment. You can tweak them more and more until you get the desired results and then focus your marketing efforts on the ad groups that bring in the money. So instead of removing them, pause your ineffective ad groups.
6. Download Your Ad Groups in Bulk for Changes
Instead of fixing each ad separately and reuploading it, you can change multiple campaigns, ad groups, and ads in bulk by downloading a spreadsheet. Update it offline and then reupload it again. The changes will take effect instantly and you will save more time.
7. Use Ad Customizers
If you want to change the messaging for one audience, you don’t have to create a new ad group. Instead, use an ad customizer — a tool that allows you to adjust the content directly in your ads. This will help you customize your ad without creating even more groups and or triggering an ad Quality score review.
PPC Ad Group Examples To Take Inspiration From
To understand how PPC ad groups work in action, let’s take two very famous brands and create ad group examples for both.
1. Nike
As one of the most popular sneakers brand, Nike is a great first example to look at. As primarily a shoe seller, its ad groups would look something like this:
- Ad Campaign: Men’s Shoes
- Ad Group Theme: Air Max
- Keywords: Nike Air Max, Shop Nike Air Max 90, Air Max 97, etc.
- Ad Copy: Shop Nike Air Max 90 at 30% off!
- Landing Page: /mens-air-max-shoes
- Targeting:
- Location: USA
- Age: 18-28
- Interests: Shoes, sneakers, outdoor running
2. McDonald’s
For our second example, let’s see what a McDonald’s PPC ad would look like:
- Ad Campaign: Burgers
- Ad Group Theme: Big Mac
- Keywords: Big Mac meal, McDonald’s Big Mac, McDonald’s double big mac, etc.
- Ad Copy: Enjoy October with our spooky deals! For every online order of McDonald’s Big Mac, get a free coke!
- Landing Page: /burgers-big-mac
- Targeting:
- Location: USA
- Age: 18-60+
- Interests: food, burgers, McDonald’s
Top 5 Digital Marketing Agencies for Your PPC Campaign
Working with a digital marketing agency on your PPC campaign can help you research and create the right ad groups for your campaigns, create engaging ad copy, and design landing pages that boost interest and conversion.
Here are five leading digital marketing agencies worth considering:
1. Ignite Visibility
Headquartered in San Diego, California, Ignite Visibility is a six-time Inc. 5000 company (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 & 2022). The agency’s services include:
- PPC
- SEO
- Web design
- Website development
- Public relations
Ignite Visibility’s has worked with 150+ clients including Tony Robbins, DoorDash, 5 Hour Energy, and Fix Auto.
2. Evestar
Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Evestar was founded by Lolita Petrossov, an entrepreneur who oversaw some of the biggest brand transformations across the globe. Evestar’s services include:
- PPC
- Digital marketing
- Social media marketing
- Email marketing
- eCommerce marketing
Named Inc. 5000 company for 2023, Everstar has provided services to clients such as Steve Madden, Health Fitness Longevity, and Hard Rock.
3. KlientBoost
Headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, KlientBoost has partnered with 250+ clients to grow their ROI. KlientBoost’s services include:
- PPC
- Graphic design
- Digital marketing
- Video marketing
- Content marketing
Bloomberg, SAP, Stanford University, Lenovo, and Airbnb are some of the names KlientBoost has worked with over the years.
4. Digital Silk
Headquartered in New York City, Digital Silk is a top-rated world-class digital agency that works with top brands in both B2B and B2C. Its services include:
- Digital marketing
- Branding
- Web design
- Website development
- Mobile app development
Digital Silk has worked with clients such as HP, Microsoft, Amazon, Xerox, AT&T, NFL, P&G, NYU, and NASA.
5. Red Spot Design
Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Red Spot Design has been distinguished as a 2014 Top Web Design Agencies UpCity Certified Partner. Red Spot Design offers:
- PPC
- SEO
- Web design
- Website development
- Video production
Some of its clients include Trinity Valley Electric Co-op, Cornwell Jackson CPAs, and Pollo Regio Restaurant.
Wrapping Up on PPC Ad Groups
PPC ad groups are an important part of your PPC account. They help you separate different keywords, ad copy, and landing pages for your campaigns so you can target different audience segments. PPC ad groups provide efficiency, relevance, flexibility, brand consistency, and give a competitive edge.
If you’re unsure if you can do it alone, reach out to one of the top PPC agencies in our directory. Working with them provides you with access to top experts who can prepare and launch an effective PPC campaign.
Ad Groups FAQs
1. What is the point of different ad groups?
Different ad groups serve to organize and target advertisements effectively. They allow advertisers to tailor content, monitor performance, and allocate budgets more efficiently, based on specific themes, products, or target audiences within an online advertising campaign.
2. How many ad groups should you use in a campaign?
Usually, one campaign should have 7 to 10 ad groups. This allows you to target different metrics and see which one works best for your business. Anything less is fine, but more than that may be confusing to follow; in that case, it’s best to change your strategy.
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