Are single keyword ad groups still worth the maintenance?

Question

We built the account on SKAGs three years ago and it worked, but close variants have eaten
most of the point. Half my single keyword ad groups now serve on queries that belong in a
different one, and I spend Friday afternoons moving things around to no obvious benefit.

Before I tear it all down: is anyone still running strict SKAGs and getting something out of
them that a tighter themed structure wouldn't give? The argument I keep hearing is control
over ad copy, but with responsive ads doing the assembling I'm not sure how much control
that really is.

Curious whether people have consolidated and what happened to CPA when they did.

Priya Deshmukh · Accepted Answer

Consolidated two client accounts last year and would do it again.

What we found:
1) CPA moved less than a percent either way. The structure was never the thing driving
performance.
2) Reporting got better. A themed ad group with eight keywords accumulates enough data to
be readable, where a SKAG with four clicks a month never does.
3) Smart bidding had more to work with. That is the real argument now - the bid is set per
auction, so splitting the account to control bids is solving a problem you no longer have.

The one habit worth keeping from the SKAG era is discipline about intent. Do not put "buy X
online" and "what's X" together just because the structure now allows it. Group by what
the searcher wants, not by how similar the strings look.

Hope that helps.

Are single keyword ad groups still worth the maintenance?

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