Add keywords

Adding the right keywords helps you show your ads to the customers you want, when you want.

This article explains how to add keywords to your ad groups for Search or Display, Discovery, and Video campaigns. Learn more about keywords

Choose match types for Search campaign keywords

When you add a keyword to ad groups for search campaigns, you can choose the match type you want by entering the keyword in one of the following formats.

• For broad match, enter keywords with no formatting (for example, women’s hats)
• For phrase match, enter keywords in quotations (for example, "women's hats")
• For exact match, enter keywords in brackets (for example, [women's hats])

It's recommended to use a mix of broader and more targeted match types to give you the right volume of traffic for valuable terms. By layering broad match with Smart Bidding, you can increase the volume of relevant queries while achieving your goals. Learn more about Smart Bidding

Use symbols in keywords

You can use 2 symbols, ampersands (&) and accent marks (á), in your keywords. Keywords with these symbols are considered 2 different keywords, like sidewalk cafe and sidewalk café.

Below you'll find some of the symbols that our system doesn't recognize:

Ignored symbols

Note: You can use ignored symbols, but in most instances, they won’t have a significant impact on your keyword options.

• Periods - You can add periods (.) to your keywords, but they aren’t considered when Google compares your keywords. This means the keywords “Fifth Ave.” and “Fifth Ave”, for example, are considered identical keywords.
• Plus signs - If you add plus signs (+) to your keywords, they will usually be ignored (for example "blue+car"). In some cases, however, if a plus sign (+) is at the end of a word (for example "C++") it won’t be ignored.

Invalid symbols

Note: You'll receive an error message if you add keywords that contain any invalid symbols. Asterisks (*) can only be added to negative keywords.

• Ampersats: @
• Backslashes: \
• Carets (circumflexes): ^
• Commas: ,
• Equal signs: =
• Exclamation points: !
• Grave accents: `
• Greater than and less than signs: <>
• Open and close braces: [ ]
• Open and close parentheses: ( )
• Percent signs: %
• Pipes (vertical bars): |
• Question marks: ?
• Semicolons: ;
• Tildes: ~

Additional symbols

• Minus '-' symbols: While the minus '-' operator is ignored for matching, it does impact how terms in keywords are matched. Adding a minus ‘-’ to the front of a term in the keyword will cause this term to be ignored for keyword matching. For example, if you have a negative keyword “dark -chocolate”, it’ll be considered the same as just “dark”. Spacing also matters. If the ‘-’ is between 2 words (for example, “wellbeing”) or if there is a space between the minus ‘-’ and term (for example, “- red”) then the symbol will be ignored.
• Site and search operators: The "site:" operator will be removed from your keywords. That means if you add the keyword [site:www.example.com dark chocolate], it’ll be considered the same as [dark chocolate]. Search operators will also be ignored. For example, if you add the search operator "OR" to the keyword dark chocolate, like OR dark chocolate, the "OR" command will be ignored and your keyword will be just dark chocolate.

Instructions for Search and Display campaigns

The steps for adding keywords to your ad group vary depending on your campaign type. If you’re not sure what your campaign type is, check the top of the campaign page. You’ll find the campaign type, along with the campaign status and average daily budget.

Note: The instructions below are part of a new Google Ads user experience that will launch for all advertisers in 2024. If you’re still using the previous version of Google Ads, review the Quick reference map or use the Search bar in the top navigation panel of Google Ads to find the page you’re searching for.

Add keywords to Search campaigns

1. In your Google Ads account, click the Campaigns icon .
2. Click the Audiences, keywords, and content drop down in the section menu.
3. Click Search keywords.
4. Click the plus button .
5. Click Select an ad group. In the dialog box that appears, select the campaign and associated ad group to which you’d like to add keywords.
6. You can add keywords in one of the following ways:
   • Enter or paste keywords, one per line. You can choose a match type for each keyword by adding it in one of the following formats:
     • For broad match, enter keywords with no formatting (for example, women’s hats).
     • For phrase match, enter keywords in quotations (for example, "women's hats").
     • For exact match, enter keywords in brackets (for example, [women's hats]).
   • Get keyword ideas. Once you select an ad group, you’ll notice keyword ideas that might be relevant to your ad group on the right. If you’d like, enter a related website and your product or service. Click the plus sign next to keywords you want to add to your ad group.You can modify match types after adding the keywords.
7. Click Save.

Add keywords to Display, Discovery, and Video campaigns

1. In your Google Ads account, click the Campaigns icon .
2. Click the Audiences, keywords, and content drop down in the section menu.
3. Click Content, and then click on the Display/Video keywords tab.
4. Click the plus button .
5. Click Select an ad group, and select the campaign and ad group you’d like to add keywords to.
6. You can add keywords in one of the following ways:
   • Enter or paste keywords, one per line.
   • Get keyword ideas. Once you select an ad group, you’ll find keyword ideas that might be relevant to your ad group on the right. If you’d like, enter a related website and your product or service. Click the plus sign next to keywords you want to add to your ad group.
7. Select either “Audience” or “Content” for your keyword setting.
8. Click Save.

Related links

• Edit, remove, or download negative keywords
• Edit or permanently remove negative keyword lists