Create keyword templates

A keyword template generates keywords for each unique value or combination of values in the inventory data selected by an ad group. The value or value combination you specify is called the keyword multiplier.

You can reuse a keyword template in any ad group template throughout the inventory plan. If you plan to reuse a template, make sure that the data you need to generate keywords will be available in the various ad groups.

Generate keyword variations

To help you generate variations of keywords, each keyword template can specify multiple groups of settings. For example, a single keyword template can generate all of the following keywords by specifying three different groups of settings:

• ComfyWalkers loafers, exact, 2.00 CPC
• Comfy Walkers loafers, exact, 2.00 CPC
• moccasin, broad, .50 CPC

Use text parameters in keyword templates to dynamically change ad copy

To reduce the number of ads you may need to generate, and to avoid potential delays with the ad approval process, you can use text parameters to dynamically change ad text based on the keyword that matches a customer's query.

For example, you can dynamically insert the keyword text directly into your ad copy, or insert prices or other values that you define as part of a keyword's properties. 

To use text parameters, add the parameter values to your keyword templates, then add the parameters to your ad templates as part of the copy in the headlines or description fields. Learn more.

Create a keyword template

Here's an overview of creating a keyword template (the details are below):

1. Specify the keyword multiplier and optional filters.
2. Enter formulas for keyword settings. 
3. Preview some of the keywords that will be generated.

If you've already created a keyword template for another ad group template in the current plan, you can reuse the template.

Some broad match modifier behavior moved to the phrase match type

In conjunction with Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, and Yahoo! Japan, Search Ads 360 will soon end support for creating broad match modifier keywords in manual campaigns and keyword templates in inventory campaigns.

If a keyword template specifies the broad match modifier and Search Ads 360 is required to generate a new keyword, Search Ads 360 will generate a new phrase match keyword instead of a broad match keyword. Learn more.

1. Specify the keyword multiplier and optional filters

To specify multipliers and filters for a new keyword template:

1. Navigate to an advertiser.

   Steps for navigating to an advertiser

   1. Click the navigation bar to display navigation options.

   2. In the "Agency" list, click on the agency that contains the advertiser. You can search for an agency by name or scroll through the list.

   3. In the "Advertiser" list, click on the advertiser.

   4. Click Apply or press the Enter key.

   Search Ads 360 displays the advertiser page, which contains data for all of the advertiser’s engine accounts.

2. In the left navigation panel, click Templates.
3. Click the Inventory management tab and click the name of an inventory plan.
4. In a row that contains an ad group template, click + and select Keyword.
   
5. Enter a name for the template. The name appears in the reporting table for the inventory plan. You can also filter on the name to see performance metrics for all keywords generated by the template.
6. Under Multiplier, click +Feed column and select a column from your feed that uniquely identifies each product or group of products you want to represent with a keyword. The list contains all of the product attributes defined in the inventory feed you selected for the inventory plan.
   
   For example, to generate a keyword for each type of product in an ad group, select the Item title column.
   
   To generate keywords from a unique combination of values,  click +Feed column and select another column.
7. Optionally enter a filter to generate keywords only for specific types of items in your inventory feed. For example, use a filter to generate keywords only for "leather", "suede", "canvas", or "mesh" loafers in each ad group.
   
   To enter a filter:
   1. Under Feed filters click + Attribute or metric and select an attribute from the inventory feed.
      The list contains all of the product attributes defined in the inventory feed you selected for the inventory plan.
   2. Select an operator, such as Equals or Starts with.
      If you need complex filters, you can use regular expressions in the filter.
   3. Enter a value to match. 
   4. You can specify additional filters. Keywords will generate only for those items that match all of the attributes.

      For example, if you add Price Greater than $50 to the filter in the previous step, the template will only generate keywords for items that cost more than $50.

   5. To remove a filter, click the X that appears at the end of the line.

8. Click the Preview button to see the list of products that match the filter.
9. Specify criteria for removing and pausing keywords.
10. When you've selected the multipliers and filters you want, click Next.
    The editor for keyword settings appears.

Status settings for keywords

By default keywords are created in the active state, and Search Ads 360 removes a keyword when all of its inventory items no longer appear in the feed. In the Status section, choose any of the following settings:

• When items are no longer found in the feed, set the status to:
  • Removed: Search Ads 360 removes a keyword when all of its inventory items no longer appear in the feed. For example, if you use the Product ID inventory attribute as the multiplier and then you later remove a specific product from the feed, the keyword that was generated for the removed product will be removed.

    Note that while you can include a removed keyword in reports, the removed keyword cannot be re-activated. When at least one inventory item returns to the feed, Search Ads 360 generates a new keyword. Performance data from the old keyword is not applied to the new keyword.

  • Paused: Search Ads 360 pauses a keyword when all of its inventory items no longer appear in the feed. For example, if you use the Product ID inventory attribute as the multiplier and then you later remove a specific product from the feed, the keyword that was generated for the removed product will be paused.

    When at least one inventory item matching the keyword multiplier and filters is returned to the feed, Search Ads 360 resumes the keyword.

    Inventory management may remove your keywords if the non-multiplier columns of inventory items associated with a multiplier column change. If you use a formula to combine text from multiplier column "A" and column "B", when column "B" changes, all associated keywords will be removed and regenerated.
  • Current status: Search Ads 360 doesn't change the keyword's status, even if all of its inventory items no longer appear in the feed.
• Pause keywords when a condition is met: Pauses keywords when an update to your inventory data matches conditions you specify in a formula. For example, you can pause keywords when the availability of related inventory items falls below a quantity threshold you specify. Search Ads 360 resumes the keywords if your inventory data no longer matches the conditions.

If you're using a keyword template in more than one ad group template, be aware that these status settings apply to all keywords generated by the template across all ad groups and campaigns.

2. Enter keyword settings

To enter keyword settings:

1. After you specify the multiplier and optional filters, Search Ads 360 displays a table for keyword settings. 
   
   Enter basic keyword settings in at least one row. To generate variations of keywords, enter each variation on a separate row.
    

2. Optionally do any of the following:

   • Copy, paste, and edit rows instead of manually repeating information.

   • To add more information while creating the keywords—for example, specify labels, URL template, bid strategy, or text parameters—click + Columns just above the table.

3. Click Next. 

Basic keyword settings

By default, the keyword editor displays the basic columns typically needed to create keywords:

• Keyword template: Double click in the table cell, then specify a function, inventory attribute, or formula column for the keyword text. You can also specify static text for all or part of the keyword.

• Action: Select Create. (The other values in this column are used to edit or remove an existing row.)

• Match type: Select a match type for the keywords generated by the formulas in this row.

• Max CPC: Enter a number (integer or decimal), function, inventory attribute, or formula column that returns a number to indicate the maximum cost per click for the keywords generated by this row. Don't enter currency symbols, and don't enter a function or formula column that returns Money (such as to_money()).

• Landing page: Double click in the table cell, then specify a function, inventory attribute, or formula column for the keyword's landing page URL. You can also specify static text for all or part of the URL.

The requirements for the settings are the same as requirements for keyword settings in a manual campaign.

The value of the Keyword ID column is automatically generated and maintained by Search Ads 360. It uniquely identifies a row and is used to keep track if you copy and paste the row or insert new rows.

Here are some examples of basic settings:

Setting	Value	Description
Keyword template	[Item_brand] [Item_title]	Two inventory attributes separated by a space. Generates keywords such as: ComfyWalkers loafers SpeedyShoes loafers
Max CPC	.10	A static number that specifies a max CPC of .10 in the engine account's currency. For example, if the engine account used the US dollar, the maximum cost per click for keywords generated by this row would be 10 cents, or $0.10.
Landing page	https://example.com/?prod=[Item_product_ID]	Combines static text with an inventory attribute to output landing page URLs that specify the product ID. Assumes that each title corresponds to a single product ID.

Copy and paste rows 

The keyword table helps you create variations of keywords. Similar to standard spreadsheets, you can do the following:

• Copy/paste rows
• Copy a cell to multiple rows

Copy/paste rows

To copy a row:

1. Click the row number.
2. Type Ctrl+C (or whatever key combination your operating system uses to copy to the clipboard).
   

To paste the row:

1. Click a row number.
2. Type Ctrl+V (or whatever key combination your operating system uses to paste from the clipboard).

If you copied a row that already has a Keyword ID generated by Search Ads 360, Search Ads 360 automatically removes the ID from the newly pasted row. Search Ads 360 will generate a unique ID for the new row when you save the template.

Copy a cell to multiple rows

If you've entered a value in a cell that you want other rows to use:

1. Click in the cell.
   A blue square appears in the lower right corner.
   
2. Drag the blue square down the column.
   
3. When you release the mouse, the cell's content will copy into the selected cells.

3. Preview keywords

1. After you enter keyword settings, in the last step before saving your template, Search Ads 360 shows up to 50 keywords that will be generated with the current template and inventory data. If you specified multiple rows in the keyword-settings table, Search Ads 360 shows examples of keywords from each row.
2. Look through the list to make sure your formulas create the keywords that you expect.
3. You can click the Previous button, adjust your formulas as needed, and return to the preview. 
4. When you're satisfied with the preview, click Save template.

Search Ads 360 saves the template and pauses it. The template won't be applied to the plan's inventory data until you change its status to Active.

Next steps

Change the plan's status to active. If you've already created one of these templates in the current plan, you can use the existing template instead of creating a new one.

Edit or remove keyword settings

You can edit or remove keyword variations in an existing keyword template. 

To edit a keyword variation:

1. Open the template and click Keyword settings.
2. In the keyword table, find the variation you want to change and set the Action column to Edit.
3. Change data in any of the keyword's columns. 
4. You can also click + Columns just above the table, add more columns, and enter new data in the newly added columns.
5. Click Save template.

Search Ads 360 saves the template. The updated template will be applied the next time Search Ads 360 evaluates the inventory plan.. Depending on the settings you edited, keywords that were generated with the old settings may be removed. For example, if you changed the template for keyword text, the keywords generated with the old text will be removed. If you changed the template for landing pages, Search Ads 360 will update the existing keywords.

To remove a keyword variation:

1. Open the template and click Keyword settings.
2. In the keyword table, find the variation you want to change and set the Action column to Remove.
3. Click Save template.

Search Ads 360 saves the template. The keywords generated from the removed variation will be removed the next time Search Ads 360 evaluates the inventory plan.

Reuse an existing keyword template

If you've already created a keyword template for an ad group template in the current plan, do the following to reuse the template in another ad group template:

1. Navigate to an advertiser.

   Steps for navigating to an advertiser

   1. Click the navigation bar to display navigation options.

   2. In the "Agency" list, click on the agency that contains the advertiser. You can search for an agency by name or scroll through the list.

   3. In the "Advertiser" list, click on the advertiser.

   4. Click Apply or press the Enter key.

   Search Ads 360 displays the advertiser page, which contains data for all of the advertiser’s engine accounts.

2. In the left navigation panel, click Templates.
3. Click the Inventory plans tab and click the name of an inventory plan.
4. In the reporting table, click  (gear icon) next to the keyword template.

   If the template isn't visible in the table, click ▶ next to the campaign template in which you originally created the ad group template, then click ▶ next to the ad group template.

   
5. From the Use in ad group template list, select one or more additional campaign templates in inventory plan.
6. Click Save template.

If the template is active, and if the newly selected ad group is active, Search Ads 360 automatically applies the template the next time it evaluates inventory data.