The quality of your paid search campaigns hinges on your Quality Score. This metric evaluates the relevance of your ad copy, the appeal of your landing page, and the click-through rate (CTR) of your ads, all at the keyword level. When these factors align positively, you’re rewarded with reduced CPCs and improved campaign performance.

However, optimizing landing pages is a grind, ad rotation never ends, and achieving a desirable CTR takes considerable time. While high spenders might tolerate this, the average advertiser needs quicker results than a slight Quality Score improvement every two weeks. It’s simply not sustainable. This predicament leaves you in a difficult position regarding immediate optimization, unless you prioritize Click-Through Rate. This article will guide you on how to pinpoint high-value, high-CTR keywords within your AdWords account and elsewhere. You might wonder, “Aren’t all high CTRs beneficial?” The simple answer is a resounding no. More on that shortly, but first…

Why is CTR crucial for AdWords success?

CTR represents the percentage of ad viewers who click on your ad after seeing it. The formula is as follows: (Total Ad Clicks) / (Total Impressions) = Click-Through Rate A click on your search ad signifies the searcher is just one step away from taking your desired action. For instance, in this scenario…

…the desired action is completing the AdWords Performance Grader. This “action” could be a purchase, a phone call, or a form submission – anything that holds value for your business and a particular AdWords campaign. When your ad and landing page resonate with a keyword and the searcher’s intent, your Quality Score increases, and your CPC decreases. Therefore, achieving a high click-through rate is crucial for your PPC success. Now, “high” is subjective. Research suggests that the average Search Network CTR in AdWords is 1.91%. However, a good AdWords click-through rate is generally considered 4-5% or higher.

Aligning your ad copy and landing page with the search query’s intent increases your chances of securing a sale or lead. This is high value. Conversely, a high CTR without conversions indicates a problem. It could be a mismatch between search intent and your offer, a landing page issue, or even targeting the wrong keywords. Before addressing the issue of high-CTR, non-converting keywords, let’s explore how to uncover the star performers in your account.

Identifying high-quality, high-CTR keywords in your AdWords account

Custom filters are all you need to easily find your account’s most valuable keywords. Begin by choosing a date range that offers a comprehensive performance overview. For most, 30 days suffices. In your AdWords UI, go to the keywords tab, click “Columns,” and select “Modify columns.”

In the custom columns interface, organize your view as shown below, prioritizing CTR and Conv. Rate. Add or remove other relevant data points as needed.

Apply these columns to your active view by clicking the blue “Apply” button.

This is where it gets slightly tricky. With your date range and columns set, it’s time to create a high-value, high-CTR filter as follows:

Let’s break down the rationale behind these parameters.

• CTR greater than account average is crucial. Find your account’s average CTR in the dark grey row at the top of your view. It might seem low, but it helps eliminate irrelevant keywords.
• Conversion rate greater than account average differentiates high-performing keywords from those needing improvement. High-CTR, low-Conversion Rate keywords are budget drains. Once you’ve identified top performers, invert this field to pinpoint costly pain points.
• Cost / conversion less than your target CPA – While not mandatory for smaller accounts, it helps prioritize keywords when bidding on hundreds, especially if you have a target CPA.
• Impressions filter out anomalies. A keyword with 100% CTR and Conversion Rate but only two impressions is statistically insignificant. Use 100 impressions as a threshold for smaller accounts, adjusting it contextually for larger ones. Save this filter as “High-Value Keywords” for easy access to your account’s most valuable terms. This gives you a refined, qualified data set instead of sifting through your entire account. You can then unearth new, similar keywords, unlocking opportunities for success. This also provides a starting point for optimizing high-CTR, low-conversion-rate keywords.

Addressing high-CTR, low-CVR keywords

A high CTR for a keyword that doesn’t translate into sales, leads, or brand engagement is detrimental. This is because:

• You pay for every click.
• High clicks lead to high ad spend.
• Spending on low-converting keywords is wasted budget with minimal business value. These keywords essentially siphon resources from high-performing ones, hindering your campaign’s effectiveness. Fortunately, there are ways to mitigate or eliminate their negative impact.

Landing page optimization

Checking a keyword’s Quality Score Status through the pop-up is a good starting point for identifying if the issue lies with your landing page.

While landing page modifications can be tedious, they’re relatively straightforward. Start by examining your headline. A strong headline, relevant to your keyword and ad text, can convert visitors into prospects and improve Quality Score. Use tools like Google PageSpeed to assess if load time is a problem (landing pages taking over three seconds to load are ineffective). Additionally, a clean, visually appealing design that exudes trustworthiness and aligns with your brand can transform a frequently clicked keyword into a top performer. If that’s not enough, try offering a discount:

Target and bid RLSA

Prospects might click on your keywords even if they are not ready to convert. This is where target and Bid RLSA come into play. RLSA (Remarketing Lists for Search Ads) typically adjusts bids on the Search Network based on layered remarketing using the “Bid Only” function. However, RLSA also offers “Target and Bid,” allowing you to show ads exclusively to those on specific remarketing lists.

How does this help? By limiting the audience for high-CTR, low-Conversion Rate keywords to those who have already visited your site, you reduce exposure to unfamiliar, non-converting searchers. This focuses your efforts on prospects already familiar with your brand and potentially ready to convert.

Pause the keyword

Sometimes, no matter your efforts, a keyword might not yield results. In such cases, it’s okay to pause it and revisit later. Concentrate on areas where you can drive positive change.

Finding more high-CTR keywords

Once you’ve identified and optimized your high-CTR, high-conversion-rate (MVP) keywords, it’s time to uncover new opportunities. Start with the search query report. Download your MVP keyword list and set your date range to encompass the entire year. Now, get ready for some manual work. Filter your expanded list of search queries based on “Keyword text” that “contains” your most successful terms.

Input these keywords one by one into this field to uncover long-tail keywords incorporating elements of your most valuable keywords. While unlikely to surface high-volume terms, this method will reveal highly valuable keyword opportunities that leverage your account’s past successes.