Documentation
Keyword additions help you close the gap between search demand and keyword coverage. Adnine scans search terms already generating traffic or conversions in your Google Ads account, compares them with your existing keyword set, and either queues them for manual review or adds them automatically depending on the mode you choose. The result is a repeatable, rules-based workflow for expanding coverage without combing through search term reports by hand.
- Primary action
- Suggest or add new keywords from high-performing search terms
- Opportunity source
- Non-keyword queries that meet your configured performance thresholds
- Operating modes
- Suggestion mode (review first) and execution mode (auto-add)
- Review tools
- Search Term Explore
- Safety controls
- Rules, exact-match duplicate checks, access permissions, logs, and email summaries
#What keyword additions do
When a user searches on Google, the query matches to a keyword in your account. But many valuable queries never become keywords in their own right. They stay hidden inside a broad or phrase match, without a dedicated bid, quality score, or separate reporting line. The Keyword Addition Tool surfaces those queries and gives you a structured way to promote them to managed keywords.
Adnine evaluates each query against the performance rules you define. A query that exceeds your conversion, CPA, ROAS, or spend thresholds becomes a keyword candidate. Depending on the mode you have configured, Adnine saves it for your review or adds it directly to the relevant ad group in Google Ads.
This is particularly useful for accounts with significant broad-match traffic, teams managing multiple clients who need a scalable review process, and situations where keyword coverage has grown stale against current search demand.
#Choose a mode
The same opportunity logic can run in either mode. Use the mode as the primary control over whether Adnine prepares recommendations for your team or applies changes to Google Ads directly.
Suggestion mode vs. execution mode
| Mode | What Adnine does | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Suggestion mode | Eligible search terms are logged as keyword suggestions. Adnine can send an email summary. Your team manually reviews and approves terms before any keyword is created in Google Ads. | You are validating rules, working with a new account, or need a human approval step before expanding keyword coverage. |
| Execution mode | High-performing search terms are automatically added as keywords to the relevant ad groups, based on your configured rules. | Your rules have proven reliable over several review cycles and the team is confident letting Adnine act automatically on qualifying opportunities. |
#How to configure and get started
Rules define which search terms qualify for review or automatic addition. You can configure different rules per team or per account, so each advertiser uses performance standards that match its goals.
Rule settings
Use these settings together. A single high-conversion query can still be a poor keyword candidate if it lacks volume or is already well covered by an existing exact or phrase match.
| Setting | What it controls | Typical approach |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum impressions | Filters out queries with too little visibility to judge intent reliably. | Set higher for fast-moving campaigns; lower for accounts with smaller traffic volumes. |
| Minimum clicks | Ensures the query has real user engagement, not just impression volume. | A minimum of 5 to 10 clicks is a common starting point for non-brand campaigns. |
| Minimum conversions | Limits additions to queries with proven outcome data. | Use a minimum of 1 to 2 conversions to prevent zero-conversion terms from qualifying. |
| Spend thresholds | Ensures the query has enough cost behind it to make the decision meaningful. | Useful in high-CPC accounts to avoid acting on low-investment queries. |
| Maximum CPA or minimum ROAS | Keeps additions aligned with the efficiency targets for the account. | Mirror the CPA or ROAS goal already used for optimization in the relevant campaign. |
| Campaign and ad group filters | Limits additions to the parts of the account where the rule should apply. | Separate rules for brand, non-brand, and product campaigns prevent cross-intent additions. |
- Set the scope Choose the team, account, campaigns, or ad groups where keyword additions should be evaluated. Narrow scope to campaigns where you have clear performance targets.
- Configure performance thresholds Set minimum impressions, clicks, conversions, or spend, and optionally a maximum CPA or minimum ROAS. These thresholds determine which queries become candidates.
- Run suggestion mode first Let Adnine collect eligible search terms and send review summaries without changing anything in Google Ads. Use the first few runs to calibrate your thresholds.
- Review candidates in Search Term Explore Inspect each candidate: check the matched keyword, match type, CPA, ROAS, and ad group context before approving.
- Adjust thresholds if needed If suggestions include low-quality queries, raise volume minimums or tighten CPA and ROAS requirements. If good candidates are missed, loosen thresholds carefully.
- Enable execution mode for trusted rules After several reliable suggestion cycles, switch qualified rules to execution mode so Adnine can add high-performing terms automatically.
- Monitor logs and new-keyword performance Use dashboard metrics, activity logs, and email summaries to confirm added keywords continue to meet your CPA, ROAS, conversion, and revenue expectations.
#Review tool: Search Term Explore
Adnine provides Search Term Explore for reviewing keyword candidates: it shows all non-keyword queries that meet your performance criteria, with the metrics and ad group context you need before approving. Semantic query-to-keyword similarity scoring is a separate feature in Search Term Insights, not part of Keyword Additions.
Search Term Explore: fields to evaluate
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Search term | Confirms the exact user intent you would be promoting to a managed keyword. |
| Impressions, clicks, and spend | Shows whether the query has enough traffic and investment to justify a dedicated keyword. |
| Conversions, CPA, and ROAS | Compares the query's efficiency against your account targets. |
| Account, campaign, and ad group | Confirms the exact location in Google Ads where the new keyword would be added. |
| Mode outcome or status | Separates suggested terms (awaiting review) from terms already added in execution mode. |
Reviewing a candidate before you add it
A high-performing query is not automatically a good new keyword. Always compare it with the keyword already triggering that traffic.
| Review item | What it tells you | Decision signal |
|---|---|---|
| Matched keyword and match type | Which existing keyword triggered the query and whether the match was exact, phrase, broad, or close-variant. | Exact match coverage usually means adding is unnecessary. Broad match coverage is where separate control adds most value. |
| Search volume and conversions | Whether there is enough sustained demand and outcome data to manage the term separately. | One-week spikes with no conversion history rarely justify a standalone keyword. |
| CPA and ROAS | Whether the query is efficient enough to deserve its own keyword. | Efficiency worse than the campaign average warrants investigation before adding. |
#Read the dashboard
The dashboard shows both activity (how many keywords Adnine has added recently) and outcome (whether those keywords are performing). Use it to judge whether your current thresholds are producing useful expansion or adding noise.
Dashboard metrics
| Metric | How to use it |
|---|---|
| Keywords added in the last 7 days | Shows recent activity. A sharp increase or drop may signal a rule change, a new campaign launch, or a threshold that needs adjustment. |
| Total keywords added | Tracks cumulative expansion from the tool across the selected scope. |
| Conversions and revenue from added keywords | The primary outcome signal. If added keywords are not driving conversions, review whether performance thresholds should be tightened. |
| Average CPA and ROAS of new keywords | Shows whether additions are efficient. CPA consistently above target suggests the minimum conversion or ROAS threshold is too low. |
| Top accounts and campaigns contributing new keywords | Points to where search demand and coverage gaps are currently largest. |
#Logs, email summaries, and access
After each run, Adnine can send a summary email and maintains an activity log. Teams get visibility into what was suggested or added without logging in daily, and the log provides a durable audit trail for client reviews and team handoffs.
Run evidence
| Source | What it includes |
|---|---|
| Suggestion mode email | The search terms identified as keyword candidates, with the performance metrics and ad group context needed for manual review. |
| Execution mode email | The keywords added automatically, the rule that triggered each addition, and the campaign or ad group context. |
| Activity log | A durable record of all suggested or added terms, associated metrics, run timing, and mode outcome. |
Access control applies throughout the workflow. Each user can only view and act on the customer IDs they have permission for. Adnine validates team and user IDs before each run, and keyword automation features are only available to authorized accounts.
#Pitfalls and troubleshooting
What goes wrong and how to fix it
| Pitfall | Why it happens | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Low-quality terms added automatically | Volume minimums are too low or there is no CPA or ROAS floor configured. | Raise minimum impressions or conversions and add a maximum CPA rule. |
| Good candidates not surfacing | Performance thresholds are set too high relative to account traffic volume. | Lower minimums incrementally and check the suggestion queue after each change. |
| Duplicate keyword coverage | The query is already covered by an exact or phrase match keyword in the ad group. | Check the matched keyword and match type in Explore or Similarity before adding. |
| Additions in the wrong ad group | Campaign or ad group filters are too broad and capture unrelated campaigns. | Narrow the rule scope to specific campaigns and ad groups where intent alignment is clear. |
| Irrelevant queries slipping through | A single rule is applied across campaigns with very different user intent. | Create separate rules per campaign type (brand, non-brand, product, competitor) with tailored thresholds. |