Keyword Status

What is keyword status?

Keyword status sits in the "Status" column of the keyword table in your Google Ads account and answers a single question: can this keyword currently trigger ads? Everything else in the row, meaning match type, bid, and Quality Score, only becomes interesting once the status allows delivery.

The status values

• Enabled: The keyword is cleared and can trigger ads, provided the campaign and ad group are running too.
• Paused: You stopped the keyword. It collects no new data but keeps its history and can be re-enabled at any time.
• Removed: The keyword was taken out of the ad group. It stays visible in reports with its historical numbers but will not run again.

An important distinction: "enabled" does not automatically mean "delivering". An enabled keyword can still get zero impressions if budget, bid, or Ad Rank fall short.

Status reasons: why a keyword isn't serving

Next to the status, Google shows the reason as soon as delivery is limited. The most common ones:

• Low search volume: According to Google's data, the term is searched too rarely. The keyword is set inactive and reactivated automatically once search volume rises again.
• Campaign or ad group paused: The status of the parent level carries through, the keyword itself is fine.
• Not eligible: The keyword violates a Google Ads policy and is blocked.
• Pending: The campaign has a start date in the future, so nothing is running yet.
• Rarely served: Relevance and expected performance aren't enough to enter the auction regularly. The only fix here is work on ad copy and landing page.

The key columns of the keyword table

• Match type: Whether the keyword runs as broad, phrase, or exact match. Details under keyword match types.
• Max. CPC: Your maximum bid at keyword level. With automated bidding strategies, the strategy overrides this column.
• Quality Score and its components: Quality Score, expected CTR, ad relevance, and landing page experience are added via "modify columns". As long as there is too little data, Google shows a dash instead of a number. The background is covered under Quality Score.
• Final URL: The destination page if you set it at keyword level instead of ad level.

Pro tip: Walk through the table once a week and sort by status. You don't have to delete keywords marked "low search volume", they cost nothing. Check instead whether a broader match type or a more general term covers the same demand. The Keyword Planner is where you find those alternatives.

Further resources

• Keyword research for Google Ads
• Analyzing Google Ads reports
• Understanding keyword match types
• Using negative keywords properly