Skip to content
  • There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

Add keywords to an ad group

This article explains how to add keywords to an ad group from the Keywords layer in Ads Manager. You can access the same keyword panel from inside the campaign creation flow or ad group creation flow by clicking Add Keywords

If you want to add negative keywords instead, see Add negative keywords in Ads Manager.

Before you start

You need at least one ad group before you can add keywords to it. 

Keywords you add here are applied at the ad group level. If you want to exclude specific terms from a campaign or ad group, use negative keywords instead.

Open the Add Keywords panel

Open Ads Manager and select the Keywords tab. Click the + button above the table to open the Add Keywords panel.

Step 1: Select your target

At the top of the panel, the Apply keywords to field shows the app, campaign, and ad group the keywords will be added to. Click it to change the target if needed.

Step 2: Add keywords

The panel is split into two sides. The left side shows keyword suggestions. The right side shows the keywords you have added and are ready to apply.

Choose from suggestions

The suggestions panel shows keywords organized in three tabs: Organic, Paid, and ASO Tracked.

Organic shows keywords your app ranks for organically in the App Store for the selected storefront. You can filter by app and storefront using the dropdowns above the list. Each keyword shows its popularity score and its current ranking position with a trend indicator.

Paid shows keywords that competing apps are currently bidding on in Apple Ads.

ASO Tracked shows keywords you are already tracking in the MobileAction platform.

Click the + next to any keyword to add it to the right panel. You can also select the checkbox next to multiple keywords and add them together.

Add keywords manually

On the right side of the panel, enter or paste keywords directly into the text field at the top. Separate multiple keywords with a comma or enter one per line, then click Add keywords.

Set match type

Once a keyword appears in the right panel, you can set its match type using the dropdown next to it. Apple Ads supports two match types: Broad Match and Exact Match.

Broad Match allows your ad to appear on searches related to your keyword, including misspellings and close variants. Exact Match shows your ad only when a user searches for your exact keyword or a very close variation.

You can also add a label to each keyword for organizational purposes using the + Add label option.

If you want to set custom bid amounts per keyword rather than using the ad group default, click Set custom bid values above the right panel.

Apply your keywords

When your keyword list is ready, select Apply. The keywords are added to the selected ad group and will appear in the Keywords table in Ads Manager.

After you finish

Your keywords will be visible in the Keywords layer of Ads Manager. You can edit bids, change match types, pause, or delete keywords at any time from the Keywords table. 

To add negative keywords, see Add negative keywords in Ads Manager.

Related links


Need more help?

If you have further questions, contact your dedicated Customer Success Manager or reach out via live chat.