SEM Development

According to Google’s quota allowances addKeyword consumes 50 quota units while updateKeyword only consumes 10 units. On many underperforming keywords I’ve begun to lower the maxCpc value to 10,000 microns (.01 cents) instead of altering the status to “Deleted”. In most cases this will cause Google to deactivate the keyword. If the keyword’s minCpc is low enough that even a .01 cent maxCpc doesn’t deactivate it and it’s still losing money, it’s unlikely it will ever turn a profit. In this boundary case, deleting it may not be a bad idea.

At some future date, if research determines that these deactivated keywords will be profitable at a higher maxCpc you can activate them for 1/5th of the quota that you would expend if you had deleted them.

A quick note: Even when a keyword is marked “Inactive” it will be active in the contextual search. To avoid this scenario, turn off contextual search.

Another note: Using the aggregate functions updateKeywordList or addKeywordList will not save your quota. Both use the same number of quota units as their singular brethren.