Yes, you can change keywords after your Google Ads campaign starts
You can add, remove, or edit keywords in an active campaign at any time. Google Ads does not lock keywords once a campaign goes live. Changes take effect within hours, though Google may need a few hours to review them for policy compliance. Your campaign will keep running while you make changes — you do not have to pause it.
The process is straightforward: open the campaign, go to the Keywords tab, and make your edits directly. What matters more than the mechanics is understanding what happens when you change keywords mid-campaign — your ad history, performance data, and bid settings all behave differently depending on what you change.
Key Takeaways
- You can add, remove, or edit keywords in a live campaign without pausing it, and changes usually take effect within a few hours.
- Editing an existing keyword (changing the text or match type) starts its performance history over from zero, so your old data disappears from that keyword's record.
- Adding new keywords keeps your existing keywords and their data intact, so this is the safest way to expand if you want to preserve performance records.
- Removing a keyword stops ads from showing for that search term, but you can restore it later if you change your mind — deleted keywords are not permanently gone for 30 days.
- Bid adjustments and quality scores may shift when you change keywords, especially if the new keyword is less relevant to your ads or landing page.
How to add, remove, or edit keywords in Google Ads
Log into your Google Ads account and navigate to the campaign you want to change. Click the Keywords tab on the left sidebar. You will see a list of all keywords in that campaign, organized by ad group.
To add a keyword, click the blue plus button above the keyword list. Type the new keyword and choose a match type (broad, phrase, exact, or broad match modifier). Click Save. To remove a keyword, check the box next to it and click the trash icon, or right-click and select Delete. To edit an existing keyword, click on the keyword text itself, make your changes, and click Save.
Google will review your changes for policy violations — this usually takes a few hours. You can check the status of any keyword by looking at its Approval Status column. If a keyword is rejected, Google will tell you why in a notification, and you can edit it to fix the issue.
What happens to your data when you edit a keyword
This is the most important thing to understand: editing a keyword resets its performance history. If you change the text of a keyword or switch its match type, Google treats it as a new keyword. All the clicks, impressions, conversions, and quality score history attached to the old version disappear from that keyword's record.
For example, if you have a keyword "blue running shoes" with 500 clicks and a quality score of 8, and you change it to "blue athletic shoes," that new keyword starts at zero clicks and zero quality score. The old data does not transfer. This matters because quality score affects your ad rank and cost per click — a new keyword with no history may cost more to show until it builds a track record.
If you only want to change the bid for a keyword, do that separately without editing the keyword text or match type. Click the bid amount next to the keyword and type a new number. This keeps the keyword's history intact.
Adding new keywords versus editing existing ones
If you want to expand your campaign, you have two choices: add new keywords or edit existing ones. Adding is almost always the safer option because it preserves your existing keyword data and performance.
When you add a new keyword, your old keywords stay exactly as they are. Their clicks, impressions, and quality scores remain unchanged. The new keyword starts fresh, but you have not disrupted anything that was already working. This is the best approach if you are testing new search terms or expanding into a related area.
When you edit an existing keyword, you are replacing it. Use this only when you are confident the change is an improvement — for example, fixing a typo, switching from broad match to phrase match to reduce irrelevant clicks, or narrowing the keyword because it is attracting the wrong audience. Do not edit a keyword just to add a variation; add the variation as a new keyword instead.
How match types affect keyword changes
Match type controls which searches trigger your ad. The four types are broad match (shows ads for related searches), phrase match (shows ads when the phrase appears in that order), exact match (shows ads only for that exact phrase), and broad match modifier (shows ads for close variations). Changing a keyword's match type counts as editing that keyword, so its history resets.
If you have a broad match keyword that is generating a lot of clicks but few conversions, you might switch it to phrase or exact match to narrow the audience. This is a valid reason to edit, but understand that you are starting the quality score over. The upside is that a more targeted match type often improves your quality score faster because your ads will be more relevant to the searches that trigger them.
Recovering a deleted keyword
If you delete a keyword by mistake, you can restore it within 30 days. Click the Keywords tab, then click the filter icon and select "Removed" from the Status dropdown. Find the keyword you deleted, check its box, and click Restore. The keyword will go back into your campaign with its old performance data intact.
After 30 days, a deleted keyword is gone permanently and cannot be restored. If you need it back, you will have to add it as a new keyword, which means starting its history from zero.
When to pause a campaign before making keyword changes
You do not need to pause your campaign to change keywords — Google Ads allows edits while the campaign is running. However, there are situations where pausing first makes sense. If you are making large changes (removing 20 keywords, adding 30 new ones, restructuring ad groups), pausing prevents your ads from showing during the transition period when some keywords may be under review.
Pausing also gives you time to double-check your changes before they go live. Once you have made all your edits and reviewed them, you can unpause the campaign. Changes usually take effect within a few hours, but pausing gives you a clean break between the old setup and the new one, which can make it easier to track the impact of your changes in your performance reports.
How bid adjustments and quality scores change
When you edit or add keywords, your bids and quality scores may shift. Quality score is Google's rating of how relevant your keyword, ad, and landing page are to each other. A new keyword starts with no quality score until it gets enough impressions — usually 100 or more — for Google to calculate one.
If you add a keyword that is very similar to an existing one, or if you add a keyword that does not match your ad text well, your quality score may be lower than your other keywords. This means your ads will cost more to show. You can improve quality score by writing ad copy that includes the keyword, making sure your landing page is relevant to the keyword, and letting the keyword run long enough to build a history.
Bid adjustments you have set (like increasing bids for mobile devices or certain locations) explore to new keywords automatically. If you want a new keyword to have a different bid than your ad group default, you can set a keyword-level bid when you add it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will my ads stop showing if I change a keyword?
No. If you edit a keyword's text or match type, your ads will keep showing for that keyword while Google reviews the change — usually within a few hours. If you delete a keyword, ads stop showing for that search term when ready. If you add a keyword, ads start showing for it once Google approves it, typically within hours.
Can I change a keyword's match type without losing its performance data?
No. Changing the match type counts as editing the keyword, so its history resets. If you want to keep the old keyword's data, add a new keyword with the new match type instead of editing the existing one.
What if Google rejects my new keyword?
Google will notify you with a rejection reason — usually because the keyword violates a policy (like trademark issues or prohibited content). You can edit the keyword to fix the problem, or delete it and try a different one. Check your Approval Status column to see which keywords are pending review or rejected.
How long does it take for a new keyword to start getting clicks?
A new keyword can start getting clicks within hours of approval, but it depends on search volume. High-volume keywords may get clicks the same day. Low-volume keywords might take days or weeks to accumulate enough searches. You can check impressions in your performance reports to see when a keyword starts showing ads.
Can I undo a keyword change?
If you deleted a keyword, you can restore it within 30 days using the Removed filter. If you edited a keyword's text or match type, there is no undo button — you would have to manually change it back or delete it and re-add the original version. For this reason, it is a good idea to note your original keywords before making large edits.