A computer-implemented method and system for enabling the automated selection of keywords for rapid keyword portfolio expansion are disclosed. Various embodiments are operable to receive a plurality of keywords to be trafficked on a search engine, and automatically select at least one of the plurality of keywords to be omitted from trafficking on the search engine based on pruning criteria. In some example embodiments, the automatically selecting comprises for each one of the selected at least one of the plurality of keywords, determining a corresponding confidence level with which a corresponding predicted value of the keyword(s) is expected to satisfy the pruning criteria, with the automatic selection of each one of the selected at least one of the plurality of keywords being based on the corresponding confidence level and a configurable confidence level threshold.