Amazon Basics: Positive & Negative Keyword Management

Mastering Amazon PPC with Effective Keyword Strategies: Keywords can be the key to success in your Amazon campaigns, but only if you know how to use them correctly. Here’s a detailed guide on optimizing your keywords in Amazon PPC (Pay-per-Click) campaigns, including the benefits and techniques of using positive and negative keywords.

What are Positive Keywords and What Types Exist?

Let’s start with positive keywords. Positive keywords are terms/keywords you add to your Amazon PPC campaign to place your ads for specific search queries. They serve as a guide for Amazon to make your products visible in search results.

What are Positive Keywords and What Types Exist?

Discover the power of keywords in Amazon PPC campaigns. Learn how to optimize your keyword usage with our comprehensive guide. Harness the benefits and techniques of utilizing positive and negative keywords effectively.

There are three types of positive keywords:

Positive keywords are essential for placing your ads in front of the right audience. Let’s explore the three types of positive keywords:

Broad Match: Expand your reach by displaying ads for related terms and variations. Your ads appear not only for the exact keyword but also for synonyms or variations, encompassing all search queries that include your keyword or related terms. For example, if your keyword is “women’s handbag,” your ad may also appear for “bag for ladies” or “women’s purse.”
Phrase Match: Increase visibility by targeting search queries containing your keyword as part of a phrase. For instance, if your phrase match keyword is “baby care,” your ad may appear for searches like “baby care products” or “baby care set.”
Exact Match: Precisely target specific searches by displaying ads only when users enter your exact keyword and its close variations. For example, if your exact match keyword is “baby care,” your ad will appear solely for that search term and, excluding related variations like “baby care products” or “baby care set.”

While positive keywords enhance visibility, mismanagement can lead to irrelevant ad displays. This is where negative keywords come into play.

What are Negative Keywords and What Are They Good For?

Leveraging Negative Keywords for Optimal Performance: Negative keywords are exactly what the name suggests—they prevent your ads from appearing for specific search terms when added to your Amazon PPC campaign. They are a crucial tool for optimizing the performance of your Amazon campaigns and avoiding unnecessary expenses.

Let’s explore the three types of negative keywords:

Negative Broad Match: Exclude search queries containing negative keywords or related terms from displaying your ads. Your ad will not appear for search queries that include your negative keyword or related terms.
Negative Phrase Match: Prevent ad display when the search query contains the specified negative keyword phrase. Your ad will not be displayed when the search query contains the phrase you’ve set as a negative keyword.
Negative Exact Match: Ensure your ad doesn’t appear when users enter the exact negative keyword. Your ad will not show when the customer enters the exact negative keyword.

Here are some reasons why you should use negative keywords in your Amazon campaign.

Benefits of using negative keywords:

Save on Advertising Costs: As mentioned earlier, negative keywords help you avoid unnecessary clicks, allowing you to use your invested money or advertising costs more effectively.Increase conversion rates by precisely targeting relevant searches.
Increase Conversion Rate: Precise targeting of your ads to relevant search queries increases the likelihood that users who have actually been searching for a product like yours will come across it and make a purchase.
Hide Irrelevant Search Queries: For example, if you sell yoga mats, you don’t want your ad to be shown to users searching for “carpets.”
Exclude Low-Intent Users: If search queries include words like “free” or “cheap,” those users are likely not interested in your product and can be filtered out.
Prevent Ad Overlap on Amazon: Avoid product overlap! Negative keywords can also help you avoid overlap and prevent your own products from competing against each other, reducing internal competition.

Maximizing Campaign Performance with Effective Keyword Strategies

Now that you understand the importance of positive and negative keywords, here are a few tips on how to use them in your Amazon campaign:

Thorough keyword research: Before setting positive and negative keywords, conduct thorough keyword research. Identify relevant positive and negative keywords specific to your products.
Add negative keywords to automatic campaigns: This ensures that your ad is only shown to users with relevant search intent!
Monitor and adjust regularly: Continuously assess keyword performance, analyze campaigns, and make necessary keyword adjustments.
Test different keyword combinations: Experiment with various positive and negative keyword combinations to determine the most effective ones.

Conclusion

Optimizing positive and negative keywords is crucial for success in Amazon PPC campaigns. By strategically utilizing these keywords, you can save costs, increase visibility, reach the right audience, and minimize irrelevant clicks.

We’re Here to Help!

Managing campaigns can be complex and time-consuming. If you need assistance with optimizing your Amazon Advertising campaigns, rely on our expertise at ama-X, your Amazon Advertising partner. With years of experience in Amazon PPC, we can help you achieve optimal campaign results.

Our expert team specializes in campaign optimization, including effective use of negative keywords. We’ll structure and manage your campaigns to maximize reach while minimizing costs. Let us handle the technicalities so you can focus on selling your products and growing your business.

PS: If you’re interested in learning more about Amazon campaigns, check out our article for additional tips and tricks on Amazon Advertising.