Negative keywords are a powerful tool that ensures your ads are shown to the right audience by preventing them from appearing on shopping results pages that are not aligned with your campaign goals. You can apply negative keyword targeting at either campaign level or ad group level, providing flexibility in tailoring your ad placements. By strategically implementing negative keywords with the help of these FAQs, you can optimise your ad performance and improve the overall effectiveness of your campaign.
Q: What are negative keywords, and how do they work?
A: Negative keywords are the opposite of standard keywords. When added to your Amazon PPC campaign, they prevent your ads from appearing for search queries that include those keywords. This helps you avoid bidding on irrelevant or low-priority terms, reducing wasted ad spend.
Q: How can I add negative keywords to my Amazon campaign?
A: In Seller Central, navigate to “Campaign Manager” under the “Advertising” tab. From there, you can select the campaign or ad group that you want to add negative keywords to, and input the negative keyword.
(campaign level )
(ad group level )
Q: What are the different match types for negative keywords?
A: The match types for negative keywords on Amazon include exact match and phrase match. Exact match restricts your ad from appearing for search queries that exactly match the negative keyword, and Phrase match captures search queries close to the negative keyword.
Q: Should I use campaign-level or ad group-level negative keywords?
A: You can apply negative keywords at either the campaign or ad group levels. Applying them at the campaign level means they will apply to all ad groups within that specific campaign. On the other hand, ad group-level negative keywords will only apply to the specific ad group they are assigned to.
Q: How can I find the right negative keywords for my listings?
A: There are two main methods for identifying good negative keywords. First, consider common irrelevant crossover terms you are already aware of that may be unrelated to your product. Second, create broad experimental match positive keyword campaigns and analyse the search term report. This will help you uncover irrelevant terms and refine your negative keyword list.
Q: How can negative keywords prevent my ads from competing against each other?
A: Negative keywords can be used to prioritise certain products or variations in your ad campaigns. Using negative keywords ensures that specific products are associated with relevant search terms while other products are assigned to more niche terms. This helps prevent your ads from competing against each other and allows for better targeting.
Q: How do negative keywords help in reducing advertising costs?
A: Negative keywords help reduce advertising costs by preventing ads from appearing for irrelevant or low-priority search queries. By excluding these terms, you refrain from spending money on clicks unlikely to result in conversions.
Q: Can negative keywords be applied to broad match and phrase match campaigns?
A: Negative keywords can be applied to broad match and phrase match campaigns. They work the same way for both types of campaign, allowing you to exclude specific search queries and control the relevance of your ad placements.
Q: Can negative keywords be applied to category/product targeting ads?
A: Yes, negative keywords can be applied at the campaign level but not at the ad group level. However, at the ad group level, you can only add negative ASINs.
Q: Can I use negative keywords to exclude specific competitor brands or products?
A: Negative keywords can be used to exclude specific competitor brands or products from triggering your ads. By identifying and adding competitor-related terms as negative keywords, you can prevent your ads from appearing in search queries associated with those brands or products.
Q: Are there any tools or reports that can help identify valuable negative keywords?
A: Yes, there are various analytics tools and reports available, including Amazon Brand Analytics, that can assist in identifying valuable negative keywords. The screenshot below shows the top search terms against the seed keyword “cushion”. You can use selective irrelevant keywords as negative.
Implementing effective strategies for negative keyword usage is crucial for optimising your advertising campaigns. By consistently monitoring performance metrics, analysing search term data, refining your negative keyword list based on user behaviour, and continuously optimising your campaign structure, you can ensure that your ads appear on relevant shopping results pages that align with your campaign objectives and drive sales.
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