Amazon Audit Flag of the Week: Forgetting Negative Keywords 🚩

Recently, we conducted audits for three brands in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) space and found a common issue: the lack of keyword negation. In simpler terms, these brands were not using negative keywords in their Amazon advertising campaigns. This oversight can lead to significant inefficiencies and wasted resources.

Negative keywords are essential for several reasons.

First, they help keep your data clean. When your campaigns are not cluttered with irrelevant search terms, it’s easier to analyze performance and make informed decisions. Second, they save money. By filtering out unwanted clicks, you ensure that your budget is spent on terms that are more likely to convert. Finally, they contribute to a healthier campaign structure. A well-organized campaign is easier to manage and optimize over time.

Why are negative keywords important?

Let’s break down what happens when negative keywords are not used in Amazon campaigns. Imagine you have three campaigns: one targeting a list of Fish Sauce keywords with broad match, another with phrase match, and a third with exact match. If none of these campaigns include negative keywords, two main issues can arise.

First, multiple sponsored ads might appear on the same search page for the same term. While this can increase your brand’s visibility, it can also confuse your advertising strategist. They won’t clearly understand how their bidding strategy is achieving specific placements and conversions. For instance, if the bids are equal, each campaign might sporadically win the same spot. This randomness can lead strategists to misallocate funds, mistakenly believing that focusing on one campaign over another will boost efficiency.

Second, without negative keywords, your data collection process becomes inefficient. Imagine trying to pour water from a bucket into a syringe. Most of the water spills out, and very little actually goes into the syringe. Similarly, without filtering out irrelevant terms, you’ll gather a lot of useless data, making it hard to derive actionable insights.

How to Choose the Right Negative Keywords

To avoid these pitfalls, it’s crucial to implement a robust negative keyword strategy. Here are some actionable steps to get started:

1. Identify Irrelevant Terms: Regularly review your search term reports to identify keywords that are generating clicks but not conversions. These terms are prime candidates for negation.
2. Use Broad Match Negatives: Start by adding broad match negative keywords to catch a wide range of irrelevant searches. This will help reduce the clutter in your data and focus your budget on more relevant terms.
3. Refine with Phrase and Exact Match Negatives: As you gather more data, refine your negative keyword list by adding phrase and exact match negatives. This precision will further optimize your campaigns.
4. Regular Audits: Conduct regular audits of your campaigns to ensure that your negative keyword list is up-to-date. As market trends and consumer behavior change, your list should evolve too.
5. Leverage Tools and Automation: Use Amazon’s advertising tools and third-party software to automate the identification and addition of negative keywords. This will save time and ensure consistency across your campaigns.

Where do I find my Negated Keywords in Amazon Ad Console?

Navigate to Amazon Ad Console’s sponsored ads dropdown, and select Bulksheets. Then, create a bulk file and filter out Campaign Negative Keywords and Negative Product Targeting under the Entity column. This report will provide you with all of the negative keywords that are currently running across all campaigns.

Conclusion

By implementing these strategies, you can improve the efficiency of your Amazon advertising campaigns, reduce wasted spend, and ensure that your data remains clean and actionable. Remember, a well-maintained negative keyword list is key to a successful advertising strategy.

Want to see if this (or worse!) is taking place in your brand’s ad console? Let us take a look. 👀

If you want to check out more results from our weekly audits, we’ve got one on Low Volume Keywords and another one on Main Images.