Posted by Amanda Stein on 2023-07-05 | 2 minute read
Utilize negative keywords in your Amazon ads to reduce irrelevant searches and thus decrease your advertising cost while increasing your Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).
Optimize ROI with the Power of Negative Targeting
Regular keyword targeting display your ads in a shopper’s search that contains terms matching your selected keywords.
Negative keyword targeting has the opposite effect.
What are Negative Keywords?
Negative keywords narrow your target audience and prevent your ads from displaying when the keywords you choose match a search term. Essentially, your negative keywords on Amazon show that you don’t want your ad to appear in certain searches.
How does this strategy work exactly, and what are some negative keyword targeting examples?
What Is Amazon Negative Keyword Targeting?
In pay-per-click advertising (PPC), every click counts. In some cases, your ad might be costing you money when it doesn’t need to.
Let’s say you sell wicker baskets on Amazon and have a bid on keyword “baskets”. It’s possible that your ad will appear in any search containing the same keyword. However, not all shoppers are looking for wicker baskets specifically.
If a shopper searches for “fabric baskets,” your ad might still appear even though it isn’t entirely relevant.
In this case, the shopper might click on your ad by accident. You will still have to pay for this click despite there being no chance of a sale.
Reduce Advertising Cost and Increase your ROAS
Easily reduce your overall advertising cost and increase your Return on Ad Spend (ROAS). Simply reduce your irrelevant searches (in this case, “fabric baskets”) with negative keywords in your Amazon ads.
Using negative keywords will keep your amazon advertising from appearing in hundreds or thousands of searches. Many of those irrelevant search queries are not getting any conversions or profits.
Why Use Negative Targeting on Amazon?
Negative keyword targeting is an option in two types of Amazon PPC ads: Sponsored Product Ads and Sponsored Brands. You can add negative keywords in your Amazon keyword tool when selecting automatic amazon targeting or keyword targeting strategy.
Use negative keyword targeting to remove your ad from irrelevant and profitless searches. You may already know what these terms are. In other cases, you will learn that some keywords are better than others.
For instance, let’s say that you have bid on the keyword “shampoo”. You may find that some repetitions of this keyword result in higher conversion rates for your product.
For a negative keyword example, a shopper might search for “color protecting shampoo.” You may find that the ad has a low conversion rate for this specific keyword. By adding this to your negative keywords list, you can focus your campaign in more profitable areas to maximize your ROI.
Finally, consider combining negative keyword targeting with negative product targeting to optimize the quality of traffic you receive on your listings.
Frequently Asked Questions & Answers
- What is the purpose of regular keyword targeting?
- What is the role of negative keyword targeting in advertising?
- What is the main difference between regular keyword targeting and negative keyword targeting?
- How do negative keywords help in targeting the right audience?
- How does negative keyword targeting work on Amazon?
- What are some examples of negative keyword targeting?
- Can negative keyword targeting be used on platforms other than Amazon?
- How does negative keyword targeting affect the visibility of ads?
- How are negative keywords chosen for a particular ad campaign?
- What are the benefits of using negative keywords in an advertising campaign?
- How can negative keyword targeting improve the ROI of an advertising campaign?
- How frequently should negative keywords be reviewed and updated?
- Can negative keywords be used in conjunction with regular keyword targeting?
- Can you provide a specific example of how negative keywords can be used in an Amazon ad campaign?
- How does negative keyword targeting contribute to better ad performance?
- Can negative keywords impact the cost of advertising campaigns?
- What is the relationship between negative keywords and search terms?
- Can the use of negative keywords lead to a lower ad impression?
- What should be considered when selecting negative keywords?
- How should negative keywords be managed for long-term ad campaigns?
Answer: Regular keyword targeting is used to display your ads in a shopper’s search that contains terms matching your selected keywords.
Answer: Negative keyword targeting narrows down your target audience by preventing your ads from displaying when the keywords you choose match a search term.
Answer: While regular keyword targeting is used to display ads based on matching terms, negative keyword targeting is used to prevent ads from showing up in searches that match chosen keywords.
Answer: Negative keywords help to narrow down your target audience by preventing your ad from appearing in irrelevant searches, ensuring that your ad is only seen by people who are likely to be interested in your product.
Answer: On Amazon, if you set a term as a negative keyword, your ad will not appear in searches that contain that term.
Answer: An example of negative keyword targeting could be a clothing brand not wanting their ads to appear for searches related to pet clothing. So, they could set "pet" as a negative keyword.
Answer: Yes, negative keyword targeting is a common strategy used in many online advertising platforms including Google Ads.
Answer: Negative keyword targeting reduces the visibility of your ads in irrelevant searches, which can help to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of your advertising campaign.
Answer: Negative keywords are typically chosen based on the product or service being advertised, the target audience, and the advertiser's understanding of which search terms are likely to be used by people who are not interested in their product.
Answer: Negative keywords can help to improve the relevance of your ads, reduce wasted ad spend, and increase the overall return on investment for your advertising campaign.
Answer: By preventing your ad from appearing in irrelevant searches, negative keyword targeting can reduce wasted ad spend and ensure that your advertising budget is being used more effectively.
Answer: The frequency of reviewing and updating negative keywords can vary depending on the dynamics of the market and the performance of the ad campaign. However, it's generally a good practice to review them regularly to ensure their effectiveness.
Answer: Yes, negative keywords are typically used in conjunction with regular keyword targeting to refine the targeting of an advertising campaign.
Answer: If a seller is advertising a high-end watch on Amazon, they may not want their ad to appear for searches like "cheap watches" or "discount watches". They can use these terms as negative keywords to prevent this from happening.
Answer: Negative keyword targeting can improve ad performance by increasing the relevance of your ads to the audience seeing them, which can lead to higher click-through rates and conversions.
Answer: Yes, by preventing your ads from showing up in irrelevant searches, negative keywords can help to reduce wasted ad spend and potentially lower the overall cost of your advertising campaign.
Answer: Negative keywords prevent your ads from being displayed when they match a search term. This ensures your ad isn't shown in searches that are irrelevant to your product or service.
Answer: Yes, since negative keywords prevent your ads from appearing in certain searches, they can lower the total number of impressions. However, this can lead to more relevant impressions and potentially higher engagement.
Answer: When selecting negative keywords, it's important to consider the context of your product or service, the behavior of your target audience, and the potential search terms that may lead to irrelevant ad displays.
Answer: For long-term ad campaigns, negative keywords should be managed and updated regularly based on campaign performance, changes in product offerings, or shifts in market trends to maintain their effectiveness.