Negative Keywords
Search terms you exclude from a PPC campaign so ads don't show for irrelevant searches that waste budget. When a search contains a negative keyword, the ad won't show regardless of bid. On Amazon there are two types: negative exact (blocks only that exact search) and negative phrase (blocks any search containing the phrase); there's no negative broad.
In practice
When a search contains a negative keyword, the ad won't show regardless of bid. On Amazon there are two types: negative exact (blocks only that exact search) and negative phrase (blocks any search containing the phrase); there's no negative broad. The best source is the search term report: terms with meaningful spend and no orders are the first candidates.
A seller of premium stainless steel bottles adds "plastic" as a negative phrase so ads stop showing for "plastic water bottle".
Why it matters
Irrelevant clicks raise ACOS, lower CTR and teach the campaign the wrong lessons - negatives are often the fastest way to improve ACOS without cutting bids.
Worth knowing
- Review 30 to 90 days of search term data and sort by spend with zero orders.
- Add obvious mismatches up front, before data exists ("cheap", "toy" or "plastic" for a premium product).
- Negatives clean up a well-structured campaign; they don't replace tightly themed ad groups.
Start the conversation
Let's talk it through
Tell us where things stand with putting negative keywords into practice and we'll respond with next steps, no forms, no waiting in a queue.
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