Negative keywords are often the unsung heroes of Amazon PPC.
They don’t get the spotlight like campaign types or bidding strategies — but they can make or break your ACoS.
In this guide, we’ll break down how negative keywords work, when to use them, and how they can dramatically improve ad efficiency.
💸 What Are Negative Keywords?
Negative keywords prevent your ads from showing for specific search terms.
Think of them like a filter:
- If a customer types a search term that matches your negative keyword, your ad will not appear.
This helps eliminate:
- Irrelevant traffic
- Poor-converting terms
- High-spend, low-return clicks
🚦 Match Types: Understanding the Rules
There are 3 types of negative keywords:
1. Negative Exact
- Blocks only that exact search term
- Example: “blue running shoes” blocks only that full term
2. Negative Phrase
- Blocks any term containing that phrase
- Example: “blue” would block “blue running shoes,” “blue shoes for men,” etc.
3. Negative Broad (Not available on Amazon currently)
- Available in other ad platforms, but not in Amazon Advertising yet
📉 How Negative Keywords Lower ACoS
Wasted ad spend usually comes from:
- Broad match discovery campaigns
- Poor keyword selection
- Lack of search term analysis
Negative keywords stop the bleeding by cutting off non-converting or irrelevant traffic.
✅ This makes your existing spend more efficient
✅ Improves conversion rate
✅ Reduces ACoS without lowering bids
🔍 How to Find Negative Keywords
Your Search Term Report is your best friend.
Download it from Campaign Manager and look for:
- Search terms with high spend, no sales
- CTR < 0.2%
- ACoS > 100%
- Completely irrelevant queries (e.g. “free,” “cheap,” “manual” when selling premium)
📊 Real-World Example
Client: Health Supplement Brand
- Daily budget: $300
- ACoS: 52%
- Issue: Discovery campaigns pulling in broad irrelevant terms
Strategy:
- Pulled 30-day Search Term Report
- Added 42 negative exact and phrase terms
- Adjusted daily monitoring routine
Result in 2 weeks:
- ACoS dropped to 33%
- Conversion rate increased 18%
- $2,800/month saved in wasted clicks
⚙️ Negative Keyword Workflow
Here’s a simple rinse-and-repeat strategy to implement:
Weekly PPC Health Check:
- Pull search term report
- Filter for:
- No conversions
- High spend
- CTR < 0.2%
- Tag potential negatives
- Apply as negative exact or phrase
- Repeat every 5–7 days
💡 Bonus Tip: Use tools like Helium 10’s Adtomic, Prestozon, or Pacvue for easier management and auto-rules.
🧠 What Not to Do
🚫 Don’t over-block too early
- Broad match campaigns need room to discover. Only negate terms after they’ve proven ineffective.
🚫 Don’t negative match root keywords
- If you sell “shoes,” don’t block “cheap shoes” with just “shoes” — it’ll block everything.
🚫 Don’t apply global negatives across campaigns
- Match negatives to campaign intent (e.g., keep discovery terms open longer, but refine branded campaigns tightly)
🛠️ Tools That Help
- Helium 10 – Adtomic
- JungleScout – Cobalt
- Amazon Bulk File Templates
- Data Dive by Brandon Young
These make identifying and applying negatives faster — with less risk of blocking good traffic.
🎯 When to Use Negative Keywords
| Situation | Add Negatives? |
|---|---|
| New product launch discovery phase | ✅ After 7–10 days |
| Scaling proven campaigns | ✅ Yes |
| Retargeting or branded campaigns | ✅ Carefully |
| Single keyword testing campaigns | ❌ Be cautious |
✅ Bonus Strategy: Negative Keyword Sculpting
This is an advanced tactic where you:
- Run broad and exact match campaigns simultaneously
- Use negative exact in broad match campaigns to isolate traffic
Goal: Let exact match handle high-performing keywords while broad handles new discovery — without overlap.
📈 Final Thoughts
Negative keywords are like pruning a tree.
You trim the waste so the healthy branches (profitable keywords) can grow stronger.
They don’t just save you money — they improve your entire PPC structure.
💬 Need Help?
At Marketplace Valet, we manage 7–8 figure PPC accounts and handle negative keyword optimization weekly.
✅ Full account audits
✅ Campaign structure & cleanup
✅ Ongoing negative keyword strategy
