Amazon PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising is one of the most powerful tools at your disposal as a seller—but it’s also one of the easiest to mess up.
You know what’s worse than wasting ad spend? Accidentally negating profitable keywords that are quietly driving your sales.
Yep, it happens. A lot.
Many sellers—especially those new to PPC or trying to aggressively cut ACoS—start adding negative keywords based on limited data or misunderstood reports. And in the process, they block search terms that were actually converting or could have converted with just a little more optimization.
In this post, we’re going to break down:
- What negative keywords are and how they work
- The biggest mistakes sellers make with them
- How to spot profitable keywords hiding in plain sight
- A smarter way to analyze your search term reports
- How to optimize—not eliminate—potential winners
- Pro tips to improve ROAS and scale profitably
Let’s make sure you’re not sabotaging your own growth.
💡 What Are Negative Keywords?
Negative keywords are terms you tell Amazon not to show your ad for. If a shopper searches for that phrase (or a close variation), Amazon skips your ad.
This is great for cutting out:
- Irrelevant traffic
- Non-converting clicks
- Keywords that drain budget without sales
For example, if you sell premium leather wallets, you might want to negate:
- “cheap wallets”
- “kids wallet”
- “wallet pattern sewing template”
Those people aren’t your customers.
But here’s where it gets tricky: not every keyword with a high ACoS or no conversions is a bad keyword.
🚫 The Problem: Sellers Are Negating Too Aggressively
Imagine this: you run a broad match campaign and see the search term “men’s leather wallet gift” with 3 clicks and no sales.
It’s tempting to say:
“This isn’t converting. Add it as a negative.”
But here’s the issue:
- 3 clicks is not statistically significant.
- That term includes strong buyer intent.
- Maybe your product image isn’t compelling enough yet.
- Maybe the price point needs adjusting.
- Maybe you just need more data.
By negating it, you may be cutting off a term that could’ve been a top converter with just a few tweaks.
🔎 Most Common Negative Keyword Mistakes
Here are the most frequent errors we see:
❌ 1. Negating Based on Too Little Data
Don’t add negative keywords based on 1–3 clicks. That’s not enough volume to make a reliable decision. Wait until you have:
- 8–10 clicks minimum (for high-ticket items, even more)
- A clear trend across time (not just 1 day)
❌ 2. Negating Terms That Actually Have Conversions
Sounds obvious, right? But it happens all the time.
Here’s how:
- You look at a keyword, not a search term, and it has a high ACoS.
- But one of the search terms under that keyword is performing well.
- You negate the parent keyword… and accidentally block the good one too.
Always analyze at the search term level before making any decisions.
❌ 3. Broad-Match Negation Wiping Out Entire Opportunities
Adding a broad match negative like “wallet” can unintentionally block:
- “men’s leather wallet”
- “wallet gift for dad”
- “RFID slim wallet”
When using negative keywords, choose the right match type:
| Match Type | Use For | Watch Out For |
|---|---|---|
| Exact | Specific low-performing search terms | Too narrow if overused |
| Phrase | Strings with irrelevant intent | Can block useful variations |
| Broad | Very general exclusions | Can unintentionally wipe out lots of traffic |
📈 How to Spot Profitable Keywords You Shouldn’t Negate
Here’s what to look for before negating any term:
1. High Clicks, Low Conversions—but Strong Intent
Check:
- Does the term include words like “buy,” “best,” “for [specific use case]”?
- Does it exactly describe your product?
If yes, it might just need more time or creative optimization (images, price, etc.).
2. Low ACoS at the Search Term Level
Use Amazon’s Search Term Report (or a tool like Helium 10 or Data Dive) and sort by ACoS, then filter for:
- Converting search terms under high-ACoS keywords
- High click-through rate (CTR) + decent conversion rate, even if not profitable yet
Create exact match campaigns for those search terms instead of blocking them.
3. Single Sale Search Terms with High Profit Potential
Sometimes a search term gets just one sale, but that sale is worth $50+ in margin. Don’t ignore it just because it looks small on paper.
Look at:
- Total revenue vs. total cost
- Units per order
- LTV of the customer (especially if you’re using Subscribe & Save or bundles)
🧠 Smarter Keyword Optimization: What to Do Instead
Instead of cutting keywords too early, consider these optimization techniques:
✅ Break Out Search Terms into Their Own Campaigns
Found a promising but inconsistent search term?
- Pull it out of the broad/phrase ad group
- Create a new exact match campaign just for that term
- Set a custom bid and budget
- Monitor it independently
This lets you test and scale without affecting your main campaign performance.
✅ Adjust Your Listing to Match Intent
If the search term is high intent but low converting, ask:
- Does your main image reflect what the shopper was looking for?
- Is the price competitive for that keyword?
- Are your bullets and title optimized to reflect their use case?
For example, if “gift for dad wallet” isn’t converting, try:
- Updating your title or bullets to include “great gift for dad”
- Adding lifestyle images that show it as a gift
- Offering a bundle with a gift box or card
✅ Bid Down, Don’t Block
Instead of negating a term, just lower your bid.
This reduces your cost without cutting off traffic completely—and lets you continue collecting data.
Use a bid adjustment strategy before reaching for the negative keyword list.
🔁 When You SHOULD Use Negative Keywords
To be clear, negative keywords are essential to a strong PPC strategy. Here’s when you should use them:
- To block completely irrelevant terms (e.g., “wallet sewing pattern”)
- To prevent brand terms from showing in competitor campaigns
- To stop internal cannibalization in branded campaigns
- To control placements in auto campaigns
- To eliminate long-term non-converting traffic after 10–15+ clicks
Just use them intentionally—and based on data, not assumptions.
🔄 Summary: Smart Negative Keyword Strategy for Amazon Sellers
| Do This | Not This |
|---|---|
| Analyze search terms, not just keywords | Negate based on one or two clicks |
| Use exact match negatives when possible | Broad match negatives for important terms |
| Break out good terms into exact campaigns | Block high-potential terms too early |
| Lower bids before blocking | Rely only on ACoS to judge keyword performance |
| Watch for intent-rich terms with room to improve | Assume no conversions = bad keyword |
🧠 Final Thoughts: Optimize, Don’t Overreact
The goal of Amazon PPC isn’t just to lower your ACoS—it’s to drive profitable growth.
Negative keywords help eliminate waste. But when used carelessly, they eliminate opportunity too.
If you’re seeing stalled sales, rising CPCs, or declining impressions, take a step back. Your keyword strategy might be too restrictive. You may be cutting off profitable, long-tail traffic that’s harder to measure but critical to long-term success.
Instead of hitting the brakes with negative keywords, lean into your data and optimize for profitability, scale, and search intent.
Need help auditing your Amazon PPC campaigns or building a smarter ad strategy?
At Marketplace Valet, we help brands scale profitably with data-backed PPC management and keyword optimization that actually works.
📩 Let’s talk about maximizing your ad performance the smart way.
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