If you’ve been avoiding broad match keywords in your Amazon PPC strategy, you might be playing it too safe — and limiting your growth potential.
Yes, broad match can spend money quickly.
Yes, it can drive irrelevant clicks if mismanaged.
But when used correctly, it’s one of the best tools for keyword discovery, product ranking, and campaign scaling.
Let’s break it down.
🔍 What Is Broad Match in Amazon PPC?
Broad match shows your ads for:
- Variants of your keyword
- Related searches
- Long-tail queries
- Words in any order
Example:
Broad match keyword = kitchen knife
Could trigger:
- “best knife set for kitchen”
- “ceramic kitchen knives”
- “knife sharpener kitchen”
🧠 Why Use Broad Match?
Broad match helps you:
✅ Discover high-converting search terms you didn’t think of
✅ Reach new customer intent types
✅ Scale faster than using only phrase or exact
✅ Build data for long-term targeting
📈 When to Use Broad Match (Strategically)
Use broad match when:
- You’re launching a new product
- You’re expanding into new keyword categories
- You want to find new long-tail or low-competition phrases
- You’ve maxed out exact match targeting
Don’t use broad match blindly — it needs a filter.
🔧 How to Set Up Broad Match Campaigns Properly
✅ 1. Isolate Broad Match in Its Own Campaign
Keep it separate from your phrase/exact match campaigns so you can track performance clearly.
✅ 2. Set Low-to-Moderate Starting Bids
Start conservatively and ramp up after testing.
✅ 3. Use Tight Ad Group Structure
Group by product and theme. Don’t mix unrelated keywords.
✅ 4. Harvest & Transfer
After 7–14 days, review the Search Term Report:
- Move converting search terms to exact match
- Add irrelevant terms as negative keywords
💡 Pro Tip: Use Broad Match for Launches
Broad match helps with keyword ranking, not just conversions.
During a product launch, you want maximum visibility and data collection. Broad match accelerates that — fast.
📊 Real-World Use Case
Brand: Supplements Seller
- Product: Immune support gummy
- Added broad match keyword: “vitamin c”
- Discovered high-converting term: “vitamin c gummy for kids”
- Moved it to exact match
- Result: +32% increase in conversion rate, TACoS dropped from 21% to 12%
📉 Mistakes to Avoid
❌ Using broad match without negative keywords
❌ Running too many broad keywords in one ad group
❌ Not checking the search term report regularly
❌ Letting broad match campaigns run unattended for weeks
⚙️ Tools to Help You Manage Broad Match Campaigns
- Helium 10 / Adtomic – Great for campaign structure
- Sellerboard – Profit tracking by campaign
- Amazon’s Search Term Report – Your data goldmine
- Marketplace Valet – We build, monitor, and harvest your ad data for you
✅ Key Metrics to Watch
- CTR (click-through rate)
- CVR (conversion rate)
- ACoS vs. TACoS
- Search term growth
- Organic lift over time
🧠 Advanced Tip: Broad Match → Branded Search Funnel
Broad match often uncovers new branded search terms (e.g. “Brand X kitchen knife”).
Use this data to:
- Build branded campaigns
- Defend your listings
- Improve organic rank for your brand name
Final Thoughts
Broad match keywords are like R&D for your Amazon ads — messy if unmanaged, but full of potential if used with strategy.
Start small.
Test smart.
Harvest results.
And watch your listings scale.
