How often should I review my search term report for negatives?

For active campaigns, a weekly review is ideal during the first two months. Once the campaign matures and the volume of new problem terms slows down, reviewing every two to four weeks is usually sufficient.

Can I add negative keywords to automatic campaigns?

Yes. Automatic campaigns support both negative exact and negative phrase keywords. Adding negatives to auto campaigns is one of the best ways to improve their efficiency while retaining their discovery benefits.

Should I add negative keywords before launching a campaign?

You can add a small list of obvious negatives before launch, such as competitor brand names or clearly off-target categories. However, most negative keywords are best discovered from real search term data after the campaign has run for at least one to two weeks.

How do I find negative keywords for Amazon PPC?

The primary source for Amazon PPC negative keywords is your search term report: any query that is generating clicks but no sales, or that describes a product, use case, or audience that does not match what you sell, is a candidate. Reviewing this report weekly and acting on what you find is the most reliable way to reduce wasted ad spend. In Seller Central, go to Reports, then Advertising Reports. Select 'Search Term Report', set the date range to the last 30 to 60 days, and download the CSV. This gives you a full breakdown of every search that triggered an impression or click, along with spend, sales, and ACoS for each query. If you use a third-party PPC tool, most platforms surface the same data in their search term view, often with filters and sorting built in to make the analysis faster. Sort the report by spend, descending. Scan for any search terms that have consumed a meaningful amount of budget, typically more than one or two times your target cost per order, with zero attributed sales. These are your clearest negative keyword candidates: the campaign is paying for traffic that is not converting. Be careful with very recent data. A search term that received three clicks yesterday with no sale is not yet a reliable signal. Wait until a term has at least 10 to 20 clicks at your product's typical conversion rate before adding it as a negative. Beyond the numbers, read the actual search terms with fresh eyes. Ask: would the person who typed this query be looking for my product? Common intent mismatches include searches with 'how to make', 'diy', 'recipe', or 'tutorial' when you sell a finished product; searches for a product category you do not carry; and searches mentioning a size, material, or use case that does not match your listing. For a stainless steel water bottle brand, searches like 'water bottle cleaning tips', 'water bottle craft kids', or 'plastic water bottle bulk' all represent intent mismatches worth turning into negatives. Check whether your ads are triggering on competitor brand names. This happens frequently with broad match keywords. Unless you are running a deliberate conquesting strategy, traffic searching for a specific brand is unlikely to convert on your listing. Add competitor brand names as negative phrase keywords so all variations of those branded searches are blocked. This is one of the highest-impact negative keyword additions for most campaigns. Negative keyword work is not a one-time task. Every week or two, repeat the search term report review and add any new problem queries that have emerged. Over the first few months of a campaign you will build up a robust negative list that progressively tightens your targeting. Keep a shared spreadsheet of all negatives, the campaign they were added to, the date, and the reason. This prevents you from accidentally re-adding a term you previously removed, and makes it easy to audit and prune negatives that may no longer be necessary.

Find Amazon PPC negative keywords by mining your search term report for irrelevant queries, high-spend zero-sale terms, and mismatched buyer intent.