What is the difference between a keyword and a search term in Amazon PPC?
A keyword is the term you bid on inside Seller Central; a search term is the exact phrase a real shopper typed before clicking your ad. They are related but not the same, and the gap between them is where most PPC optimisation work happens. When you set up an Amazon PPC campaign you enter keywords, each paired with a bid and a match type. Amazon uses these to decide which shopper searches to enter your ad into an auction for. The keyword itself may never appear word-for-word in any shopper's query; it is simply the signal you give Amazon about the intent you want to target. For example, you might add the keyword 'resistance bands set' with a broad match type. Amazon will then enter your ad into auctions for dozens of related queries it judges to be relevant, including searches you never anticipated. A search term is the verbatim string a shopper entered into Amazon's search bar immediately before your ad was shown. You can see every search term that triggered an impression, click, or sale in the search term report inside Seller Central under Reports. Because broad and phrase match keywords cast a wide net, a single keyword can surface in the search term report as dozens or even hundreds of distinct queries over the course of a campaign. Some will be highly relevant; others will be completely off-target. The difference between your keywords and the search terms they trigger is where wasted spend hides. If your keyword 'resistance bands' fires on 'resistance bands for physical therapy elderly', but you sell a heavy-duty gym set aimed at athletes, you are paying for clicks that will rarely convert. Reviewing the search term report weekly lets you identify which real queries are generating sales, then promote them to exact match keywords, and which are burning budget without returns, then add them as negative keywords. This loop is the foundation of ongoing PPC efficiency. Once a search term has generated at least a handful of sales at an acceptable ACoS, add it as an exact match keyword with a dedicated bid. This gives you precise control and prevents it from being diluted by other queries in a broad or phrase match group. Search terms that receive many clicks but zero sales after a statistically meaningful sample are your negative keyword candidates. Adding them as negatives stops the bleed without affecting any of your profitable traffic.
A keyword is what you bid on; a search term is what a shopper actually typed. Understanding the difference is key to refining your Amazon PPC campaigns.