Maximize Your Amazon PPC: Master Negative Keywords Targeting For Advertising Success

What are negative keywords in Amazon PPC, and why do they matter so much?

If you’ve ever felt your ad spend was bleeding into irrelevant clicks, you’re not alone.

In my latest YouTube video, I sat down with Kris and Adrian - the minds behind AdFixer, a PPC automation tool, and Amvisible, a full-service Amazon agency.

Together, we broke down exactly how negative keywords work and how to use them the smart way.

We explored how negative exact match keywords can cut wasted spend, when to use them based on real campaign data, and why avoiding broad or phrase negatives (unless you're a pro) might save your reach.

Plus, we discussed whether adding negative keywords before launching your campaigns makes sense, and how to prevent keyword clashes across ad groups.

If you’re serious about tightening your Amazon ad performance, this conversation is packed with practical takeaways.

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Negative Keywords in Amazon PPC

Vova: Hey, so what exactly are negative keywords in Amazon PPC, and how can they help improve your ad performance?

We’re going to break it down today.

I’m joined by Kris and Adrian from AdFixer and Amvisible.

So guys, when we talk about negative keywords on Amazon. What are they, really?

And how should sellers be using them to get better results with their PPC campaigns?

It would be great if you could walk us through it.

Thanks!

Kris: Thanks so much for having us, Vova. It’s a pleasure to be here.

My name is Kris. People also call me Hristo, and I’m one of the co-founders of both AdFixer and Amvisible.

With me today is my colleague, Adrian.

Adrian: Hi everyone, it’s great to meet you.

Thanks again for inviting us, Vova; really happy to be part of this conversation.

So, let’s dive in.

Keywords vs Search Terms

Adrian: First, it’s important to understand the difference between a keyword and a search term.

A keyword is something you add directly to your campaign inside an ad group; it’s what you’re bidding on.

A search term, on the other hand, is what shoppers actually type into Amazon when they’re looking for something.

It’s how they end up finding your product.

Let me explain with an example we've used before.

Say you’re targeting the keyword "water bottle" using broad or phrase match.

That means Amazon can show your ad for a bunch of variations, like when people type in words before, in the middle of, or after your keyword.

So someone could search for "blue water bottle for kids" or "insulated water bottle with straw" and still trigger your ad.

But if you're using an exact match, then your ad will only appear when the shopper types exactly "water bottle" and nothing else.

This difference becomes really important when we talk about negative keywords.

When are Negative Keywords Used

Adrian: See, many campaigns are set up to help you discover new search terms; ones that you didn’t think of but that customers are actually using.

But once you’ve collected some data, you need to evaluate which search terms are helping your product and which ones are just wasting money.

For instance, if you’re targeting "water bottle" but someone finds your ad by searching for "500ml water bottle," and your actual product is a 1-liter bottle, that search term isn’t really useful.

It doesn't match what you're selling, and it might lead to poor conversion rates.

That’s when you would use a negative keyword to stop your ad from showing up for that specific search.

Types of Negative Keywords

Adrian: Now, there are different types of negative keywords: negative broad, negative phrase, and negative exact.

We usually recommend using negative exact because it's more targeted.

Once you’ve tested different variations of search terms and seen how they perform, you can start adding the low-performing or irrelevant ones as negative exact.

This helps fine-tune your keyword performance and leads to a better ACOS and higher conversion rates.

We generally don’t recommend using negative broad phrases unless you really know what you’re doing.

Those types can block a lot of potential traffic, including traffic that might have worked.

Use them only if you’ve been running PPC campaigns for a while and feel confident about which traffic to cut.

When to Turn a Search Term Into a Negative Keyword

Adrian: At AdFixer, we're often asked about how we know when a search term should be made negative.

Honestly, it varies depending on the product and category.

But as a general rule, if a search term gets 15 to 20 clicks and still hasn’t led to a single sale, that’s usually a red flag, especially if it’s a longer-tail keyword.

If it's a high-volume, very relevant term for your niche, you might still keep it despite the high ACoS because it could help you rank organically over time.

So overall, your process should look like this: run broad or phrase match to gather data, go into your search term report, remove the ones that don’t convert by adding them as negative exact, and then adjust the bids on your main keywords based on performance.

That’s the system we follow.

Highly Recommended for You: Mastering Amazon PPC: A Step-by-Step Guide to Boost Your Sales

Is It Smart to Add Negative Keywords Before Running Ads

Vova: So, we’ve also heard of a tactic, and I’d love your take on it.

Let’s say we haven’t even launched our Amazon PPC campaign yet.

Suppose we're selling a one-liter water bottle.

During our keyword research, we notice that terms like "500ml water bottle" come up, and they might end up triggering our ads later.

Based on that, some people suggest adding those kinds of keywords as negatives before the PPC even goes live.

Basically, using keyword research to filter out irrelevant terms in advance.

What do you think of that?

Does that approach make sense to you?

Is it something you use?

Adrian: That’s actually a good question, and it connects to what I mentioned earlier, you really need to know your product well.

If you’re running a broad or phrase match campaign, a search term like "500ml water bottle" could definitely pop up.

Now, say your product is a one-liter bottle and it's priced competitively, maybe even close to or lower than the smaller ones.

In that case, showing up for "500ml" could still work in your favor.

It might even lead to good conversions if shoppers see your larger bottle as a better value.

This is where A/B testing really comes in.

What is A/B Testing

Adrian: It’s all about trying things out and seeing what performs.

That’s why we, and many others, suggest running your campaigns for a few days before jumping into decisions.

That said, if you’re absolutely certain that a search term is irrelevant to your product (and it’s unlikely to convert) then yes, go ahead and add it as a negative keyword right from the start.

Just be sure you’re not blocking terms that could unexpectedly perform well.

Vova: Yeah, got it; makes total sense.

Let me remind everyone that AdFixer is offering an exclusive free trial and lifelong discount deal through the button below.

There's a discount on Amvisible as well, so do check them out.

Grab your deal, schedule a free call, and discover how Kris and Adrian could support your business goals.

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Read This Before Starting Amazon PPC: Do This Before You Turn On Amazon PPC

Final Advice

Vova: Before we wrap up, is there anything else that comes to mind, anything we haven’t touched on about negative keywords in Amazon PPC?

Kris: Yes, there’s one more useful tip.

Let’s say you identify a search term that’s performing really well in a discovery campaign.

What you can do is take that exact search term and move it into a separate campaign as an exact match keyword.

Then, in the original campaign where you first found it, add that same term as a negative exact.

This step is important because it prevents clashes between the campaigns.

That way, the search term is isolated and doesn’t show up in both campaigns, which lets you manage it more efficiently and dig deeper into testing other terms in the original ad group.

Vova: Okay, so when you clash between the campaigns, what exactly do you mean by that?

Could you explain what “clash” refers to in this case?

Kris: So in this case, what I mean by “clash” is that if you have the same search term running in two different campaigns, you’re not using your budget effectively.

Let’s say one campaign is meant for research, where you're testing which search terms perform well.

If you discover that a certain term has a high ACOS and lots of clicks but no sales, that’s clearly not helping, so you'd mark it as a negative keyword.

But if you do find a strong-performing search term, you should move it into a separate campaign and use it as an exact match there.

If you leave it in the original campaign, it keeps using the budget and competes with the new campaign.

That’s what we mean by “clashing.”

It’s like bidding against yourself for the same keyword, which doesn’t make sense.

Instead, make space in the original campaign to find new search term opportunities, and let the strong performer run in its own controlled environment.

That’s exactly how we handle it at AdFixer, so definitely check it out if you're interested.

Vova: Alright, that’s really helpful.

Thanks again for being guests today, and I hope we’ll talk again soon.

Kris and Adrian: Thanks so much, Vova. Bye everyone, appreciate the time!

Read Next: Improve Amazon PPC Results with These Simple Optimization Tips

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Conclusion

Negative keywords are a vital filter in your Amazon PPC strategy, helping you stop spending on terms that just won’t convert.

Kris and Adrian explained how to use your campaign data to identify and remove non-performing search terms, how negative exact match works best for control, and why timing and testing are key.

We also covered how to use your discovery campaign to fuel your exact match strategy, and how to avoid campaign clashes by isolating strong-performing terms.

Their advice was clear: Understand your product deeply, stay close to your data, and adjust your strategy thoughtfully.

If you want expert help, check out AdFixer and Amvisible.

Get a 14 Day Free Trial + 20% Off Recurring Discount on AdFixer

Mention My Name Vova Even To Get Exciting Offers from Amvisible

And don’t forget, small adjustments in negative keyword strategy can lead to major improvements in ad performance and profitability.

Oh, and more on the topic of PPC, here's a question: Is Amazon PPC hard to learn? We've tried answering it with the guys from AdFixer in this blog post. Enjoy!