What Are Negative Keywords on Amazon? (And How to Use Them Correctly)

Amazon negative keywords are search terms you intentionally exclude so your ads do not trigger when those words appear in a shopper’s query.

For example, if you sell a premium supplement and add “cheap” as a negative keyword, your ad will not appear for searches like “cheap vitamin supplements,” even if other keywords match.

Key Summary

• Amazon negative keywords define which shopper searches your ads should be excluded from, giving sellers direct control over irrelevant or low-intent traffic entering their campaigns 🚫
• By filtering out poor-intent queries, negative keywords on Amazon significantly reduce wasted ad spend and help preserve budget for searches that are more likely to convert 💰
• Amazon only supports negative exact match and negative phrase match, making it essential to apply exclusions strategically to avoid unintentionally blocking valuable traffic 🎯
• When implemented correctly, negative targeting on Amazon improves core PPC efficiency metrics such as ACoS, click-through rate (CTR), and overall conversion rate 📊
• At beBOLD Digital, Amazon search term exclusions are treated as a foundational optimization lever within scalable, data-driven PPC systems built for long-term brand growth 🧠

Why Negative Keywords Matter for Amazon PPC

Negative keywords directly influence profitability and signal quality:

• Reduce wasted spend from irrelevant clicks by preventing ads from showing on searches that consistently generate clicks without conversions, which protects overall campaign efficiency.
• Improve CTR by filtering low-intent traffic so ads are served to shoppers who are more aligned with the product’s actual use case and purchase readiness.
• Protect conversion rate by aligning ads with buyer intent, ensuring traffic entering the listing matches pricing, positioning, and value expectations established through proper Amazon SEO audits.
• Prevent internal competition between campaigns by stopping overlapping keywords from causing multiple campaigns to bid against each other for the same search terms.

Based on marketplace data across multiple Amazon Ads case studies, irrelevant queries consistently account for a meaningful share of non-converting spend when negatives are not actively managed.

Negative keywords work best when aligned with strong listing optimization and organic keyword strategy. To make PPC and SEO support each other, explore our Amazon SEO services at beBOLD Digital, where we build data-driven keyword frameworks that drive both rankings and ad efficiency.

Types of Negative Targeting on Amazon

Amazon provides multiple ways to exclude unwanted traffic, each serving a different role in spend control and campaign efficiency. Understanding how these exclusion types work together is essential for maintaining relevance as campaigns scale.

Negative Keywords

Negative keywords are used to block specific search terms at the keyword level, preventing ads from triggering when shopper queries signal low intent, poor relevance, or consistent non-conversion. This form of negative targeting is behavior-driven and primarily informed by search term report data.

Negative Product & Brand Targeting

Negative product and brand targeting excludes specific ASINs or competitor brands from ad placements, helping sellers avoid low-quality product detail page traffic or competitor listings that historically underperform.

For established brands, using both keyword-based and product-based exclusions together creates tighter spend control and prevents inefficiencies that cannot be solved by keywords alone.

Amazon Negative Keyword Match Types Explained

Amazon negative keywords use specific match types to control how strictly searches are excluded. Understanding the difference between exact and phrase negatives is critical, as each impacts traffic volume, learning, and scalability in different ways.

Negative Exact Match

Negative exact match blocks ads only when the shopper’s search query matches the excluded term exactly (or with very close variants). This match type offers the highest level of control and is best used when a specific query has consistently driven spend without conversions, but similar variations may still be valuable.

Example:

Negative exact = “metal water bottle”

Blocked: metal water bottle

Not blocked: metal water bottle for hiking, insulated metal water bottle

Negative Phrase Match

Negative phrase match blocks any shopper search that contains the excluded phrase in the same word order, regardless of what additional words appear before or after it. This approach is useful for eliminating clearly misaligned intent patterns but carries more risk if applied too broadly.

Example:

Negative phrase = “for kids”

Blocked: helmet for kids, bike for kids, water bottle for kids

From an operational standpoint, phrase negatives should be used cautiously and supported by sufficient data, as they can suppress entire clusters of related searches if misapplied.

How to Find Negative Keywords on Amazon

Rather than guessing which searches to exclude, sellers should rely on performance signals from Amazon’s own reporting to determine where spend is being wasted and where intent misalignment occurs.

Using the Search Term Report in Seller Central

The Search Term Report reveals the exact shopper queries that triggered your ads, making it the most reliable source for negative keyword discovery and a critical complement to structured Amazon keyword research best practices. From an operational standpoint, this report allows advertisers to evaluate real buyer behavior instead of relying on assumed intent, ensuring exclusions are grounded in performance data.

Identifying High Impressions, Low Sales Terms

When reviewing search term data, sellers should prioritize queries that consistently underperform despite meaningful traffic. These typically include:

• High clicks with zero sales, which indicate strong curiosity but poor purchase alignment.
• High spend with poor conversion rates, signaling budget drain without revenue contribution.
• Misaligned intent queries, such as research-focused or informational searches that do not match a conversion-driven campaign goal.

beBOLD Digital Expert Tip: We recommend setting clear evaluation thresholds (such as minimum clicks or spend levels) before negating a term, ensuring exclusions are driven by statistically meaningful data rather than short-term volatility.

Difference Between Short-Term Testing vs. Permanent Negatives

Negative Type	When to Use	Purpose
Short-term negatives	When a search term shows early signs of poor performance but lacks sufficient data for a final decision	Temporarily limit wasted spend while additional performance data is collected
Permanent negatives	When a search term repeatedly drives clicks or spend without conversions over a sustained period	Fully exclude consistently non-converting queries to protect long-term efficiency

Where to Add Negative Keywords

Negative keywords can be applied at different levels within your Amazon PPC structure, and choosing the right placement determines how broadly or narrowly exclusions affect traffic. Applying negatives thoughtfully helps maintain control without limiting scalability.

• Campaign-level negatives provide broad traffic control by excluding irrelevant or non-converting search terms across all ad groups within a campaign. These are best used for universal exclusions such as pricing mismatches, product incompatibility, or clearly irrelevant intent.
• Ad group-level negatives allow for precision optimization by blocking specific search terms only within a single ad group. This approach is especially effective when similar products or keyword themes require tighter intent separation without impacting the entire campaign.
• Well-structured campaign negatives prevent keyword overlap and cannibalization by isolating high-performing keywords into focused ad groups, while using negatives to stop multiple campaigns from bidding against each other for the same searches.

How to Add Negative Keywords to Your Amazon PPC Campaign

Follow these steps to add negative keywords to your Amazon PPC campaigns:

1. Open Campaign Manager in Amazon Advertising and select the campaign or specific ad group you want to optimize.

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2. Navigate to the Negative Keywords section within the selected campaign or ad group.

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3. Add your exclusion terms and choose negative exact match or negative phrase match based on how broadly you want to block related searches.

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4. Save your changes and allow the campaign to continue running so Amazon can apply the exclusions.

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5. Review performance regularly to ensure negative keywords are reducing wasted spend without restricting profitable traffic.

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What’s the Difference Between Regular Keywords vs. Negative Keywords on Amazon?

Understanding how regular and negative keywords work together is critical for controlling reach, efficiency, and spend in Amazon PPC campaigns.

• Regular keywords trigger ads by telling Amazon which shopper searches are relevant enough to display your ads for.
• Negative keywords block ads by instructing Amazon to exclude your ads from appearing on searches that signal poor relevance or low purchase intent.
• When used together, regular and negative keywords work as a control system that balances reach and efficiency, ensuring ads are shown to the right shoppers without overspending on unqualified traffic.

Negative Keyword Best Practices in 2026

As Amazon advertising becomes more automated and competitive, negative keyword strategy must balance control with algorithm learning to avoid limiting long-term performance.

Don’t Block Learning Too Early

During a campaign’s early learning phase, Amazon’s algorithm needs sufficient data to understand which searches convert. Applying negative keywords too aggressively at launch can restrict data flow and slow optimization, leading to missed performance opportunities later.

Avoid Over-Using Phrase Negatives

Negative phrase match exclusions can block large clusters of related searches. If applied without enough supporting data, they can unintentionally suppress relevant traffic that may convert under different bids, creatives, or placements.

Review Negatives Regularly as Search Behavior Changes

Shopper search behavior evolves due to seasonality, pricing shifts, competitor activity, and catalog changes. Regular negative keyword audits ensure exclusions remain accurate and do not conflict with current demand patterns.

Align Negatives With Funnel Stage

Not all low-conversion queries are bad queries. Research-focused terms may be valuable for awareness or discovery campaigns, even if they should be excluded from conversion-focused campaigns rather than blocked account-wide.

beBOLD Digital Client Scenario

To illustrate how this works in practice, here’s an example of how beBOLD Digital applies negative keyword strategy to real-world Amazon accounts.

A beauty brand experiencing rising ACoS partnered with beBOLD Digital to diagnose inefficiencies across its PPC campaigns. Through a detailed review of Search Term Reports, our team identified a recurring set of research-heavy and low-intent queries that were driving clicks but rarely converting.

By classifying these terms and applying the appropriate negative exact and phrase exclusions at both the campaign and ad group levels, beBOLD Digital reduced wasted spend and redirected budget toward high-intent searches. As a result, the brand stabilized ACoS, improved conversion efficiency, and maintained scalable growth without constraining overall traffic.

How beBOLD Digital Can Help Optimize Your Keyword Strategy

At beBOLD Digital, we partner with Amazon sellers to proactively identify, test, and refine negative keywords as part of a holistic PPC strategy. Our team evaluates search term intent, funnel stage, and profitability together to ensure exclusions reduce waste without limiting growth. Whether you’re struggling with rising ACoS or preparing to scale spend efficiently, our experts help turn Amazon search term exclusions into a competitive advantage.

Ready to improve your Amazon PPC efficiency? Contact beBOLD Digital today to optimize your negative keyword strategy and build campaigns designed for sustainable growth.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Negative Keywords Stop Organic Rankings?

No. Negative keywords only affect paid ads, not organic visibility.

How Often Should I Update Negative Keywords?

Monthly reviews are best practice; high-spend accounts may require weekly checks.

Are Negative Keywords Required for Auto Campaigns?

They are not required, but they are essential for controlling spend once data accumulates.

Negative Keywords vs Negative ASINs: What’s the Difference?

Negative keywords block search terms. Negative ASINs block product placements.