PPC Search Terms
Identify winning and losing search terms, harvest high-performers as keywords, and negate wasteful terms, all from a single, actionable view.
Difficulty: 🔴 Advanced · Reading time: ~15 min
Open this page in your dashboard: Go to PPC Search Terms [BETA] →
BETA: The PPC Manager is currently in beta. Some features may behave unexpectedly or change based on user feedback. Please report any issues at [email protected].
📋 Overview
The Search Terms page analyzes every search term that triggered your ads and categorizes them into three performance buckets: Winners, Losers, and Potentials. From here you can take immediate action : harvest top performers into your campaigns or negate terms that waste spend.
Why Search Term Analysis Matters: On average, Amazon sellers waste 20-35% of their PPC budget on irrelevant or non-converting search terms. Regular search term hygiene is one of the fastest ways to improve your ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sale) without changing bids or budgets.
Summary KPIs
Four summary cards give you an instant performance snapshot:
Winners
Search terms converting below your target ACoS (profitable terms)
Losers
Search terms with high spend but no/low conversions (wasteful terms)
Potentials
Promising search terms that need more data to evaluate
Wasted Spend
Total currency value potentially recoverable by negating losers
Reading Your KPIs Effectively
Quick Win: The Wasted Spend card is your most actionable metric. If it shows more than 15% of your total spend, you should prioritize negating losers immediately. For example, if you spent EUR 2,000 last month and Wasted Spend shows EUR 480, that is 24% of your budget going to non-converting terms, money you can reclaim today.
Example KPI snapshot for a typical seller:
Winners
42 terms
These are your money-makers; consider harvesting
Losers
87 terms
High count signals broad/auto campaigns need cleanup
Potentials
31 terms
Check back in 7-14 days when more data is available
Wasted Spend
EUR 347.20
Negate the top losers to recover this spend
Visual Breakdowns
Spend Distribution (Pie Chart): How your ad spend is split across Winners, Losers, and Potentials
Performance Comparison (Bar Chart): ACoS, CTR, and CVR compared across the three categories
How to Interpret the Charts
Reading the Spend Distribution Chart: A healthy campaign typically shows 60-75% of spend going to Winners, under 20% to Losers, and the remainder to Potentials. If your Losers slice is larger than your Winners slice, your campaigns need urgent attention.
Benchmark comparison:
Winner Spend Share
> 60%
40-60%
< 40%
Loser Spend Share
< 15%
15-30%
> 30%
Potential Spend Share
10-25%
> 30%
> 40%
Tabbed Interface
Winners Tab
Search terms that are converting profitably (below your target ACoS).
☐ (Checkbox)
Select for bulk actions
Search Term
The actual search query
Impressions
Number of impressions
Clicks
Number of clicks
Spend
Total spend
Sales
Attributed sales
Orders
Number of orders
ACoS
Advertising Cost of Sale
ROAS
Return on Ad Spend
CVR
Conversion Rate
Actions
Harvest button
Available actions:
Harvest (per row): Add this search term as a keyword to a campaign
Bulk Harvest Selected: Harvest multiple winners at once
Export Selected: Download selected rows as CSV
Best Practice : Prioritize Your Winners: Sort by Sales descending and harvest the top 10-20 search terms first. These are your proven converters. Harvesting them as Exact Match keywords in a dedicated manual campaign gives you precise bid control over your most profitable queries.
Scenario: Harvesting a Top-Performing Search Term
Situation: You sell a stainless steel garlic press on Amazon.de. Your auto campaign data (last 30 days) shows the search term "knoblauchpresse edelstahl" generated 14 orders, EUR 189.00 in sales, at an ACoS of 11.2%, well below your 25% target.
Action: Click Harvest on this term, select your manual Exact Match campaign, set a bid of EUR 0.65 (slightly above the auto campaign CPC of EUR 0.52), and confirm.
Result: You now control the bid for this high-converting term independently, and can allocate more budget to it without raising bids on less profitable terms.
Losers Tab
Search terms that are wasting spend with no or poor conversions.
☐ (Checkbox)
Select for bulk actions
Search Term
The actual search query
Impressions
Number of impressions
Clicks
Number of clicks
Spend
Total spend (wasted)
Sales
Attributed sales (low/zero)
Orders
Number of orders (low/zero)
ACoS
Advertising Cost of Sale (high)
CPC
Cost Per Click
Actions
Negate button
Available actions:
Negate (per row): Add as a negative keyword
Bulk Negate Selected: Negate multiple losers at once
Export Selected: Download selected rows as CSV
Warning: Before negating a search term, check its click count. A term with only 2-3 clicks and zero orders may simply lack data : it could still convert. Focus on negating terms with 10+ clicks and zero orders, or terms that are clearly irrelevant to your product (e.g., a competitor brand name you do not want to target).
Scenario: Identifying and Negating Wasteful Terms
Situation: You sell premium yoga mats on Amazon.com. Your Losers tab shows the search term "cheap yoga mat under 10 dollars" with 47 clicks, USD 38.50 spent, and zero orders. Your product is priced at USD 49.99.
Action: This is a classic price-intent mismatch. Click Negate, select Negative Phrase match at the campaign level, and confirm. This blocks not just this exact query but also variations like "cheap yoga mat under 10 dollars free shipping."
Result: You immediately stop spending on shoppers who are not your target customer. Over 30 days, this single negation could save you USD 38+ in wasted spend.
When to Use Negative Exact vs. Negative Phrase
Negative Exact
Only this specific query is irrelevant
"garlic press red" (you only sell silver)
Negative Phrase
The entire phrase pattern is irrelevant regardless of additions
"cheap yoga mat" (all cheap-intent queries)
Be careful with Negative Phrase: Negating the phrase "mat" would block "yoga mat", "exercise mat", and every query containing "mat." Always use the most specific negative match type possible to avoid accidentally blocking profitable traffic.
Potentials Tab
Search terms with promising signals but insufficient data for a clear verdict.
Search Term
The actual search query
Impressions
Number of impressions
Clicks
Number of clicks
Spend
Total spend
CTR
Click-Through Rate
CPC
Cost Per Click
Recommendation
Suggested next step
Potentials are read-only. Monitor them until enough data accumulates to classify them as winners or losers.
Pro Tip: Set a calendar reminder to review your Potentials tab every 7-14 days. Many Potentials will naturally migrate to the Winners or Losers tab as data accumulates. If a Potential has a high CTR (above 0.5%) but has not yet converted, it is worth watching closely, high click-through rate signals strong relevance.
History Tab
A full audit trail of all search term actions you have taken:
Date
When the action was taken
Search Term
The affected search term
Action Type
Harvest or Negate
Match Type
The match type used
Source Campaign
Where the search term originated
Target Campaign
Where the keyword was added
Audit Trail Best Practice: Review your History tab monthly. It helps you avoid duplicating actions (e.g., accidentally harvesting a term you already added) and gives you a clear record to share with team members or account managers.
Harvest Modal
When you click Harvest on a winning search term, a modal appears:
Search Term
Pre-filled (read-only)
Target Campaign
Select the campaign to add this keyword to
Target Ad Group
Select the ad group (dynamic, based on campaign)
Match Type
Choose: Exact, Phrase, or Broad
Bid
Set your bid (default: $0.75)
Click Confirm to add the search term as a new keyword to the selected campaign and ad group.
Harvest Match Type Recommendations
Exact
High-confidence winner with 10+ orders: you want precise control
Set bid 10-20% above auto campaign CPC
Phrase
Winner shows promise but you want to capture related long-tail queries
Set bid at or slightly above auto CPC
Broad
Exploratory: you want Amazon to find related terms (use with caution)
Set bid 20-30% below auto campaign CPC
Recommended Workflow: Harvest your top winners as Exact Match first. After 2-4 weeks of data, consider adding Phrase Match for the terms that have shown consistent performance. Avoid Broad Match unless you are actively trying to discover new search term variations.
Negate Modal
When you click Negate on a losing search term:
Search Term
Pre-filled (read-only)
Level
Campaign-level or Ad Group-level
Match Type
Negative Exact or Negative Phrase
Click Confirm to add the search term as a negative keyword, preventing your ads from showing for this query.
Campaign-Level vs. Ad Group-Level Negation
Campaign-level
The term is irrelevant to ALL products/ad groups in this campaign
Ad Group-level
The term is irrelevant to one ad group but may be relevant to another
Example: You run a campaign with two ad groups: "Running Shoes Men" and "Running Shoes Women." The search term "running shoes women" is a loser in the Men ad group but would be relevant to the Women ad group. Negate at the Ad Group level in the Men ad group only.
🔍 Filters
Date Range
Last 7, 14, 30, 60, or 90 days
Last 30 days
Target ACoS
Numeric input (percentage)
25%
Marketplace
All Marketplaces, or select specific
All
The Target ACoS value is what determines the boundary between Winners and Losers. Adjust this based on your profit margins.
How to Set Your Target ACoS
Your Target ACoS should be based on your pre-ad profit margin. Here is a quick reference:
50%+
30-40%
High margin allows aggressive ad spend
30-50%
20-30%
Balanced approach: profitability after ads
15-30%
10-20%
Tight margin: only highly efficient terms win
Under 15%
5-10%
Very tight: consider if PPC is viable
Common Mistake: Setting Target ACoS too low (e.g., 10%) when your margins are healthy (e.g., 40%). This classifies many profitable search terms as "Losers" and causes you to negate terms that are actually making you money. A term with 28% ACoS is still profitable if your margin is 40%.
Choosing the Right Date Range
Last 7 days
Catching sudden changes; reacting to new campaigns or bid adjustments
Last 14 days
Balanced view for active optimization cycles
Last 30 days
Standard review period: most reliable data (recommended default)
Last 60 days
Seasonal analysis or low-traffic products
Last 90 days
Long-term trend analysis or very low volume ASINs
Note: Amazon attributes sales with a 7-day (or 14-day) lookback window. Very recent data (last 3-5 days) may not yet reflect all conversions. For the most accurate analysis, use a date range ending at least 7 days ago, or use the Last 30 days default.
Recommended Search Term Review Workflow
Follow this step-by-step process weekly to maintain optimal campaign performance:
Step 1: Set your filters
Date range: Last 30 days (or Last 14 days for high-traffic products)
Target ACoS: Based on your product margins (see table above)
Marketplace: Select the specific marketplace you are optimizing
Step 2: Review KPIs and charts
Check the Wasted Spend card: is it growing or shrinking compared to last week?
Review the Spend Distribution pie chart: aim for Winners > 60% of spend
Step 3: Negate top losers (5-10 minutes)
Go to the Losers tab, sort by Spend descending
Negate the top 10-20 highest-spending losers with zero or minimal orders
Use Negative Phrase for broad irrelevant categories, Negative Exact for specific queries
Step 4: Harvest top winners (5-10 minutes)
Go to the Winners tab, sort by Sales descending
Harvest the top 5-10 winners that are not already in your manual campaigns
Use Exact Match and set bids 10-20% above the auto campaign CPC
Step 5: Check Potentials
Briefly scan the Potentials tab for any terms that look especially promising or especially irrelevant
Flag terms with high CTR for follow-up next week
Step 6: Verify in History
Confirm your actions were recorded in the History tab
Note the date for your next review
Time Investment: This entire workflow takes 15-20 minutes per marketplace per week. Sellers who follow this routine consistently see a 15-30% improvement in ACoS within the first 4-6 weeks.
Before and After: Real Impact Examples
Example 1: Consumer Electronics Seller (Amazon.de)
Total Spend
EUR 1,200
EUR 1,200
:
Wasted Spend
EUR 384 (32%)
EUR 132 (11%)
-66%
ACoS
34.2%
22.8%
-11.4 pp
Total Orders
67
89
+33%
Winner Count
28
52
+86%
What changed: Negated 43 losing terms, harvested 18 winners into exact match campaigns.
Example 2: Home & Kitchen Seller (Amazon.com)
Total Spend
USD 3,500
USD 3,500
:
Wasted Spend
USD 1,050 (30%)
USD 385 (11%)
-63%
ACoS
28.7%
19.1%
-9.6 pp
ROAS
3.48x
5.24x
+51%
What changed: Systematic weekly negation of 15-20 losers and harvesting of 5-10 winners per cycle.
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
Mistake 1: Never reviewing search terms. If you run auto or broad match campaigns and never analyze search terms, you are almost certainly wasting 20-40% of your ad budget. Set a weekly reminder.
Mistake 2: Negating terms too aggressively. A search term with 3 clicks and 0 orders is not necessarily a loser, it may just need more data. Wait until a term has 15-20 clicks with no conversion before negating, unless the term is obviously irrelevant to your product.
Mistake 3: Using the wrong Target ACoS. If your Target ACoS does not reflect your actual margins, the entire Winners/Losers classification is wrong. Take 5 minutes to calculate your true product margin and set the Target ACoS accordingly.
Mistake 4: Harvesting but not negating in the source campaign. When you harvest a winning search term into a manual Exact Match campaign, consider adding that term as a Negative Exact in the auto/broad campaign it came from. This prevents both campaigns from competing against each other for the same query (known as "keyword cannibalization").
Mistake 5: Negating at the wrong level. Negating at the campaign level when the term is only irrelevant to one ad group can block profitable traffic in other ad groups. Always check if the term could be relevant elsewhere before choosing campaign-level negation.
## 🔧 Troubleshooting
"I have no search terms showing up"
Check your date range: Expand to Last 60 or Last 90 days. New campaigns may not have enough data in a 7-day window.
Check your campaign type: Search term data is only available for Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands campaigns. Sponsored Display does not generate search term reports.
Check your marketplace selection: Make sure you have selected a marketplace where you have active campaigns.
Data delay: Amazon typically provides search term data with a 24-72 hour delay. Very recent campaign launches may not have data yet.
"Everything shows as a Loser"
Your Target ACoS may be too low. If you set a 10% Target ACoS but your category average is 25-30%, nearly all terms will be classified as Losers. Raise your Target ACoS to match your actual profit margins.
Date range too short. With a 7-day window, Amazon's attribution delay can make terms look like losers when the sales have not yet been counted. Expand to Last 30 days.
"I harvested a term but my ACoS did not improve"
Give it time. Harvested keywords need 2-4 weeks to accumulate meaningful data in their new campaign.
Check your bid. If your bid is too low, the harvested keyword may not win enough auctions to generate impressions.
Did you negate in the source? If the auto campaign is still bidding on the same term, you are now paying for the query in two places.
"I negated a term and my sales dropped"
Check the History tab to identify which term was negated.
Verify the match type. If you used Negative Phrase when you intended Negative Exact, you may have blocked more traffic than expected.
Undo the negation by going to your Amazon campaign manager, finding the negative keyword, and removing it. Then reassess whether the term truly deserved to be negated.
❓ FAQ
How often should I review my search terms?
Weekly is the gold standard for active campaigns. For low-spend or low-volume campaigns, bi-weekly is sufficient. Never go longer than 30 days without a review.
Can I undo a harvest or negation action?
SellerMagnet sends harvest and negation actions to the Amazon Advertising API. To undo, you need to go into your Amazon Campaign Manager and manually remove the keyword or negative keyword. Use the History tab to identify what was changed and when.
What is the difference between the Search Terms page and the Amazon Search Term Report?
SellerMagnet automatically categorizes your search terms into Winners, Losers, and Potentials based on your Target ACoS, saving you hours of manual spreadsheet analysis. The raw data comes from the same Amazon API, but SellerMagnet adds classification, bulk actions, and a full audit trail.
Should I harvest search terms as Exact, Phrase, or Broad match?
Start with Exact Match for your proven winners (10+ orders). This gives you the most control over bids. Only use Phrase or Broad if you want to expand reach and are prepared to monitor the new search terms those match types generate.
How does the Potentials classification work?
A search term is classified as a Potential when it has some clicks and spend but not enough conversion data to reliably categorize it as a winner or loser. The exact thresholds depend on your Target ACoS and the statistical confidence needed to make a determination.
Can I use this tool for Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display campaigns?
Search term data is available for Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands campaigns. Sponsored Display campaigns do not generate search term reports in the Amazon Advertising API.
My competitor brand names are showing as Winners. Should I harvest them?
Proceed with caution. While bidding on competitor brand names can be profitable, Amazon has policies around trademark usage. Harvest the term if it is converting well, but be aware that the competitor may file a complaint, and your ads could be disapproved.
💡 Tips
Best practice: Review your search terms weekly. Harvest your top 5-10 winners as Exact Match keywords and negate your worst losers to continuously improve campaign efficiency.
Pro tip: After negating losers, check the History Tab to confirm the changes were applied. Then monitor your ACoS trend in Analytics to measure the impact over the following 2-4 weeks.
Advanced tip: Export your Winners and Losers lists as CSV files and maintain a master spreadsheet. Over time, you will build a keyword library of proven converters and a complete negative keyword list that you can apply to new campaigns from day one.
Marketplace-Specific Note: If you sell across multiple Amazon marketplaces (e.g., US, DE, UK, FR), review search terms for each marketplace separately. A winning term in one language or market may not exist or may perform differently in another.
➡️ What's Next?
PPC Keyword ResearchPPC Bid RulesLast updated