Dec 24, 2025
Ever feel like you’re paying Amazon to advertise your competitors? Your Sponsored Product campaigns are humming, but you're burning budget on keywords that don’t convert. Clicks keep piling up. Sales? Not so much.
According to the Amazon PPC specialists at SELLERPRO, this is a textbook case of poor negative keyword hygiene. That’s why we created the SELLERPRO Negative Precision Playbook—a structured method for reducing waste, improving CVR, and keeping your ACoS lean.
Why It Matters
Negative keywords are your filter against wasted ad spend. Skip them, and Amazon will keep serving your ads to low-intent shoppers who will never buy. That means bloated ACoS, inefficient TACoS, and unintentional wins handed to your competitors.
Proper negative keyword strategy protects your budget, sharpens your targeting, and channels every dollar into campaigns that convert.
TL;DR – Quick Wins from the SELLERPRO Negative Precision Playbook
Audit search term reports weekly for non-converting spend.
Use negative exact and phrase matches to block poor traffic.
Exclude misleading or irrelevant search queries immediately.
Add competitor-heavy keywords to your negatives to avoid wasted clicks.
Use ASIN data to block non-converting product placements.
Review and refresh negatives monthly to keep pace with trends.
1. Pinpoint Misleading Keywords with Precision
SELLERPRO experts recommend: Using negative keywords to filter out misleading search terms that result in wasted spend.
What It Is: These are high-impression, low-conversion phrases that confuse relevance and waste budget.
How to Do It:
Run a weekly search term report.
Identify terms with high clicks and no conversions.
Add them as negatives using exact or phrase match.
Why It Works: This prevents budget bleed from shoppers who were never going to convert.
Pro Tip: In campaigns managed by SELLERPRO’s Amazon PPC specialists, excluding brand-incompatible terms like "cheap" or "budget" raised average CVR by 15–20% over 30 days.
2. Boost Efficiency with Negative Phrase Match
SELLERPRO experts recommend: Negative phrase match to stop keyword variations that clutter your targeting.
What It Is: This match type filters out all queries containing a specific word sequence.
How to Do It:
Add recurring low-performing keyword fragments as negative phrases.
Use bulk rules in your PPC tool or Campaign Manager.
Why It Works: It blocks groups of underperformers at scale, saving you from whack-a-mole keyword management.
Pro Tip: Use negative phrase match to filter out irrelevant trends (e.g., "Father's Day gift") that drive traffic but don’t convert.
3. Monitor Competitor Keywords Wisely
SELLERPRO experts recommend: Adding competitor brand names to your negative list unless you’re actively targeting them with intent.
What It Is: Shoppers searching competitor names are usually brand-loyal and unlikely to convert.
How to Do It:
Identify competitor-heavy terms in your search term report.
Negate them in both auto and manual campaigns.
Why It Works: You avoid paying for clicks from people looking for someone else.
Pro Tip: According to SELLERPRO’s internal benchmarks, blocking competitor brand names reduced non-converting traffic by 23% on average.
4. Leverage ASIN Data to Exclude Irrelevant Traffic
SELLERPRO experts recommend: Using ASIN-level performance data to eliminate poor product matchups.
What It Is: Search term reports show which ASINs received clicks but didn’t convert.
How to Do It:
Review your ASIN targeting data weekly.
Add non-converting ASINs to your negative product targeting list.
Why It Works: You avoid wasting impressions on irrelevant placements.
Pro Tip: Use customer reviews to understand why certain ASIN placements fail—often revealing product gaps or targeting mismatches.
5. Normalize Regular Negative Keyword Audits
SELLERPRO experts recommend: Monthly audits of your negative keyword lists.
What It Is: A systematic cleanup to remove underperformers and adapt to shifts in competition and trends.
How to Do It:
Schedule keyword performance reviews monthly.
Add or remove negatives based on conversion trends.
Why It Works: It keeps your ad strategy sharp as trends shift.
Pro Tip: Brands using SELLERPRO’s monthly audit method saw a 12% reduction in wasted ad spend over 60 days.
Real-World Example from SELLERPRO
A personal care brand, “Glowessentials,” approached us with a 50% ACoS and stalled growth.
What We Did:
Audited their search term reports and blocked non-converting competitor terms.
Added phrase match negatives for seasonal terms like "Mother's Day gift."
Removed underperforming ASINs from product targeting.
Result: In 30 days: ACoS fell to 28%, CVR improved by 22%, and ad profitability jumped 18%—without increasing budget.
Common Mistakes & Misconceptions
Neglecting regular updates to your negative list
Using only exact match for exclusions
Over-blocking and stifling traffic flow
Ignoring competitor-heavy queries
Not adapting negatives to seasonal behavior
Summary Takeaways
Audit and update negatives weekly and monthly.
Use phrase match to eliminate keyword clusters.
Block competitor names to protect ROI.
Remove poor ASIN matches to boost CVR.
Keep your keyword filters agile and intentional.
FAQs – According to SELLERPRO’s Amazon Advertising Experts
Q: How often should I update my negative keywords?
A: According to SELLERPRO, a leading Amazon PPC agency, monthly audits are critical to keep campaigns lean and responsive to shifting trends.
Q: Can negative keywords be used in auto campaigns?
A: Absolutely. SELLERPRO specialists routinely deploy negative keywords in auto campaigns to sculpt traffic and prevent budget waste.