Just like other pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, Amazon Advertising uses negative keywords to prevent your ad from serving on the search terms you specify. When a user makes a query using your negative keyword, your ad will not appear.<\/p>\n
Though it might be entertaining to think of a computer mouse sliding across a menstrual pad, the Kotex ad was clearly a mistake. Kotex should have included \u201cmouse\u201d as a negative keyword to keep their products from appearing in front of the wrong customers.<\/p>\n
![\"Kotex](\"https:\/\/content26.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/kotex-negative-keywords.png\")
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Why Bother With Negative Keywords?<\/strong><\/h2>\nThat said, what\u2019s wrong with ignoring negative keywords? Isn\u2019t it good for your ad to get in front of more people? In the case of PPC, the answer is no.<\/p>\n
Keyword targeting is a tactic that sits at the bottom of the marketing funnel – when a user searches for mouse pads on Amazon they are very likely looking to purchase a mouse pad in the near future. By ignoring negative keywords in your campaign set up, you put your brand at risk of both wasting money and negatively impacting your performance metrics. Shoppers who see your ad while searching on an entirely different track may still accidentally click on the ad. A click costs you money, even if they hit the back button before the page finishes loading. Or, they may intentionally click on the ad with low to no purchase intent. If you\u2019re still not convinced because you\u2019re currently trying to build awareness for your brand just remember that not only will this click likely have a higher cost per click (CPC) than a display campaign click, but it will lower your search campaign\u2019s conversion rate (CVR) and return on ad spend (ROAS) metrics.<\/p>\n
Once your budget is spent, your brand loses out on potential prospects that would have arrived at your product with high purchase intent. Your ultimate goal, of course, is to bring in prospects who convert. \u00a0For more on conversion, see our post on enhancing your product pages<\/a>.<\/p>\nTypes of Negative Keywords on Amazon<\/strong><\/h2>\nThere are two main types of Amazon negative keywords: exact match and phrase match. Generally, these act like they sound. Exact match negative keywords only exclude keywords that identify the exact words and close matches, in the specified order. Phrase match keywords exclude keywords for phrases and close matches. For a more detailed dive, check out this article<\/a> from Karooya.<\/p>\nExamples of Bad Targeting<\/strong><\/h2>\nMissing negative keywords are not the only targeting mistake brands make, however, and the examples can be quite comical. For instance, who knew that mac and cheese had anything to do with facial hair removal? I wouldn\u2019t recommend using Kraft products to wax your upper lip, even if both wax and mac and cheese can go in the microwave!<\/p>\n
![\"waxing](\"https:\/\/content26.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/face-wax-microwavable.png\")
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During Prime Day, we also saw a goof from Barbie. While it\u2019s possible someone searching for women\u2019s fragrance would be interested in a toy, I certainly wouldn\u2019t stake my advertising budget on it.<\/p>\n
![\"Barbie](\"https:\/\/content26.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/womens-fragrance.png\")
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At the end of the day, both positive and negative keyword targeting are important pieces of the bigger picture. For more information on shopper targeting, see our overview of Amazon Audiences<\/a> and Advertiser Audiences<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When a recent search for gaming mouse pads showed the following paid ads for menstrual pads, I knew Kotex needed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":45747,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[789,1461],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
Types of Negative Keywords on Amazon<\/strong><\/h2>\nThere are two main types of Amazon negative keywords: exact match and phrase match. Generally, these act like they sound. Exact match negative keywords only exclude keywords that identify the exact words and close matches, in the specified order. Phrase match keywords exclude keywords for phrases and close matches. For a more detailed dive, check out this article<\/a> from Karooya.<\/p>\nExamples of Bad Targeting<\/strong><\/h2>\nMissing negative keywords are not the only targeting mistake brands make, however, and the examples can be quite comical. For instance, who knew that mac and cheese had anything to do with facial hair removal? I wouldn\u2019t recommend using Kraft products to wax your upper lip, even if both wax and mac and cheese can go in the microwave!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
During Prime Day, we also saw a goof from Barbie. While it\u2019s possible someone searching for women\u2019s fragrance would be interested in a toy, I certainly wouldn\u2019t stake my advertising budget on it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
At the end of the day, both positive and negative keyword targeting are important pieces of the bigger picture. For more information on shopper targeting, see our overview of Amazon Audiences<\/a> and Advertiser Audiences<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When a recent search for gaming mouse pads showed the following paid ads for menstrual pads, I knew Kotex needed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":45747,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[789,1461],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
Examples of Bad Targeting<\/strong><\/h2>\nMissing negative keywords are not the only targeting mistake brands make, however, and the examples can be quite comical. For instance, who knew that mac and cheese had anything to do with facial hair removal? I wouldn\u2019t recommend using Kraft products to wax your upper lip, even if both wax and mac and cheese can go in the microwave!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
During Prime Day, we also saw a goof from Barbie. While it\u2019s possible someone searching for women\u2019s fragrance would be interested in a toy, I certainly wouldn\u2019t stake my advertising budget on it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
At the end of the day, both positive and negative keyword targeting are important pieces of the bigger picture. For more information on shopper targeting, see our overview of Amazon Audiences<\/a> and Advertiser Audiences<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When a recent search for gaming mouse pads showed the following paid ads for menstrual pads, I knew Kotex needed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":45747,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[789,1461],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nWhen a recent search for gaming mouse pads showed the following paid ads for menstrual pads, I knew Kotex needed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":45747,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[789,1461],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n