Understanding Amazon's Keyword Match Types and Optimizing Campaigns

1. What is the difference between a keyword and a search term?
2. What Amazon keyword match types are available?
3. Why should you work with Amazon's keyword match types?
4. What strategies are available in campaign planning with keyword match types?
5. Which tools can help you optimize your campaigns?
6. Conclusion

You might have noticed this in your recent Amazon product searches: The internet giant is increasing the number of ads displayed. Between Sponsored-Brands campaigns at the top of the search results page, Sponsored-Products ads as the first displayed products, and video ads further down organic placements get drowned out. So if you haven't dealt with Amazon Ads yet, now is the time.

For your campaigns to perform right from the start, this article answers the most important questions about Amazon keyword match types. You learn the differences between the match types, how to use them strategically, and which tools support you in optimizing.

What is the difference between a keyword and a search term?

In order to distinguish between keywords and search terms, it is important to understand that Amazon's website does not work like any other e-commerce company. Amazon's website corresponds to Google's search and decides which products are relevant for users based on what is entered in the search field. Therefore, Amazon can be described as a product search engine.

Search term

Every search on Amazon starts with a search term. For this, you enter a group of words such as “gaming chair” into the search bar and send off the search request. This combination of words is a search term. Search terms can consist of one or more words and/or numbers. Website users enter them to express their search intention and to elicit corresponding search results from search engines like Amazon.

Fig.1: Search term in search field; Source: Amazon

Keyword

In order for Amazon to place ads for your products in the search requests that you deem relevant, you can use keywords. Keywords consist of one or more words and/or numbers and are used by Amazon to match search requests and products. Search terms are the combinations that users enter to search for products. Keywords are the counterpart that you use to show Amazon which search requests your products are relevant for.

Fig.2: Keyword in the advertising account; Source: Amazon

Keywords also help you to improve your product placement. A newly launched product hardly ever lands organically on place 1. With an ad, you can even place it before the first (organic) search results.

What Amazon keyword match types are available?

If you decide to advertise on Amazon Ads, there's a wealth of knowledge you should acquire. One of the most basic topics are the match types available to you. Only when you know when to use them can you decide how to structure your products and strategically align your campaigns.

Exact

You get the strongest match of search term and keyword by using Exact Match. Here, the ad is only triggered when at search term and keyword words and word order match. Interjections like “and” or “with” are covered in word combinations. Plural forms do not have to be additionally booked into the account for Exact Keywords, spelling errors like “vantillater” instead of “ventilator” do.

Phrase

If you want to give Amazon's algorithm a little more leeway, you can choose Phrase Match. In this match type, the search term must continue to contain the word of the keyword in the same word order. However, additional words can be added before or after the wording. For example, if you have the keyword “small fan” stored in your account, your ad can be placed, e.g., for the search query “small fan quiet”.

Broad

Amazon has room for creativity when using Broad Match Keywords.

The wording of the keyword has to occur in the search query, but the order is irrelevant with this match type. Additional words are no problem too. However, caution is advised if the word order is essential for your product.

Bonus: Modified Broad

If you want to give Broad a try but want to give the algorithm a direction, you can use the Broad Match Modifier. To do this, you put a “+” sign in front of the essential term within the word group for your Broad Match Keywords. If you, for example, book the Broad Match Keyword “small fan +quiet”, your ads will only be displayed for search queries that contain the word “quiet”. If users search for “fan” or “small fan”, your ad will not be placed.

Fig.3: Amazon's Match Types Overview; Source: own illustration

Why should you work with Amazon's keyword match types?

The pay-per-click (PPC) advertising model allows you to use your advertising budget as efficiently as possible. And as you've learned in the previous section, match types are your ultimate tool to control the display of your ads.

The four match types meet different needs. Since your ad with Exact Match only plays when there is almost complete match of search term and keyword, you can use the match type to target users who are just about to buy. The match type is also exciting for products with a low margin. Since with Exact Match the chance of scoring wastage is lower, it is advisable to use the match type especially for these products. Since this keyword type is especially valuable, you should give it the highest bid.

Phrase allows a bit more variation in search queries, but here too, users are at the lower end of the sales funnel. The Match Type can help you identify whether users are looking for certain product characteristics in connection with your offer. This is an opportunity for products with a high margin, where the necessary target value is not defined as strictly. For this match type, your bid should be below the exact match.

Broad and Modified Broad provide you with the most leeway. You can use the match types, e.g., for product launches or when entering new markets. The search query report helps you discover new user wishes and keyword suggestions. Because of the significantly higher chances of getting wastage with this match type, you should set the lowest bid here.

What strategies are available in campaign planning with keyword match types?

Before you build your Amazon Campaign, it's worth taking a moment to consider: How much time do you have per week to optimize? Your campaign planning should be as finely divided as necessary and as maintainable as possible. The best setup contributes nothing to your business goals if it sinks into chaos.

Keyword Match Type Campaigns

You can spend most of your campaign planning effort on your top sellers. If you want absolute control over how much budget flows into which stage of the sales funnel, you set up separate campaigns for these products for each match type. The setup does require high maintenance, but you can control it very effectively. Caution is advised if the conversion volume falls sharply due to seasonal influences. Then the algorithm may stumble and the next variant might be a good alternative.

Fig.4: Strategy “One campaign per match type”; Source: own illustration

Ad groups for match types

The variant of dividing match types into separate ad groups is suitable for your entire product portfolio. With this successful Amazon PPC strategy you still have a lot of control over the display of the ads if you invest time in setting up and optimizing negative keywords at the setup level. Using bids, you can influence which ad group Amazon lets the bulk of the budget flow into.

Fig.5: Strategy “One ad group per match type”; Source: own illustration

Ad groups for topics

If you have little time to monitor your campaigns, you can build thematic ad groups. With this strategy, you pack all match types into one ad group. This can save you a lot of time in maintenance, as you can, for example, directly add new keywords that you find in your search query report and don't need to call up two additional ad groups.

Fig.6: Strategy “Thematic structuring”; Source: own illustration

Which tools can help you optimize your campaigns?

Being successful in Amazon PPC management can take a lot of time. Especially if you dare to venture beyond Sponsored Products campaigns and engage with Sponsored Brands, Display, or the Amazon DSP. Bids must be adjusted daily. An Amazon PPC bid management tool can automate this grunt work for you.

Adference

The tool provider ADFERENCE allows you to automatically manage your budgets, bids, and keywords. Depending on your marketing goal, you can choose from several bid strategies and thus benefit from machine learning algorithms.

Adspert

The provider Adspert offers optimization driven by AI. The tool monitors your budgets and bids for you so that your campaigns perform efficiently.

Metoda

Another bid optimizer is offered by metoda. The tool manages budgets, bids, and keywords according to your specifications. For the optimization, real-time e-commerce data and scientific market insights are used. Via Metoda's interface, you can create all campaign types and optimize DSP campaigns.

Conclusion

With its keyword match types, Amazon Ads offers you a strong lever, to control and scale the performance of your campaigns. If you should take one point from this reading: There is not one single solution. If you test the potentials of the match types for your company and try different campaign setups, you can take your Amazon advertising strategy to the next level.