Quick Links
🚨 Note: We will optimize search terms only for Ad Groups that include broad, phrase, or expanded product matches, even if the feature is turned ON for campaigns with exact match.
Introduction
Keyword harvesting is a crucial process in Amazon advertising that involves identifying high-performing search terms from your auto or broad match campaigns and transferring them into more controlled exact match campaigns. This method allows advertisers to refine their targeting, improve ad efficiency, and maximize the return on ad spend (ROAS).
By harvesting keywords, you take the insights gained from broader targeting methods and apply them strategically to ensure that your ads are shown to the most relevant audience, thereby increasing the chances of conversions.
How and When Search Terms are Transferred into a New Campaign
At ThinkAd, we have developed a straightforward system for determining the right time to transfer search terms into new campaigns. Every three days, we evaluate all search terms in your broad or auto campaigns. When a search term consistently shows strong performance, it is flagged for harvesting. We primarily look at the number of orders generated by the term, as this indicates whether the search term has enough traffic to justify being controlled and optimized in an exact match campaign. Additionally, we consider conversion rate and ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sales).
If a search term is a poor performer, it will be negated at the ad group level to prevent it from draining your budget. Learn more about the Wasted Spend feature.
Once identified, these search terms are moved into an exact match campaign, where they are given more precise targeting and bid adjustments. This transition allows us to focus your ad spend on terms that are proven to work, enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of your campaigns.
Why We Harvest Keywords and Product Targeting
The primary reason we harvest keywords and product targeting is to gain greater control over your advertising campaigns. By moving successful keywords and ASINs into exact match campaigns, ThinkAd can adjust bids more accurately and track performance on a granular level.
This process helps us take control away from Amazon’s broader targeting algorithms, which may spread your budget thin across less relevant terms. Instead, by isolating each target in an exact match campaign, we can ensure that every dollar spent is directed toward terms that are more likely to convert. This not only improves the overall performance of your campaigns but also provides clearer insights into which targets are driving results.
What If a Keyword Performs Poorly After Harvesting?
Sometimes, a keyword that initially seemed promising might not perform as well after being harvested. If this happens, ThinkAd provides a mechanism to revert the keyword back to its original campaign.
If a keyword starts to underperform, you can turn off the specific ad group or both the target and ad group, and archive the negatives under the original campaign’s ad group. This effectively resets the keyword, allowing it to be managed within the broader targeting strategy where it may still hold value.
This flexibility ensures that you’re not locked into decisions that don’t work. Instead, you have the tools to continually optimize and refine your campaigns based on real-time performance data.
Article last updated September 2024. If you find this information to be out of date, please contact [email protected].