Keyword Strategy: How We Isolate Winners & Eliminate Waste

Why Keyword Strategy Decides Your Profit

Bids don’t make money—alignment does. The closer your keyword and ad align to buyer intent, the higher your conversion rate (CVR) and the lower your ACoS/TACoS. Our approach is simple: learn fast, promote winners, block losers.

Our 3-Layer Structure (Per Product or Tight Family)

1. Branded Exact
   Own your brand terms and variants (e.g., “acme collagen powder”).
   Goal: Defend share, cheap conversions, clean brand data.
2. Core Exact (Non-Branded High Intent)
   Product-defining terms (e.g., “hydrolyzed collagen powder,” “collagen peptides”).
   Goal: Scale efficient revenue on proven queries.
3. Discovery (Phrase/Broad + ASIN/Product Targeting)
   Explore adjacent queries and competitor pages.
   Goal: Find winners, then promote to Core Exact and negative the rest.

Naming Convention (keeps data clean):
SP | Collagen Powder | Branded-Exact
SP | Collagen Powder | Core-Exact
SP | Collagen Powder | Discovery-Phrase
SP | Collagen Powder | Discovery-Broad
SP | Collagen Powder | Discovery-PT

The Research Stack (15 Minutes to a Solid Seed List)

• Listing mining: Your title, bullets, A+ modules → pull head and modifier terms.
• Competitors: Extract keywords from top 5 competitor titles and “Customers also viewed/bought.”
• Ads Console Suggestions: Add relevant auto-suggested terms (skip generic noise).
• Query expansion: Add common modifiers: size, flavor, pack count, material, use case, audience.
• ASIN targets: Competitors with weaker price/reviews or poor images = prime conquesting.

Quality filter: If your product can’t credibly satisfy the query, it doesn’t belong on the list.

Match Types with a Mission

• Exact (in Branded & Core): Control CPC and funnel clean data into your scaling engine.
• Phrase/Broad (in Discovery only): Cast a net to uncover new converting search terms.
• Product Targeting (Discovery PT): Appear on competitor detail pages and complementary items.

Rule: Never mix Branded + Non-Branded in one campaign. It muddies ACoS and throttles budget.

Search Term Isolation: The Promote/Block Flywheel

This is the engine of profitable growth.

Promotion Criteria (from Discovery → Core Exact)

• ≥ 2–3 orders within 14–30 days
• ACoS at/under target or strong CVR relative to average
• Search term relevance matches listing positioning

Action: Add as Exact to Core. Set an initial bid around the mid-to-high suggested range and monitor placement performance (Top of Search often warrants a modest boost later).

Block/Waste Criteria (Discovery Negatives)

• 10–15 clicks, 0 sales, or
• ACoS way above target without signs of improvement, or
• Irrelevant semantics (e.g., “DIY,” “free,” “for dogs” when you sell human supplements)

Action:

• Add exact negatives for specific duds.
• Use phrase negatives to kill entire bad themes.

Bidding & Placement (Fast, Practical)

• Launch bids: Slightly above suggested midpoint for Exact; at midpoint for Phrase/Broad.
• Dynamic bidding: Start Down Only for control.
• Top of Search modifiers: Add +15–40% only after you see stronger CVR at that placement; increase gradually.
• Budget split (starting point): 50% Core Exact, 30% Discovery, 20% Branded. Reallocate to winners weekly.

Creative Alignment (Secret Multiplier)

No keyword strategy saves weak listing assets. Tighten:

• Main image: Crisp, fills frame, compliant; add lifestyle second image.
• Title: Lead with primary head term + 1–2 high-intent modifiers; keep readable.
• A+ Content: Mirror the keyword clusters you’re buying—benefit blocks, comparison chart.
• SB Video: 20–30s; hook in 2s; product in use; captions on.

Weekly Optimization SOP (Copy/Paste This)

Every Monday

1. Pull Search Term Report for last 7–14 days.
2. Promote winners: Any term with ≥2 orders and acceptable ACoS → move to Core Exact.
3. Add negatives: Any term with 10–15 clicks, 0 orders, or consistently unprofitable → negative in Discovery.
4. Bid tuning:
   • Winners: +5–12% if impression share is low and CVR strong.
   • Laggards: −10–20% if CPC rising and CVR weak.
5. Budget reallocation: Shift spend toward Core Exact ad groups with stable ACoS and inventory.

Mid-Week Quick Check (Thu)

• OOB (out-of-budget) checks on winners
• Placement review: add/trim Top of Search modifiers based on CVR delta
• ASIN targeting refresh: add 5–10 new under-reviewed competitor ASINs

Mini-Playbooks

Launch (Week 1–2)

• Keep Core Exact tight (5–20 terms), Discovery broader.
• Prune early obvious mismatches (brand-irrelevant themes).
• Don’t over-edit daily; let data accumulate.

Scale (Week 3–6)

• Promote consistently converting search terms to Exact.
• Add SB Video for the top cluster; start SD retargeting at low daily budgets.
• Expand long-tail exacts for cheaper CPCs with high intent.

Defend (Always On)

• Branded Exact separate.
• Add branded negatives to non-branded campaigns to avoid data pollution.
• If competitors attack, increase branded budget and test SB headline variants.

Benchmarks to Keep You Honest (Guidelines)

• CTR (SP): 0.35%–1%+ (higher on Top of Search).
• CVR (SP): 8%–20% when intent alignment is tight.
• Promotion latency: Expect 1–3 new Core Exact terms per ASIN per week early on, then a steady trickle.
• TACoS trend: Stable or down as Core Exact grows and organic rank lifts.

Common Mistakes We See (and Fix)

• Mixing branded and non-branded in one campaign.
• 100+ keywords per ad group (no budget focus).
• No negative strategy—letting bleed continue for weeks.
• Bidding up before creative/listing conversion is fixed.
• Treating Phrase/Broad as “set and forget” instead of a learning layer.

FAQ

Q: Should I use Auto campaigns?
A: Yes—as an additional discovery source with low/moderate bids. Harvest winners into Exact, negative out the rest.

Q: How many keywords per ad group?
A: Core Exact: 5–20 tightly related terms. Discovery: broader sets are fine, but monitor and prune.

Q: When do I raise bids?
A: When a term shows strong CVR and limited impression share at your target ACoS. Raise in small steps (5–12%).

Agency Takeaway

Great Amazon PPC is a process, not a guess. Use Discovery to learn, promote what converts into Core Exact, and negative what doesn’t. Do this weekly and your ACoS stabilizes, TACoS trends down, and organic rank climbs.

Want us to run a free keyword gap audit and map your Core/Discovery plan?
Send your top ASINs, target ACoS/TACoS, margins, and we’ll share a 30-day action roadmap.