The three keyword match types
| Match type | Shows your ad when the search | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Broad | Contains the words in any order, with related words and close variants | Finding new search terms |
| Phrase | Contains the phrase in that order, with words before or after | A proven phrase with useful variations |
| Exact | Is the keyword, or a close variant like a plural or misspelling | Terms that already sell, at a bid you control |
Close variants mean plurals, misspellings and small word-order changes are treated as the same search on every match type.
Automatic campaigns and their four groups
In an automatic campaign Amazon picks the searches and product pages from your listing. You can bid on four targeting groups separately:
- Close match: searches closely related to your product.
- Loose match: searches loosely related to it.
- Substitutes: product pages of items similar to yours.
- Complements: product pages of items bought alongside yours.
Auto is a research tool as much as a sales one: its search term report shows what shoppers type before buying something like yours.
How to switch a keyword from manual to broad, or broad to exact
Amazon does not let you edit the match type of a keyword you already added, and a campaign stays automatic or manual for life. To move a keyword, add it again with the new match type and pause or negate the old one.
- In the manual campaign's ad group, add the keyword with the new match type and a starting bid.
- Pause the old keyword, or keep both if the old one finds searches the new one cannot.
- If you are promoting a search term from Auto or Broad to Exact, add it as a negative exact in the source campaign so the two stop bidding against each other.
- Moving the other way, from manual to automatic, means creating a new automatic campaign.
A structure that keeps it readable
One common shape: an Auto campaign and a Broad campaign to discover, and an Exact campaign for the terms that proved themselves, with each winner negated where it was found. Every week the audit moves the best new terms down the funnel and stops the losers. The weekly PPC audit.
Questions
- Can I change a keyword's match type on Amazon?
- No. Add the keyword again with the match type you want, then pause the old one.
- Which match type should a new product start with?
- Usually an automatic campaign plus broad keywords to see what shoppers search, then exact match for the terms that sell.
- Does broad match modifier exist on Amazon?
- No. Amazon Sponsored Products has broad, phrase and exact, plus negative exact and negative phrase.