Amazon pay-per-click (PPC) is one of the most effective strategies for increasing product visibility and sales. But its success hinges on the keywords a brand uses.
As an Amazon brand or seller, you need to identify high-converting search terms to raise your Best Seller Rank (BSR) and CTR. This lets you maximize the return on ad spend (ROAS) and minimize wasted spend.
But how do brands find high-intent keywords for Amazon PPC campaigns?
In this guide, the post walks readers through conducting Amazon Ads keyword research to identify top search terms for their upcoming campaigns.
TL;DR – How to Conduct In-Depth Amazon Ads Keyword Research
Conducting in-depth Amazon Ads keyword research for your PPC campaign involves multiple steps, including:
- Analyzing search term reports and PPC performance data.
- Conducting competitor reverse-ASIN lookup.
- Using Amazon autocomplete and search bar.
- Analyzing customer reviews and Q&A sections.
These steps are vital to aggregate different types of keywords, including generic, long-tail, branded, and seasonal.
Brands can group these keywords by campaign goals to ensure effective targeting, bidding, measurement, and budgeting.
Why Amazon Ads Keyword Research Differs From Organic SEO
Keywords are essential to both Amazon Ads and organic SEO to boost digital visibility and performance.
But the approach to keyword research differs in these two strategies, and here is how:
- Primary intent: Amazon Ads keyword research targets transactional intent, while SEO focuses on search intent to reach a broader audience.
- Timeline: With ads, the research aims for keywords that drive instant results, while SEO keyword research delivers keywords for sustainable, long-term traffic.
- Keyword type: Amazon Ads prioritize specific product attributes, brand names, and high-converting phrases, while SEO emphasizes a broader range of keywords.
Amazon PPC keyword research is about finding the most profitable search terms for effective targeting and bidding. When implemented correctly, it helps ensure a healthy advertising cost range of at least 10-15%.
SEO keyword research, on the other hand, focuses on incorporating a wide range of terms into your copy to drive traffic.
How to Conduct In-Depth Keyword Research for Amazon Ads
Keyword research for Amazon Ads involves finding the right search terms to target and optimizing product-targeting campaigns. It’s vital for helping sellers target conversion rates of 9% to 15%.
Here is how you can conduct the research to identify high-intent phrases:
Brainstorm Seed Keywords
Start by listing 10 to 20 core search terms describing your product/service, key features, and typical use cases. This creates the foundation for your research and campaign.
According to Reddit user Sikandar_Ayub in an Amazon FBA Tips discussion:
“Conduct fresh keyword research—not just relying on what your competitors are ranking for— to identify what’s actually converting. Identify gaps and sort keywords by type so you can target them effectively.”
Prioritize phrases that best describe your product and those that customers mostly use to search for similar products. Include variations in terminology to capture the phrases your target audience is likely to use.
Analyze Search Term Reports and PPC Data
If you have existing campaigns, they provide valuable data for mining high-converting search phrases. Alternatively, you can run automatic test campaigns for 1 to 2 weeks to discover new keywords.
Download your search term reports to identify terms that are already converting into sales. During your analysis, prioritize high-relevance, high-volume keywords for dedicated, high-bid, or exact-match PPC campaigns.
Conduct Competitor Reverse-ASIN Lookup
With competitor reverse-ASIN lookup, you can identify the exact keywords driving traffic and sales to your competitors’ products on Amazon.
In this case, you’ll need a dedicated tool, such as SellerSpite, MerchantWords, or Helium 10 Cerebro. Simply input your competitor’s ASIN into the tool to reveal the top-performing terms and advertising strategy for a specific product.
Analyze the data to find high-opportunity keywords you can include in your campaigns for a competitive advantage.
Use Amazon Search Bar Autocomplete
You can use Amazon’s search bar to find popular, high-volume keywords for your company. Head to Amazon’s homepage and type partial phrases to trigger autocomplete suggestions.
The suggestions reflect real-time user searches on Amazon, and you can add them to your keywords list. For deeper insights, you can also use the Product Opportunity Explorer in Seller Central to uncover, download, and analyze search volume.
Analyze Customer Reviews and Q&A Sections
The customer reviews and Q&A sections on Amazon product pages are an invaluable resource for uncovering high-value keywords for free.
These resources allow you to identify the natural language customers use to describe products and the keywords that reflect their search behavior. Look for recurring phrases and use case scenarios to create solution-based keywords.
You can extract key keywords manually and record them in a spreadsheet or use automated tools like Jungle Scout’s AI Review Analysis and Helium 10’s Review Downloader.
Essential Amazon Keyword Research Tools for Ads
Speaking of tools, using Amazon PPC keyword research software helps automate the process and provide in-depth analysis to deliver high-performing keywords.
Here are essential tools you must have in your PPC toolbox:
- Helium 10: Offers over 30 powerful tools for Amazon sellers, including Magnet for finding high-volume keywords and Cerebro for reverse-engineering competitor keywords.
- Jungle Scout: Its Keyword Scout tool offers detailed keyword data, search volume, and estimated CPC to help you find profitable keywords.
- Data Dive: Lets you analyze your performance and identify child keyword variations for effective PPC ads.
- MerchantWords: Captures real search data from Amazon shoppers to identify high-impact, long-tail keywords for your campaign.
- SmartScout: Tracks your competitor rankings and search intent to optimize your Amazon PPC strategies.
When using these tools for keyword research, focus on relevance to choose search terms that match your product, target long-tail keywords, and consider intent.
This can help reduce the typical advertising cost of sales (ACOS), which averages between 25% to 30% across all Amazon ad campaigns.
Choosing the Right Keywords for Your Campaigns
For a successful PPC campaign, you must select the right keywords, combining high-volume, relevant terms with long-tail phrases to balance visibility and conversion rates.
Here is what you should do:
- Prioritize high-intent phrases: Focus on keywords that indicate a purchase intent, such as buy, best, order, for women, for kids, etc.
- Consider long-tail keywords: Often 3+ words, these phrases are more specific, have lower competition, and higher conversion rates, such as “waterproof bluetooth speaker for kayaking” or “slim fit winter coat for men.”
- Diversify your selections: Use a blend of broad, exact matches, and related phrases to increase your product visibility while maintaining control over CPC, which averages at $1.18.
Additionally, analyze your top competitors to identify high-performing keywords driving their sales and traffic.
Don’t forget to monitor your performance and refresh your keywords to remove underperforming terms. Ensure to make optimization based on 30-60 days of data.
While tools are effective, they can’t provide expert insights into keyword strategy and performance. Instead, sellers can work with IG PPC to target high-intent keywords and harvest strategic search terms.
IG PPC is an Amazon PPC management service that optimizes ads to boost conversion rates, growth, and profitability, boasting an over 95% client retention rate. They deliver high-intent keywords for PPC campaigns and strategic audits for actionable insights, empowering brands to hit up to $3 billion in sales.
Schedule a free PPC audit today and learn how IG PPC helps brands navigate the complexities of keyword research.
When DIY Amazon Keyword Research Isn’t Enough
DIY Amazon keyword research allows you to save money and get a better understanding of how customers search for products online.
But it has significant limitations across various stages and scenarios of your PPC campaign, including:
- When you need expert insights into PPC data: DIY research can provide concrete numbers, but lacks personalized recommendations for campaigns.
- When competing in high-volume niches: Having only the right keywords here is not enough. You need accurate implementation and deeper competitor analysis to stay competitive.
- When scaling beyond listing setup: As you expand your campaigns or catalogs, DIY research may limit efficiency, hinder scalability, and make it difficult to sustain consistent performance.
- When conversion rate stagnates: If your listings are no longer converting or the rate is below 5%, your keywords may be attracting the wrong audience.
DIY approaches work for small, basic PPC campaigns. But if you have a larger campaign or operate in a highly competitive niche, you’ll need to upgrade from DIY to an expert PPC management service.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are some common questions around Amazon Ads keyword research:
Should I Use Competitor Keywords in Amazon Ads?
Yes, you should use competitor keywords in Amazon ads to increase brand visibility and capture traffic from similar products.
Identifying and using your competitors’ keywords is a valid, permissible strategy often called conquesting. But you should use it if you have the budget to compete on price and value.
How Many Keywords Should I Research Before Launching an Amazon Ads Campaign?
According to Reddit user Live_Island 6755 in a Self-Published Writers discussion:
“A targeted approach with 15-20 keywords can be effective, particularly for highly focused ads. For books, you might see recommendations to use a larger set, such as 100-200 keywords, to capture a broader range of search queries and increase visibility.”
Researching 50 to 100+ keywords is useful for a long-term PPC strategy, but launching a campaign with a smaller, curated keyword list reduces budget waste and ensures effective performance analysis.
How Often Should I Refresh My Amazon Ads Keyword Research?
You should refresh your Amazon Ads keyword research at least every 3 to 6 weeks, with a full quarterly audit.
Your frequency depends on the maturity of your products. For a new campaign, you can research new keywords weekly, while mature campaigns can do with monthly or quarterly reviews.
Can I Use the Same Keywords for Organic SEO and Amazon Ads?
Yes, you can use the same keywords for organic SEO and Amazon Ads to boost your visibility and performance.
This approach aligns both strategies to reinforce your brand authority and boost conversion rates by occupying paid and organic slots. Your high-performing ads can provide data to optimize your organic search listings.
Conclusion
Effective Amazon Ads keyword research is crucial for increased product visibility and stellar sales performance. It helps brands identify what shoppers search online and use customers’ natural terms to optimize their ads.
While you can consider DIY keyword research, it may not yield the right keywords or offer expert insights.
Instead, you can work with specialized agencies for data-driven, in-depth keyword research and hands-on campaign management.
With IG PPC, clients get 100% verified human account managers to review their Amazon campaigns and provide tailored strategies. The company uses advanced analytics and reporting to inform strategy development and support continuous optimization for serious sellers with 7- to 9-figure accounts.
Ready to optimize PPC campaigns for increased sales? Book a call today and discover how IG PPC simplifies Amazon Ads keyword research.
