Overview

Amazon sellers who regularly audit their Sponsored Products campaigns can quickly differentiate the keywords that generate profit from those that drain the advertising budget. Spending just a few minutes each week on a data‑driven review enables you to shift spend toward high‑return terms and eliminate waste, which in turn lowers ACOS and lifts overall ROI.

Key Points

• Profit‑generating keywords — A term that costs $120 in ad spend and drives $600 in sales produces an ACOS of 20%, comfortably under a typical 30% target and therefore adds net profit.
• Loss‑making keywords — A keyword that requires $250 of spend but only yields $150 in sales results in an ACOS of 167%, far exceeding most sellers’ break‑even thresholds.
• Match‑type influence — Exact‑match keywords usually achieve an average ACOS around 18%, while broad‑match terms hover near 45% because the latter capture less intent‑rich traffic.
• Bid‑to‑conversion ratio — When bids are set at roughly 1.5 times the average CPC but the conversion rate stays below 2%, the spend is typically inefficient and the bid should be reduced or paused.
• Negative keyword benefit — Introducing a negative phrase that previously cost $80 and produced zero sales can instantly shave about 5% off the campaign’s overall ACOS.
• Seasonal volatility — During peak holiday periods, a keyword that normally runs at a 25% ACOS may climb to 40% as competition pushes CPC higher, signaling a temporary bid adjustment.

How to Pinpoint Money Makers and Money Losers

1. Export campaign data — Pull the most recent 30‑day performance file from Amazon Advertising, ensuring it includes spend, sales, clicks, and ACOS for every keyword. Example: A seller downloads the report for an “organic tea” campaign and sees 120 individual keywords listed.
2. Sort by match type and ACOS — In the spreadsheet, first group rows by match type (exact, phrase, broad) and then order each group by ACOS from lowest to highest. Highlight any rows where ACOS falls beneath your personal target, such as 30%. : The exact‑match term “organic green tea” shows a 12% ACOS, whereas the broad‑match “green tea” sits at 58% ACOS.