Negative keywords and negative targeting in Amazon PPC are both strategies used to optimize your advertising campaigns, and they play distinct roles:

  1. Negative Keywords:

    • Purpose: Negative keywords are specific words or phrases that you exclude from triggering your ads. When you add negative keywords, your ads won't appear for search queries containing those keywords.
    • Example: If you sell high-end laptops but don't want your ads to appear for searches related to "cheap laptops," you can add "cheap" as a negative keyword.
    • Effect: Negative keywords help you refine your ad targeting by preventing your ads from showing to irrelevant audiences, thus improving your campaign's efficiency.
  2. Negative Targeting:

    • Purpose: Negative targeting, in the context of Amazon PPC, refers to excluding certain product categories, brands, or other criteria within Amazon itself. It's a way to narrow down where your ads are displayed.
    • Example: If you sell premium fashion accessories and want to avoid appearing on product listings for budget brands, you can use negative targeting to exclude those specific brands or categories from your ad placements.
    • Effect: Negative targeting allows you to control where your ads appear on Amazon, ensuring they align with your target audience and brand image.

In summary, negative keywords are about filtering out specific search terms, while negative targeting focuses on excluding certain categories or criteria within Amazon's platform.