Amazon Search Terms Report: A Step-by-Step Guide to Better Visibility




As an Amazon seller, understanding how customers find your products is crucial for optimizing your listings and advertising campaigns. Knowing the search terms your customers use is essential for optimizing product listings and Sponsored ads. Therefore, sellers should regularly review the Amazon search terms report.

A key advantage of Amazon Advertising reports is the ability to use the data to customize your campaigns to meet your business objectives. Among these reports, the Amazon search terms report is the most useful for identifying the specific terms buyers use to find products. This report enables you to refine your keyword and product targeting to align with your PPC goals.

How often should you analyze the report? How can you effectively use the keywords driving clicks and conversions? This article will address all these points.

What is the Amazon Search Terms Report?

The Amazon Search Terms Report is a detailed breakdown of the actual search terms customers use to find and click on your products through Sponsored Products ads. This report offers a wealth of information, including:

  • The exact search terms used by customers

  • Number of clicks

  • Number of impressions

  • Click-through rate (CTR)

  • Number of orders

  • Sales data

  • Advertising Cost of Sales (Amazon ACoS)

By analyzing this data, sellers can gain a deeper understanding of customer search behavior and optimize their product listings and advertising strategies accordingly.

Why is the Amazon Search Terms Report Important?

Keyword Optimization

The Search Terms Report provides direct insights into the language your customers use when searching for products like yours. This information is invaluable for:

  1. Refining your product titles

  2. Updating your bullet points

  3. Enhancing your product descriptions

  4. Improving your backend search terms

By aligning your product content with actual customer search terms, you increase the likelihood of your products appearing in relevant search results.

Advertising Efficiency

For sellers using Amazon's advertising platforms, the Search Terms Report is a goldmine of information for optimizing campaigns:

  1. Identify high-performing keywords to bid on

  2. Discover new keyword opportunities

  3. Recognize underperforming keywords to pause or remove

  4. Understand the relationship between search terms and conversion rates

This data allows you to allocate your advertising budget more effectively, focusing on terms that drive sales while cutting spend on less productive keywords.

Competitive Analysis

The report can also provide insights into your competition:

  1. Identify gaps in the market where customers are searching but not finding satisfactory results

  2. Understand which search terms are driving traffic to competitors' products

  3. Discover potential niches or product variations to explore

By leveraging this competitive intelligence, you can make informed decisions about product development and marketing strategies.

How to Access the Amazon Search Terms Report

To access the Amazon Search Terms Report, follow these steps:

  1. Log in to your Amazon Seller Central account

  2. Navigate to the "Reports" tab

  3. Select "Advertising Reports"

  4. Choose "Search Term Report" from the available options

  5. Set your desired date range

  6. Generate and download the report

It's important to note that the report is available for Sponsored Products campaigns only. If you're not currently running Sponsored Products ads, you'll need to start a campaign to access this valuable data.

Understanding the Amazon Search Terms Report

Once you've downloaded the report, you'll be presented with a wealth of data. Here's a breakdown of the key metrics and what they mean:

Customer Search Term

This is the exact phrase or word that customers typed into Amazon's search bar, which led to your ad being displayed.

Impressions

The number of times your ad was shown for that particular search term.

Clicks

How many times customers clicked on your ad after searching with that term.

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

The percentage of impressions that resulted in clicks. Calculated as (Clicks / Impressions) * 100.

Spend

The total amount you've spent on ads for that search term.

Sales

The total product sales generated from clicks on your ad for that search term.

Orders

The number of orders placed after clicking on your ad for that search term.

H4: Advertising Cost of Sales (ACoS)

The ratio of ad spend to sales, expressed as a percentage. Calculated as (Spend / Sales) * 100.

Conversion Rate

The percentage of clicks that resulted in a sale. Calculated as (Orders / Clicks) * 100.

How to Analyze the Amazon Search Terms Report

Now that you understand what the data means, let's explore how to analyze it effectively:

Identify High-Performing Search Terms

Look for search terms with:

  1. High CTR

  2. Low ACoS

  3. High conversion rate

These are your golden keywords. Consider adding them to your manual campaigns and increasing bids to maximize visibility.

Discover New Keyword Opportunities

Pay attention to search terms that:

  1. Have generated sales but aren't in your current keyword list

  2. Show a good CTR but haven't resulted in sales yet

These terms represent opportunities to expand your keyword targeting and potentially increase sales.

Recognize Underperforming Terms

Identify search terms with:

  1. High spend but low sales

  2. Low CTR

  3. High ACoS

Consider pausing or removing these terms from your campaigns to reduce wasted ad spend.

Long-Tail Keyword Analysis

Look for longer, more specific search phrases that are performing well. These long-tail keywords on Amazon often have less competition and can be more cost-effective to target.

Optimizing Your Amazon Listing Based on Search Terms Report

Once you've analyzed your report, it's time to put that data to work:

Product Title Optimization

Incorporate high-performing search terms into your product titles, ensuring they remain readable and comply with Amazon's guidelines.

Bullet Point Refinement

Use the insights from your report to refine your bullet points, focusing on the features and benefits that align with customer search behavior.

Backend Search Terms

Update your backend search terms with relevant, high-performing keywords that couldn't be naturally incorporated into your visible listing content.

A+ Content Enhancement

If you have access to A+ Content, use the search term insights to create more targeted and relevant enhanced product descriptions.

Improving Your Advertising Strategy

The Search Terms Report is a powerful tool for refining your Amazon advertising approach:

Negative Keyword Implementation

Identify irrelevant search terms that are triggering your ads and add them as negative keywords to prevent wasted ad spend.

Bid Adjustments

Increase bids on high-performing search terms to improve ad placement and visibility. Conversely, lower bids or pause underperforming terms.

Campaign Structure Refinement

Use the insights from your report to create more targeted ad groups or even separate campaigns for different product categories or search term themes.

Automatic to Manual Campaign Transition

Leverage the data from automatic campaigns to inform and optimize your manual campaigns, focusing on the most effective search terms.

Best Practices for Using the Amazon Search Terms Report

To maximize the benefits of the Search Terms Report, consider these best practices:

Regular Analysis

Set a schedule to review your Search Terms Report regularly. Weekly or bi-weekly analysis allows you to stay on top of trends and make timely adjustments.

Historical Data Comparison

Compare current data with historical reports to identify trends and seasonal patterns in search behavior.

Holistic Approach

Don't view the Search Terms Report in isolation. Combine its insights with data from other sources like your Best Sellers Rank, organic search performance, and overall sales data for a comprehensive understanding of your Amazon business.

Continuous Testing

Use the insights from your report to inform A/B testing of your product listings and ad copy. Continuously refine your approach based on the results.

Balance Between Broad and Specific Terms

While long-tail, specific keywords can be valuable, don't neglect broader terms that might have higher search volume. Strive for a balance in your targeting strategy.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

When working with the Amazon Search Terms Report, be aware of these potential pitfalls:

Overreacting to Short-Term Data

Avoid making drastic changes based on short-term fluctuations. Look for consistent patterns over time before making significant adjustments.

Ignoring Low-Volume Terms

Don't disregard search terms with low volume too quickly. They might represent niche opportunities with less competition.

Neglecting Negative Keywords

Failing to add irrelevant terms as negative keywords can lead to wasted ad spend and poor campaign performance.

Overly Aggressive Bid Increases

While it's important to bid competitively on high-performing terms, avoid increasing bids too aggressively, as this can quickly erode profitability.

Conclusion

The Amazon Search Terms Report is an indispensable tool for sellers looking to improve their visibility and performance on the platform. By regularly analyzing this report and implementing its insights, you can:

  1. Optimize your product listings for better organic search performance

  2. Refine your advertising campaigns for improved ROI

  3. Discover new opportunities for product development and market expansion

  4. Stay ahead of your competition by understanding customer search behavior

Remember, success on Amazon is an ongoing process of analysis, optimization, and adaptation. The Search Terms Report provides you with the data you need to make informed decisions and continuously improve your Amazon selling strategy.

By following this step-by-step guide and implementing the best practices outlined, you'll be well on your way to achieving better visibility, increased sales, and long-term success on Amazon. Keep learning, keep optimizing, and watch your Amazon business grow.


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