How do I read the Amazon search term report?
The search term report shows every actual shopper query that triggered your ad, plus clicks, spend, and orders per term. Sort by spend descending and look for two patterns: terms with high spend and zero orders (negatives), and terms with strong conversion that are not yet in an exact-match campaign (promotion candidates).
Jul 26, 2026 · 3 min read
Where to find it and what it contains
In Seller Central, go to Reports > Advertising Reports > Sponsored Products > Search Term. Pull the last 60 days. Each row is a customer search term, the ad-group keyword it matched, spend, orders, sales, and ACoS.
The search term report shows what you paid for; query performance data shows the share of the whole query you actually captured.
The two moves that matter
First, filter for search terms with 10+ clicks and zero orders. Add each as a negative-exact to the campaign burning the spend. Second, filter for search terms with 3+ orders and ACoS below target that are matched via auto or broad. Promote each to its own exact-match ad group with a slightly higher bid.
Common mistakes
Do not negative-match a term after 3 clicks; the sample is too small. Do not promote a term after 1 order; the conversion may not repeat. Do not run the report only monthly: waste accumulates weekly.
Frequently asked questions
How often should I run the search term report?
Weekly for accounts spending $500+/month, biweekly for smaller accounts.
What is the click threshold for negatives?
10 clicks with zero orders is the standard threshold. On low-priced items, 15 clicks.
Should I negative-match at campaign or ad-group level?
Ad-group level unless the term is universally irrelevant across the whole product line.
Does Nova replace the search term report?
No. Nova aggregates ad spend into SKU profit; keyword-level tuning still happens in the Amazon Ads console.
See this in Nova
Nova surfaces this metric per SKU so you can act before your next monthly close catches it.
Try Nova free for 14 days