What are term-level bid adjustments on Amazon?

Term-level bid adjustments let you set different bid amounts for individual search terms that match the same exact-match keyword. For example, you can bid $1.50 on "yoga mat" and $0.80 on "yoga mats" even though both match the same keyword.

Which match types support term-level bids?

Only exact-match keywords in Sponsored Products campaigns support term-level bid adjustments. Broad match and phrase match keywords do not support this feature.

How do term-level bids interact with keyword bids?

Term-level bids override the keyword-level bid for that specific search term. If no term-level bid is set, the default keyword bid applies. This gives you granular control without requiring adjustments on every variant.

Should I set term-level bids on all my keywords?

No. Focus on your top 20-30 keywords by spend. Pull search term reports and identify terms where conversion rates vary by more than 30% between variants. Those high-variance terms offer the biggest ROI from differentiated bidding.

Advertising

Amazon Adds Term-Level Bid Control

Amazon now lets advertisers set different bids for individual search terms within exact-match keywords. Bid separately on singular, plural, and grammatical variants.

AntoineCEO at Nova Analytics

Feb 18, 2026 · 5 min read · 907 words

Updated February 18, 2026

Summarize with AI

Claude Gemini ChatGPT

On this page

See your Amazon business clearly.

Try for free

What's Happening

Amazon now lets advertisers adjust bids at the individual search term level within Sponsored Products campaigns. Previously, you set one bid for an exact-match keyword and Amazon applied it equally to all grammatical variants. Now you can bid differently on "running shoe" vs. "running shoes" vs. "running shoe for men." Brands running their P&L on Nova tend to catch this in the fee-detail view first, before it lands in the weekly review.

This is a major shift in PPC granularity. For the first time, sellers can allocate more spend to the specific search term variants that actually convert, rather than paying the same amount for every variation Amazon matches. It's available in the Campaign Manager and through the Amazon Advertising API.

The feature is live for exact-match keywords in Sponsored Products campaigns across the US marketplace. Broad and phrase match keywords still work the same way. Amazon's documentation confirms that term-level adjustments override the keyword-level bid for matched terms.

Match Type

Exact

Only exact match supported

Control Level

Per Term

Individual search term bids

Status

Live

US marketplace

Key Details

Detail	What You Need to Know
What Changed	You can now set different bids for individual search terms within the same exact-match keyword. Singular, plural, and grammatical variants can each have unique bids.
Where to Find It	Campaign Manager in Seller Central. Navigate to your keyword, then expand to see matched search terms with individual bid adjustments.
Bid Priority	Term-level bids override keyword-level bids. If no term-level bid is set, the keyword bid applies as the default.
Limitations	Only available for exact match. Broad match and phrase match keywords do not support term-level adjustments.

Impact on Sellers

This is genuinely useful for high-volume sellers. If you've ever looked at your search term report and noticed that "yoga mat" converts at 12% but "yoga mats" converts at 6%, you couldn't do much about it. Both got the same bid because they matched the same exact keyword. Now you can bid $1.50 on the high-converting singular and $0.80 on the weaker plural.

The downside is complexity. If you're running thousands of keywords, managing individual term-level bids adds significant operational overhead. You'll need solid search term data and a clear system for deciding which terms deserve custom bids.

Where This Matters Most

Categories where singular vs. Plural intent differs significantly. "Phone case" (one case for one phone) vs. "phone cases" (comparison shopping for multiple options) can have very different conversion rates. Same for "vitamin D" (specific product search) vs. "vitamin D supplements" (browsing behavior).

Pro Tip

Don't try to set term-level bids on every keyword. Focus on your top 20 keywords by spend. Pull the search term report for the last 60 days and identify terms where conversion rate varies by more than 30% between variants. Those are your highest-impact opportunities.

What You Should Do Now

1.
Pull Your Search Term Report
Download the last 60 days of search term data from Campaign Manager. Sort by spend and identify your top 20-30 keywords. For each, check how conversion rates differ across matched search terms.
2.
Identify High-Variance Terms
Look for keywords where one variant converts at 10%+ and another converts at under 5%. These are your best candidates for term-level bid adjustments. The bigger the gap, the more you'll benefit from differentiated bidding.
3.
Set Conservative Initial Adjustments
Start with 20-30% bid increases on high-converting terms and 20-30% decreases on low-converting terms. Don't go extreme on day one. Let the changes run for 7-10 days and measure the impact before adjusting further.
4.
Track Results at the Term Level
After 2 weeks, compare term-level performance before and after adjustments. Are high-bid terms getting more impressions and maintaining conversion? Are low-bid terms reducing wasted spend? Adjust accordingly.

How Nova Helps

Track PPC Performance to Inform Bid Decisions

Nova's PPC Analytics help you track product-level ad performance and identify where your ad spend delivers the best return. Use this data to inform which search terms deserve higher or lower bids.

Combine this with Custom Analytics to build reports that track profitability trends alongside your PPC spend. See whether bid adjustments are translating into better margins.

Sources

See your Amazon performance in Nova.

Try for free

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about this topic

Term-level bid adjustments let you set different bid amounts for individual search terms that match the same exact-match keyword. For example, you can bid $1.50 on "yoga mat" and $0.80 on "yoga mats" even though both match the same keyword.
Only exact-match keywords in Sponsored Products campaigns support term-level bid adjustments. Broad match and phrase match keywords do not support this feature.
Term-level bids override the keyword-level bid for that specific search term. If no term-level bid is set, the default keyword bid applies. This gives you granular control without requiring adjustments on every variant.
No. Focus on your top 20-30 keywords by spend. Pull search term reports and identify terms where conversion rates vary by more than 30% between variants. Those high-variance terms offer the biggest ROI from differentiated bidding.

Verified Sources

All information verified from official Amazon sources and trusted industry analysts as of publication date.

About the Author

Antoine

CEO at Nova Analytics

Antoine founded Nova Analytics to empower Amazon sellers with enterprise-grade analytics. He specializes in data architecture and building scalable solutions for e-commerce businesses.

Connect on LinkedIn

See your Amazon business clearly.

Try for free Explore pricing

What's Happening

Match Type

Control Level

Status

Key Details

Impact on Sellers

Where This Matters Most

Pro Tip

What You Should Do Now

How Nova Helps

Track PPC Performance to Inform Bid Decisions

Sources

Frequently Asked Questions

What are term-level bid adjustments on Amazon?

Which match types support term-level bids?

How do term-level bids interact with keyword bids?

Should I set term-level bids on all my keywords?

Verified Sources

Antoine

Related guides

See your Amazon business clearly.

What's Happening

Match Type

Control Level

Status

Key Details

Impact on Sellers

Where This Matters Most

Pro Tip

What You Should Do Now

How Nova Helps

Track PPC Performance to Inform Bid Decisions

Sources