Low-Impression Keywords Are Killing Your ROI—Here’s How to Solve It
Welcome to our Amazon Audit series, where we reveal common mistakes and missed opportunities in brand campaigns.
If you’re unfamiliar with an Amazon audit, consider it a thorough check-up on your advertising performance. Our audit team regularly reviews the campaigns of top brands, identifying critical mistakes that hold ads back as well as best practices that drive success.
One issue we often uncover is a silent killer: strategically relevant keywords with little to no impressions. This is a widespread problem, and in this post, we’ll explain why it happens and how to fix it.
During campaign analysis, we discovered one common thread in many of our audits: hundreds of highly relevant keywords but 0 impressions. Imagine having the perfect product, but no one knows it’s there. That’s exactly what happens when your Amazon campaigns are full of low-impression keywords. These keywords are relevant, but for some reason, they’re not getting the visibility they deserve—resulting in wasted potential and wasted budget.
For example, a hair dye product had the term “brown hair dye” in a campaign with over 75 additional targets, yet that term wasn’t getting a single impression, whether in broad, phrase, or exact match.
Here’s why ignoring low-impression keywords hurts your brand:
By overlooking these keywords, you’re leaving potential sales on the table. Regular keyword audits and adjustments—like increasing bids or creating dedicated campaigns—can turn these hidden opportunities into real drivers of performance.
How to Spot Zero-Impression Keywords and Fix Them
STEP 1 - Use Filters in the Amazon Ad Console: Navigate to the Amazon Ad Console and apply the following filters: [Target Active Status: Enabled], [Campaign Active Status: Enabled], and [Impressions = 0]. This will give you a clear view of which active keywords are receiving no impressions.
STEP 2 - Adjust Your Bids: Low bids are a common culprit. Once you’ve identified the zero-impression keywords, check the suggested bid ranges in the Ad Console. Increase the bids on those terms to make them more competitive and give them a better chance at generating impressions.
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STEP 3 - Narrow Your Campaign Focus: Sometimes, the issue is too many keywords in a single campaign. Break down campaigns with hundreds of targets into smaller, more focused groups. Ensure that each campaign targets no more than 25-30 keywords. This allows Amazon’s algorithm to allocate budget more effectively, giving each keyword a better chance to perform.
STEP 4 - Review Keyword Relevance: Lastly, make sure the keywords are truly relevant to your product and audience. If they’re not aligned with shopper intent, no amount of bid adjustment will help. Use Amazon keyword tools?to ensure you’re targeting the right terms.
Of course, keyword management doesn’t stop with optimizing your bids or finding zero-impression keywords. Two critical strategies to take your Amazon campaigns to the next level are keyword harvesting and negative keyword optimization.
By regularly harvesting new, high-performing keywords, you can continuously grow your campaign’s reach and profitability. On the other hand, using negative keywords ensures you’re not wasting budget on irrelevant searches.
Is Your $25k Ad Budget Delivering Results?
If you’re spending $25k or more on Amazon ads each month, you can’t afford to let wasted budget drag down your performance. Our free Amazon audit is specifically designed for brands with significant ad spend, helping you uncover hidden inefficiencies and missed opportunities that could be costing you thousands. Our team of Amazon experts will provide in-depth insights into where your budget is being wasted and show you exactly how to optimize your campaigns for better ROI.
Stop letting your ad dollars slip through the cracks—sign up for your free audit today.