Keyword Harvesting
Keyword harvesting is the process of mining Amazon PPC search term reports to identify which customer search queries are generating sales, then moving those terms into dedicated exact match campaigns.
What is Keyword Harvesting?
In Amazon PPC, broad and phrase match campaigns cast a wide net — your ad appears for hundreds of related search queries you didn't explicitly bid on. The Search Term Report shows you exactly which queries customers typed before clicking and buying. Keyword harvesting means regularly pulling this report, identifying the queries that converted (generated sales), and adding them as exact match keywords in a dedicated campaign with a specific bid.
This process transforms the randomness of broad match discovery into the precision of exact match control. A broad match campaign for 'yoga mat' might show your ad for 'yoga mat non-slip thick purple extra wide' — and if that converts at 20%, you want to bid specifically on that exact phrase at an optimised price, not leave it to the broad match algorithm's judgment.
Keyword harvesting should run on a regular cadence — weekly for active launch campaigns, bi-weekly for mature campaigns. The process is: Download Search Term Report → Filter for converting search terms → Add to exact match campaign → Add to negative keywords in the source broad/phrase campaign (to prevent impression cannibalisation).
Why it matters for sellers
Broad match campaigns typically have 30–50% wasted ad spend on non-converting or irrelevant search terms. Keyword harvesting steadily reduces this waste while simultaneously building a portfolio of proven, high-converting exact match keywords. Over time, a well-harvested account spends the same budget but generates 40–80% more attributed sales.
How to use Keyword Harvesting
Download the Search Term Report from Campaign Manager weekly. Filter for terms with 5+ clicks and at least 1 sale (adjust thresholds based on your AOV — higher AOV products may convert on fewer clicks). Add converting terms as exact match keywords in a 'Harvested Exact' campaign at 80% of the CPC they achieved in broad. Add all harvested terms as negatives in the source broad/phrase campaign.
For terms with high spend and zero sales, add them as negative exact in all campaigns immediately — these are the primary ACoS inflators.
Real-world example
A seller runs a broad match campaign for 'protein shaker'. After 4 weeks and $800 spend, the Search Term Report reveals 12 queries that generated 2+ sales each. They harvest all 12 into an exact match campaign. Four weeks later, the exact match campaign has $320 ACoS vs. the broad match campaign's $68 ACoS. The harvested keywords alone generate 4× the return of the broad match discovery campaign.
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Frequently asked questions about Keyword Harvesting
How often should I harvest keywords from my Amazon campaigns?
Weekly during product launch (high spend, fast data accumulation). Every 2 weeks for established campaigns. Monthly for low-budget mature campaigns. The more you spend, the faster statistically significant data accumulates and the more frequently harvesting pays off.
What is the difference between broad match and exact match on Amazon?
Broad match shows your ad for any search Amazon considers related to your keyword — giving you broad discovery but loose targeting. Exact match shows your ad only for the precise keyword or very close variations — giving you precise control but requiring you to already know the right keywords. Harvesting moves proven terms from broad discovery to exact precision.
Should I ever delete my broad match campaigns once I've harvested keywords?
No — keep broad match campaigns running to continuously discover new converting terms. The goal is not to eliminate broad match but to ensure your best-performing terms have dedicated exact match campaigns with optimised bids, while broad match continues finding new terms.