When managing an Amazon PPC (Pay-Per-Click) campaign, one question every seller inevitably faces is: How many keywords should I be bidding on? Striking the right balance is critical—not enough keywords can mean lost opportunities, while too many can lead to wasted ad spend and scattered focus. Understanding the appropriate number of keywords for your campaigns is essential for scalable success on the Amazon marketplace.
The Importance of Strategic Keyword Selection
Amazon PPC success lies not in sheer volume but in strategic targeting. Every keyword you bid on should have a purpose—whether it’s to drive sales, test new markets, or build brand visibility. Choosing high-converting, relevant keywords ensures your ads appear in front of the right shoppers.
Before deciding on a number, sellers must understand these foundational principles:
- Relevance: Keywords must match the product’s features and customer intent.
- Search Volume: Keywords with zero or minimal searches won’t generate traffic, regardless of how many you include.
- Conversion Potential: Not all traffic is equal; focus on keywords that could really convert for your product.
Ideal Keyword Count for Amazon PPC Campaigns
There’s no universally perfect number of keywords, but there are best practices that guide most successful campaigns.
1. Sponsored Products Campaigns
Sponsored Products are the most commonly used ad type. For a single ad group within a Sponsored Products campaign, a good keyword range is:
- Exact Match: 5 to 20 high-converting keywords
- Phrase Match: 10 to 30 keywords
- Broad Match: Up to 50 keywords, especially in early research phases
Start with a manageable number—perhaps 30 to 50 keywords total per ad group—and optimize over time by identifying top performers from your data.
2. Sponsored Brands Campaigns
These campaigns require a more refined list since they focus on brand messaging. It’s common to bid on:
- 20 to 40 keywords in total
Relevance is especially key here to drive traffic that aligns with your brand strategy.
3. Sponsored Display Campaigns
These campaigns use audience and product targeting more than traditional keywords, but when keywords are used, keeping a small, strategic list—under 20 keywords—is generally sufficient.
When More Keywords Don’t Mean Better Results
Many sellers fall into the trap of thinking that more keywords will automatically lead to more traffic and more sales. However, this can actually dilute your resources and make optimization harder. Here’s why bidding on too many keywords can backfire:
- Budget Drain: Limited budgets get spread too thin, leading to underperformance.
- Low Data Visibility: With too many keywords, it’s harder to determine which are actually driving sales.
- Increased Complexity: Campaigns become harder to manage and optimize effectively.
Instead of aiming for quantity, focus on continuously identifying and investing in your top-performing keywords. Pause or decrease bids on poorly performing ones after enough data has been collected—usually within 1–2 weeks of running ads.
Different Strategies for Different Stages
The ideal number of keywords can also depend on where you are in your selling journey:
- Launch Phase: Use more broad and phrase match keywords (40–60) to gather data and identify potential high-converting terms.
- Growth Phase: Narrow down to keywords that show strong ROI and introduce negative keywords to reduce wasted spend.
- Optimization Phase: Focus on 10–30 top-performing keywords and continually adjust based on new trends or seasonal changes.
Use Tools but Don’t Rely Solely on Them
Keyword research tools like Helium 10, Jungle Scout, and Amazon’s own tools (like Brand Analytics) are excellent for discovering new keyword opportunities, but they are not infallible. Test all keywords within your campaigns and use real campaign data to validate their performance.
Furthermore, keep refining your list regularly. Amazon’s marketplace trends drop and rise quickly; keywords that worked last month may not be as effective today.
Final Thoughts
There’s no magic number of keywords that will guarantee success across all Amazon PPC campaigns. However, a range between 30 and 100 keywords per campaign across different match types and ad groups is usually a strong starting point. Focus on relevance, performance, and continuous optimization rather than quantity.
By strategically managing your keyword portfolio, investing time in quality research, and continuously analyzing your data, you’ll place your products in front of the right audience—and maximize your advertising efficiency.
