Negative exact or negative phrase: which should I use?

In most cases, negative exact. It blocks only that specific term (and very close variations). Negative phrase is more aggressive — it blocks any search containing that sequence of words, including variations that may convert well.

Should I add negatives at the campaign level or the ad group level?

Start at the ad group level (the narrowest level). If the same term performs poorly across several campaigns for the same product, then consider adding it at the campaign level. Going straight to the campaign level without checking can cut a term that converts well in another ad group of the same campaign.

How do I know if a negated term was also driving organic sales?

A negative keyword in Ads doesn't block organic sales from the same term — it only stops the paid ad from showing for that search. The product can still appear organically. The real risk is negating a branded term or a high-volume term that was still driving product discovery, even with high short-term ACoS.

How often should I review the Search Term Report for negatives?

It depends on the campaign's daily budget. For campaigns with a daily budget under $10, a monthly review is enough to get a reliable volume of data. For campaigns with larger budgets, review every 14 days.

How to Add Negative Keywords Without Losing Sales

Negating the wrong term, or negating at the wrong level, can cut sales that term was driving in another campaign or ad group. After you find a term that spends without selling, the next step — adding it as a negative — involves two decisions that determine whether you cut waste or cut sales: which negative match type to use, and at which level to apply it.

Negative exact vs. negative phrase

According to the official Amazon Ads documentation, there are two negative match types for keywords:

Type	What it blocks	Risk level
Negative exact	Only the search that exactly matches the term (or very close variations)	Low — a surgical block
Negative phrase	Any search containing that sequence of words, even with additional terms	High — can block variations that convert

In practice: negating "iphone case" as phrase also blocks "iphone 15 shockproof case" — a much more specific search that may have been converting. Negating it as exact blocks only the search "iphone case" itself.

Rule of thumb: start with negative exact. Only use negative phrase when you're sure the entire family of variations of that term is irrelevant to the product.

Which level to negate at: ad group or campaign

A negative can be applied at the ad group level (blocks only there) or the campaign level (blocks across every ad group in that campaign). The common mistake is going straight to the campaign level without checking whether the same term is performing well in another ad group of the same campaign — in that case, the campaign-level negative cuts the good sales along with the waste.

Always start at the narrowest level (ad group). Move up to the campaign level only after confirming the term is bad in every ad group where it appears.

A safe step-by-step

Confirm you have enough data to decide (see the article on finding terms that spend without selling).
Check in the Search Term Report whether the same term converts well in another ad group or campaign before negating it.
Prefer negative exact over negative phrase.
Apply it at the ad group level first, not the whole campaign.
Monitor for 1–2 weeks after the change to confirm spend dropped without hurting the product's sales.

How often to review search terms

The right review cadence depends on the campaign's daily budget. For campaigns with a daily budget under $10, a monthly review of the Search Term Report is enough — the data accumulated over a month is what gives you statistical confidence to decide. For campaigns with larger budgets, review every 14 days, because clicks accumulate faster. Reviewing more often than that on small campaigns tends to lead to decisions based on too little data — back to the most common mistake described below.

Beyond keywords, it's also worth negating products (competitor ASINs or ASINs from irrelevant categories) when they show up eating budget without being related to what you sell.

Mistakes that cut sales by accident

Negating a term that contains your own brand or product name (blocks direct searches from shoppers who already know the brand).
Using negative phrase when the term has relevant variations you haven't identified.
Negating at the campaign level without checking other ad groups in the same campaign.
Negating based on 1–2 days of data, cutting a term that hasn't had a chance to convert yet.

How EcomVision helps

EcomVision's Ad Spend Leak Finder shows you, before you apply anything, whether the candidate negative term is performing well elsewhere in the account — and lets you choose the match type (exact or phrase) and level (ad group or campaign) with a preview before confirming.

Update notice: the exact names and behavior of negative match types may change in the Amazon Ads interface. The most current official reference is always the Amazon Ads documentation (see source below).

Sources

Amazon Ads — Negative keyword, product, and brand targeting
Official Amazon Mentor Program material — "Introduction to Ads" training