Identify the one Bad Keyword Draining your Budget - SOP230626

Audit Details — Appears in Your Download

SOP 230626 Amazon PPC Audit Keyword Diagnosis

Identify the One Bad Keyword Draining Your Budget — Fast

A 5-factor diagnostic framework to find and fix the single keyword silently consuming your PPC budget — before it destroys another month's ROI.

15–20 minutes Seller Central · Search Term Report Run Monthly 5 Diagnostic Factors

0 / 32 checks Start with Factor 1 — most budgets drain at the spend share gap.

Setup F1: Spend Share Gap F2: Funnel Break F3: Match Type Leak F4: Zero-Conversion F5: Decision Threshold

Objective

This SOP identifies the single keyword in your Amazon PPC campaign that is consuming a disproportionate share of your budget while generating minimal sales. Campaign-level ACoS hides this problem — keyword-level spend concentration reveals it.

Run this audit monthly, or immediately after any unexplained ACoS spike. Each of the 5 factors is a diagnostic signal — the more signals a keyword triggers, the more certain your diagnosis.

Core Principle

Campaign ACoS is a weighted average. One keyword at 280% ACoS with 35% spend share will make a healthy campaign look mediocre — and a mediocre campaign look catastrophic. Always audit at keyword level, not campaign level.

Team Responsibilities

Role	Factors	Responsibility
PPC Manager	F1, F2, F3, F4, F5	Run full keyword-level audit; identify pause / bid-down candidates
Campaign Owner	F3, F5	Approve negative keyword additions and bid changes above 30%
Account Analyst	F1, F4	Maintain spend share tracking spreadsheet and zero-conversion log

Pre-Audit Setup

Complete Before Running Any Factor

Log in to Seller Central → Advertising → Campaign Manager Confirm the correct marketplace is selected (Amazon.in or relevant region)

Navigate to Reports → Advertising Reports → Search Term Report Set date range to last 30 days — minimum 30 days required for statistical reliability

Download the Search Term Report as CSV Open in Excel or Google Sheets — you will add calculated columns in F1 and F4

Note your campaign's average CPC from Campaign Manager Required for F4 threshold calculation — look at the CPC column at campaign level

Confirm your target ACoS (or Break-Even ACoS if target is unknown) Break-Even ACoS = Profit Margin % — needed for F5 zone classification

Diagnostic Factors

Factor 1 — Free Preview

Spend Share vs Sales Share Gap

0 / 6 checks

Pending

Spend Share Gap — Diagnostic Model

Keyword	Spend %	Sales %	Gap
wireless earphone	12%	18%	+6%
bt earphone india	9%	11%	+2%
earphone cheap wireless	31%	4%	−27%

Row 3 = budget drainer. Gap worse than −15% → review immediately.

Steps

In your Search Term Report, add a new column: Spend Share % Formula: = (This keyword's Spend) / SUM(All Spend) × 100

Add another column: Sales Share % Formula: = (This keyword's Sales) / SUM(All Sales) × 100

Add a Gap column: Spend Share % minus Sales Share % Negative gap = keyword spending more than it earns. Positive gap = efficient keyword.

Sort the Gap column — most negative value first The keyword at the top of this sorted list is your primary suspect

Flag any keyword with Gap worse than −15% for further diagnosis These are review candidates — proceed to F2, F3, F4 on each flagged keyword

Flag any keyword with Gap worse than −25% as immediate pause candidate This level of concentration gap is rarely recoverable — action is almost always warranted

Healthy

Gap 0% to +10% — keyword contributing proportionally

Review

Gap −5% to −15% — investigate match type and funnel

Pause Candidate

Gap worse than −25% — pause or bid down 50%+ immediately

Critical

Gap worse than −15% with zero conversions — immediate action

Common mistake: evaluating spend share alone without comparing it to sales share. A keyword with 30% spend share is not a problem if it also delivers 30% of sales — the gap is what matters, not the absolute number.

Factor 2 — Free Preview

Funnel Break: Impressions → Clicks → Conversions

0 / 5 checks

Pending

Keyword Funnel Diagnosis Model

Impressions

10,000

▼ CTR 3.8%

Clicks

380

▼ CVR 0.5% ← BREAK HERE

Orders

2

ACoS = 312%

Funnel break at CVR → listing or intent mismatch. Diagnosis: not a keyword problem — a conversion problem.

Steps

For each flagged keyword from F1, check its Impressions column Low impressions (<500/month) = low-volume keyword — insufficient data to diagnose

Calculate CTR: Clicks ÷ Impressions × 100 Record this in your spreadsheet — below 0.3% = critical CTR problem

Calculate CVR: Orders ÷ Clicks × 100 Below 5% for PPC traffic = investigate listing quality, price, reviews, images

Identify where the funnel breaks — CTR stage, CVR stage, or both CTR break → bid issue or keyword-product mismatch. CVR break → listing issue. Both → intent mismatch.

Note the break point for each flagged keyword — carry forward to F5 for action decision Funnel break type determines whether to pause, bid down, or fix listing

Healthy CTR

Above 0.5% — keyword is relevant and ad is compelling

Average CTR

0.3%–0.5% — acceptable, monitor for decline

Critical CTR

Below 0.3% — keyword-listing mismatch or weak main image

Critical CVR

Below 5% on PPC — listing is not converting paid traffic

Common mistake: pausing a keyword when the funnel break is at CVR, not CTR. If clicks are arriving but not converting, the keyword is not the problem — the listing is. Pausing the keyword solves nothing and removes potentially valuable traffic.

Members Only

3 More Factors + AI Prompt Library + Scorecard

Factors 1–2 above are free. Create a free account to unlock the complete diagnostic system — including the decision matrix, AI shortcuts, and downloadable audit report.

Factor 3: Match Type Leakage — where Broad and Auto waste budget
Factor 4: Zero-Conversion threshold filter
Factor 5: 3-Zone Decision Matrix (Pause / Bid Down / Keep)
AI Prompt Library — Gemini + Claude prompts, copy-ready
Live Scorecard + Downloadable TXT Audit Report

Factor 3

Match Type Leakage

🔒 Locked

Factor 4

Zero-Conversion Keyword Filter

🔒 Locked

Factor 5

3-Zone Decision Threshold

🔒 Locked

Factor 3

Match Type Leakage

0 / 6 checks

Pending

Match Type Leakage — What You Set vs What Amazon Served

Customer Search Term	Match Trigger	Relevant?
earphone case cover	Broad — from "earphone"	No
cheap speaker 100 rupees	Auto match	No
wireless earphone under 500	Broad match	Yes

Red rows = negative keyword candidates. Add as Negative Exact in campaign.

Steps

In Search Term Report, locate the Customer Search Term column This shows what Amazon actually matched — different from your keyword column

Filter for Broad match and Auto-targeted rows only Exact match rows rarely have leakage — focus leakage audit on Broad and Auto

Review each Customer Search Term — is it relevant to your product category and buyer intent? Ask: "Would someone searching this term buy my product?" If no — it's leakage.

Build a list of irrelevant search terms — these become Negative Exact keywords Categories: wrong product type, wrong price intent, wrong use case, wrong buyer stage

Add all identified irrelevant terms as Negative Exact in Campaign Manager Go to: Campaign → Ad Group → Negative Keywords → Add keywords as Negative Exact

Schedule a weekly Search Term review for all Broad and Auto campaigns Leakage accumulates every week — weekly review prevents budget erosion from recurring

Clean

All search terms relevant — no negative keywords needed

Minor Leakage

1–3 irrelevant terms per week — add negatives, monitor weekly

Active Leakage

5+ irrelevant terms — significant budget waste, add negatives immediately

Structural Leakage

Keyword too broad for product — consider moving to Phrase or Exact only

Common mistake: running Broad match campaigns for more than 30 days without a single negative keyword review. Amazon will expand targeting to increasingly irrelevant terms over time — weekly review is non-negotiable for Broad match campaigns.

AI Shortcut

Gemini

~2 min vs 20 min manual Paste: Search Term Report CSV

Ready-to-use prompt

Below is my Amazon Search Term Report for the last 30 days. [paste CSV data here] For each row where Match Type is Broad or Auto: 1. Identify Customer Search Terms that are irrelevant to the product category 2. Flag terms with wrong price intent (e.g., "cheap", "100 rupees") 3. Flag terms from a different product category entirely 4. List all flagged terms as Negative Exact keyword candidates 5. Which 3 negative keywords would recover the most wasted spend immediately?

AI returns: sorted list of irrelevant search terms + top 3 negative keyword priorities ranked by spend recovered

Factor 4

Zero-Conversion Keyword Filter

0 / 5 checks

Pending

Zero-Conversion Filter — Sorted by Spend (₹)

Keyword	Spend (₹)	Clicks
earphone bluetooth cheap	₹4,200	350
best earphone under 200	₹3,100	258
earphone online india	₹2,800	233

Total wasted spend: ₹10,100 — 0 orders across all 3 keywords

Steps

In Search Term Report, filter Orders column to show only rows where Orders = 0 Excel: Data → Filter → Orders column → Number Filters → Equals 0

Sort the filtered rows by Spend column — descending (highest spend first) This ranks zero-conversion keywords by how much they cost — highest priority at top

Apply the spend threshold: flag keywords where Spend ≥ (Average CPC × 2) Example: avg CPC ₹12, threshold = ₹24 per conversion. 30 clicks = ₹360 — if zero orders, flag it.

Do NOT flag keywords with fewer than 15 clicks — insufficient data to decide Low-click keywords need more data before action — they may simply not have gotten enough traffic yet

For each threshold-crossed zero-conversion keyword, check if the search term is relevant If relevant → reduce bid 40–50%, give 2 more weeks. If irrelevant → pause immediately.

Insufficient Data

Below 15 clicks with 0 orders — wait for more data before action

Watch Zone

15–30 clicks, 0 orders — reduce bid 20–30%, observe next 2 weeks

Failed Threshold

Spend ≥ 2× avg CPC per conversion, 0 orders — pause or reduce bid 50%

Immediate Pause

50+ clicks, 0 orders, irrelevant search term — pause today, no debate

Common mistake: applying the same action to all zero-conversion keywords regardless of click count. A keyword with 5 clicks needs more data. A keyword with 60 clicks and zero orders has been tested thoroughly by the market — they are different situations requiring different responses.

AI Shortcut

Gemini

~2 min vs 15 min manual Paste: Search Term Report CSV (filtered or full)

Ready-to-use prompt

Below is my Amazon Search Term Report for the last 30 days. [paste CSV data here] My average CPC is ₹[X]. For keywords with zero orders (Orders = 0): 1. Calculate the spend threshold: Average CPC × 2 × expected conversions 2. List all keywords that have crossed this threshold with 0 orders 3. Separate keywords with fewer than 15 clicks (insufficient data) from those above 15 clicks 4. For above-threshold keywords, are the search terms relevant to a typical product buyer? 5. Rank by urgency: which keyword should I pause first to recover the most wasted spend?

AI returns: threshold-sorted zero-conversion list with pause/watch/data-needed classification per keyword

Factor 5

3-Zone Decision Threshold

0 / 5 checks

Pending

Keyword Decision Matrix — 3 Zones

Zone 1 — Keep Running

ACoS at or below target · Gap neutral/positive · CTR above 0.4% · At least 1 conversion per ₹500 spend

Zone 2 — Bid Down 20–30%

ACoS 20–50% above target · Gap −10% to −20% · Some conversions but inefficient · Observe for 2 weeks after bid reduction

Zone 3 — Pause or Restructure

ACoS above 2× target OR zero conversions with spend ≥ 2× breakeven threshold · Gap worse than −25% · Action today.

Steps

For each flagged keyword from F1–F4, calculate its ACoS: Spend ÷ Sales × 100 If sales = zero, ACoS is technically infinite — treat as Zone 3 automatically

Compare keyword ACoS to your target ACoS — assign zone (1, 2, or 3) Zone 1: at/below target. Zone 2: 20–50% above. Zone 3: 2× above or zero conversions.

Execute Zone 2 actions: reduce bid by 20–30% in Campaign Manager Set a reminder to re-evaluate in 14 days — do not make further changes before that

Execute Zone 3 actions: pause the keyword OR move to Exact match + add Negative to Broad/Auto If search term is relevant: move to Exact, negative from Broad. If irrelevant: pause outright.

Document all actions taken with date and keyword in an audit log Log: keyword, action taken, date, bid before/after — needed for next month's comparison

Zone 1 — Keep

ACoS ≤ target. Gap neutral/positive. Continue running as-is.

Zone 2 — Bid Down

Reduce bid 20–30%. Review in 14 days. Do not pause yet.

Zone 3 — Pause

Pause or move to Exact + Negative. No further spend until resolved.

Zone 3 — Restructure

If search term relevant: move to Exact match, add Negative Exact to Broad campaign.

Common mistake: making bid changes and then checking back the next day. Bid changes in Amazon PPC take 3–5 days to show meaningful data changes. The 14-day review window exists for a reason — evaluate after 14 days, not 1.

AI Shortcut

Claude

~3 min vs 20 min manual Paste: Flagged keyword list from F1–F4

Ready-to-use prompt

I am an Amazon PPC manager. Below is my flagged keyword list from a Search Term Report audit. [paste flagged keyword data here] My target ACoS is [X]%. My average CPC is ₹[Y]. For each flagged keyword: 1. Classify into Zone 1 (Keep), Zone 2 (Bid Down), or Zone 3 (Pause/Restructure) 2. For Zone 2: what bid reduction percentage do you recommend? 3. For Zone 3: should I pause outright or move to Exact match + Negative? 4. Estimate monthly budget recovered if I take all Zone 3 actions today 5. What is the single most important action I should take first?

AI returns: zone classification per keyword, specific bid recommendations, estimated monthly savings, priority action

AI Prompt Library — All 5 Factors

Same audit. Done with AI. Pick a factor, copy the prompt, paste your data, and get instant analysis.

Gemini

Factor 1 — Spend Share Gap

Paste: Search Term Report CSV — last 30 days

Below is my Amazon Search Term Report for the last 30 days. [paste CSV data here] For each keyword or search term: 1. Calculate Spend Share % and Sales Share % from totals 2. Find all keywords where Spend Share minus Sales Share is worse than −15% 3. List all keywords with zero conversions and spend above ₹500 4. Flag any search terms that appear irrelevant based on product category 5. Which single keyword should I pause first, and why?

AI returns: flagged keywords ranked by gap severity + single top pause recommendation

Claude

Factor 2 — Funnel Break Diagnosis

Paste: Keyword-level data — Impressions, Clicks, Orders, Spend

I am an Amazon PPC manager. Below is keyword-level data from my Search Term Report. [paste impressions, clicks, orders, spend per keyword] For each keyword: 1. Calculate CTR = Clicks / Impressions × 100 2. Calculate CVR = Orders / Clicks × 100 3. Identify where the funnel breaks: CTR stage, CVR stage, or both 4. Diagnose the likely root cause: keyword-listing mismatch, listing quality, bid issue, or intent mismatch 5. What is the recommended action for each keyword based on where its funnel breaks?

AI returns: per-keyword CTR/CVR with funnel break point and action recommendation

Gemini

Factor 3 — Match Type Leakage

Paste: Search Term Report CSV — Broad and Auto match rows

AI returns: irrelevant term list + top 3 negative keyword priorities by spend recovered

Gemini

Factor 4 — Zero-Conversion Filter

Paste: Search Term Report CSV (filtered or full)

AI returns: threshold-sorted zero-conversion list with pause/watch/data-needed classification

Claude

Factor 5 — Decision Zone Classification

Paste: Flagged keyword list from F1–F4 analysis

AI returns: zone classification per keyword, bid recommendations, estimated monthly savings

Optimization Sequence — Correct Order

Run Spend Share Gap (F1) — identify primary suspectCalculate Spend Share % and Sales Share % for all keywords. Sort by Gap. Flag anything worse than −15%.

Run Funnel Break Diagnosis (F2) — understand the type of problemFor each flagged keyword, calculate CTR and CVR. Identify whether the break is at click or conversion stage. This determines whether the fix is in the keyword or the listing.

Check Match Type Leakage (F3) — stop new budget wasteReview Customer Search Term column for Broad and Auto rows. Add all irrelevant terms as Negative Exact. This prevents future leakage while you fix current problems.

Apply Zero-Conversion Filter (F4) — triage by spend thresholdFilter Orders = 0. Sort by Spend descending. Flag keywords crossing the 2× CPC threshold with 15+ clicks. These are your confirmed waste candidates.

Execute 3-Zone Decision Matrix (F5) — take action todayClassify every flagged keyword: Keep / Bid Down / Pause. Execute Zone 3 actions immediately. Set 14-day review reminder for Zone 2 bid changes. Log all actions.

Situation → Root Cause → Action

Situation	Root Cause	Action
High Spend Share, Low Sales Share	Keyword over-indexed, poor conversion rate	Run F2 funnel check → pause or bid down based on zone
High impressions, very low CTR	Product-keyword mismatch or weak main image	Review listing relevance; if mismatch — pause or move to Phrase/Exact
Good CTR, poor CVR	Listing not converting paid traffic	Fix listing (price, images, title, reviews) — do not pause keyword
Broad/Auto with irrelevant search terms	Match type leakage	Add irrelevant terms as Negative Exact; review weekly
Zero conversions, high spend, relevant term	Keyword has valid intent but listing fails to close	Reduce bid 40–50%; audit listing for conversion issues
Zero conversions, high spend, irrelevant term	Keyword has no buyer intent match for product	Pause immediately; add as Negative if triggered by Broad/Auto
ACoS 2× above target, some conversions	Keyword converting but at unsustainable cost	Zone 2 — bid down 20–30%; re-evaluate at 14 days

Frequency of Review

Task	Who	Frequency
Search Term Report — Broad/Auto negative keyword review	PPC Manager	Weekly
Spend Share Gap calculation for all active campaigns	PPC Manager / Analyst	Monthly
Zero-conversion keyword threshold check	PPC Manager	Monthly
Funnel break audit (CTR + CVR per keyword)	PPC Manager	Monthly
3-Zone decision matrix — execute all pending actions	PPC Manager + Campaign Owner	Monthly
Review bid changes made in Zone 2	PPC Manager	14 days after each change
Full SOP audit — all 5 factors	PPC Manager	Quarterly or after major ACoS spike

KPI Benchmarks

KPI	Healthy	Action Threshold
Spend Share Gap	0% to +10%	Worse than −15% → review; −25% → pause candidate
CTR (Sponsored Products)	Above 0.5%	Below 0.3% → critical — investigate keyword relevance
CVR (PPC traffic)	Above 10%	Below 5% → listing conversion issue — fix before pausing keyword
Zero-conversion spend	Below 1× avg CPC per conversion	Above 2× avg CPC per conversion with 0 orders → pause candidate
Keyword ACoS	At or below target ACoS	Above 2× target ACoS → Zone 3 (pause or restructure)
Negative keywords added (Broad/Auto)	Reviewed weekly	Not reviewed in 30+ days → immediate leakage audit required

Live Scorecard

Audit Progress

Updates as you complete each factor

0 / 5

F1 — Spend Share GapPending

F2 — Funnel BreakPending

F3 — Match Type LeakagePending

F4 — Zero-Conversion FilterPending

F5 — 3-Zone DecisionPending

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake 01

Diagnosing campaigns using only campaign-level ACoS — average metrics hide individual keyword problems. Always audit at keyword level using the Spend Share Gap calculation.

Mistake 02

Pausing keywords when the funnel breaks at CVR, not CTR. If clicks are arriving but not converting, the keyword is working — the listing is the problem. Fix the listing, not the keyword.

Mistake 03

Running Broad or Auto campaigns without reviewing the Search Term Report weekly. Match type leakage accumulates fast — irrelevant spend builds up silently over 2–4 weeks without review.

Mistake 04

Applying the zero-conversion rule to keywords with fewer than 15 clicks. Low-click keywords lack sufficient data — statistical noise will make any low-volume keyword look like a failure.

Mistake 05

Making bid changes and checking results within 48 hours. Amazon PPC bid changes require 3–5 days to propagate and show meaningful data. Evaluating before 14 days produces unreliable conclusions.

Mistake 06

Pausing a keyword that has a structural issue instead of restructuring. If a keyword converts when running as Exact but wastes spend as Broad — the match type is the problem, not the keyword itself.

Core Operating Principle

One bad keyword found and fixed every month is worth more than 20 bid adjustments.
The data is always in the report — the habit is what's missing.

Run this SOP monthly. The campaign that earns the most is the one that wastes the least.

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