Operator glossary
Match types (exact, phrase, broad)
The three ways a Sponsored Products keyword can meet a query — exact for control, phrase for order-preserving reach, broad for discovery — and the budget discipline each one demands.
Exact match targets the keyword and close variants only; phrase preserves the word sequence with additions around it; broad reaches related queries including synonyms and, in current broad matching, fairly loose semantic neighbors. Control and CPC efficiency run exact → phrase → broad; reach runs the reverse.
The standard architecture: broad and auto campaigns discover, search-term reports harvest what converts, exact campaigns own the winners at higher bids, and negatives keep the discovery layers from re-buying what exact already owns. Broad match without a negative-keyword routine is a donation to Amazon.
The numbers
- Exact ≈ query + close variants (plurals, misspellings); phrase preserves word order; broad now stretches to semantic variants.
- Funnel discipline: discover in broad/auto → harvest from search-term reports → own in exact → negative-match everywhere else.
Primary sources: Amazon Ads guides
Related terms