Amazon targeting
In short
The settings Amazon advertisers use to make ads eligible for relevant searches, products, or audiences.
Amazon targeting defines the situations in which an ad can compete to appear. The available options depend on the advertising product. A Sponsored Products campaign uses different controls from a campaign designed around broader audience reach.
How Sponsored Products targeting works
Sponsored Products offers automatic and manual targeting. With automatic targeting, Amazon matches the advertised product to relevant searches and products. Its targeting groups distinguish close and loose search matches from substitutes and complementary products.
Manual targeting lets an advertiser choose keywords or product targets. Keywords connect advertising to shopping searches; product targeting focuses on selected products or categories. Negative targeting excludes unwanted matches where the campaign supports it.
Targeting establishes eligibility. It does not guarantee that an ad will win an auction or that a shopper will purchase.
Illustrative example
A retailer advertises a stainless steel coffee grinder. It uses an automatic campaign to explore demand, then reviews the resulting search terms. A relevant query with useful order evidence becomes a candidate for manual keyword targeting. Unrelated accessory searches are reviewed for exclusion.
Avoid treating all matching traffic as equally valuable. A complementary product match may reflect a different shopping need from a direct substitute. Review the actual search terms, advertised product, cost, and sales together before changing the targeting.