Amazon Search Query Performance Report: Unlock Advanced Insights & Boost Ad Performance

Your Amazon ad campaigns are generating sales, but you’re not sure why. You’re seeing conversions, but you don’t know which search terms are driving them. You’re flying blind, and it’s costing you money.

This is a common problem for Amazon sellers. Without a clear understanding of search query performance, you’re missing opportunities to optimize your campaigns, cut wasted spend, and scale what’s working.

In this article, we’ll break down the new advanced Amazon Search Query Performance report and show you how to use it to unlock deeper insights and boost your ad performance. Let’s get started.

What is the Amazon Search Query Performance Report?

The Search Query Performance report in Amazon Seller Central provides data on the actual search terms customers are using when they click on your ads and make purchases. It goes beyond just keyword-level data to show you the specific queries driving results.

Most sellers don’t realize this level of detail is available. They rely on keyword reports, which can be misleading because a single keyword can trigger many different search queries. The Search Query Performance report helps you bridge that gap.

Here’s why that matters:

• Refine Targeting: Identify high-converting search terms to add as exact match keywords.
• Cut Wasted Spend: Negate irrelevant or low-performing search terms that are eating into your budget.
• Discover New Opportunities: Uncover hidden gems – unexpected search terms that are driving sales.

How to Access the Search Query Performance Report

Finding the Search Query Performance report is straightforward.

1. Log into your Amazon Seller Central account.
2. Navigate to the “Advertising” tab.
3. Select “Reports” from the dropdown menu.
4. Choose “Search Query Performance Report” and configure your desired date range and campaign filters.

Let me break this down further. You can customize the report by date range (daily, weekly, monthly) and campaign type (Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Display). Experiment with different filters to isolate specific areas of your advertising.

For example, run the report for the past 60 days to get a broad overview of search query performance across your entire account. Then, filter by individual campaigns to dive deeper into specific product categories.

Key Metrics to Analyze in the Report

The Search Query Performance report contains a wealth of data, but here are the key metrics you should focus on:

• Impressions: How many times your ads were shown for a particular search query.
• Clicks: How many times customers clicked on your ads after seeing them for a particular search query.
• Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of impressions that resulted in clicks (Clicks / Impressions).
• Spend: How much you spent on ads for a particular search query.
• Sales: The total sales generated from customers who clicked on your ads after searching for a particular query.
• Advertising Cost of Sale (ACOS): The percentage of sales that went towards advertising costs (Spend / Sales).
• Conversion Rate: The percentage of clicks that resulted in a sale (Orders / Clicks).

These metrics tell a story about each search query. High impressions and low clicks might indicate a problem with your ad relevance. Low conversion rates could signal issues with your product listing or pricing. High ACOS means you’re spending too much to acquire a sale.

Let’s look at a real example. Imagine you see a search query with a high number of impressions, a low CTR, and zero sales. This tells you that your ad might not be relevant to that search query, and you should consider negating it to avoid wasting money.

Actionable Strategies Based on the Report

Now that you understand the key metrics, let’s explore some actionable strategies you can implement based on the Search Query Performance report:

Identify High-Converting Search Terms

Find search terms with a high conversion rate and acceptable ACOS. These are your winners.

1. Add these search terms as exact match keywords in your campaigns.
2. Increase bids on these keywords to capture more traffic.
3. Consider creating dedicated campaigns targeting these high-converting search terms.

Here’s why that matters: Exact match keywords give you more control over when your ads appear, allowing you to target the most relevant traffic and improve your ROI.

Negate Low-Performing Search Terms

Find search terms with high impressions, low CTR, and low or no sales. These are costing you money.

1. Negate these search terms as negative exact match keywords.
2. Continuously monitor the report and add new negative keywords as needed.

The reality is, you’ll always encounter irrelevant search terms that trigger your ads. Regularly negating these terms is crucial for improving your ACOS and overall campaign efficiency.

Discover New Product Ideas

The Search Query Performance report can also reveal unmet customer needs and potential product opportunities.

1. Look for search terms that are related to your product but not exactly what you’re selling.
2. Consider expanding your product line to meet these unmet needs.

For example, if you’re selling coffee beans and you see a lot of searches for “coffee grinder,” it might be worth adding coffee grinders to your product catalog.

Optimize Product Listings

The report can provide insights into how customers are searching for your products, which can inform your product listing optimization strategy.

1. Incorporate high-converting search terms into your product titles, bullet points, and descriptions.
2. Use these insights to improve the overall relevance and appeal of your product listings.

This is about making sure your product listings align with the language customers are using when searching for products like yours.

Advanced Dashboard Features

Amazon continues to enhance the Search Query Performance report, adding new features to help sellers gain even deeper insights. Some advanced features include:

Filtering Options

The report allows you to filter by campaign type, ad group, and even individual products. This level of granularity allows you to isolate specific areas of your advertising and identify opportunities for improvement.

Most sellers don’t realize they can filter the report down to the product level. This is especially useful for brands with large catalogs, as it allows you to identify high-performing and low-performing search queries for each individual product.

Downloadable Reports

You can download the Search Query Performance report in CSV format for further analysis in Excel or other data analysis tools. This allows you to create custom reports and visualizations to track your progress over time.

Here’s the thing: Amazon’s reporting interface is limited. Downloading the data allows you to manipulate it in ways that aren’t possible within Seller Central, such as creating pivot tables and charts to identify trends and patterns.

The AdLabs Advantage

Manually analyzing the Search Query Performance report can be time-consuming. AdLabs calculates this process, providing you with actionable insights and recommendations to optimize your campaigns.

AdLabs’ software automatically identifies high-converting and low-performing search terms, allowing you to quickly add them as keywords or negative keywords. It also provides detailed reports on search query performance, making it easy to track your progress over time.

Scott H., an AdLabs customer, said, “AdLabs is by far the best. The basis for the software is rock solid as these guys know Amazon Ads… results have been very good; TACOS is down significantly while sales are now happening across our entire catalog.”

Conclusion

The Amazon Search Query Performance report is a powerful tool for optimizing your ad campaigns and driving sales. By understanding the key metrics and implementing the strategies outlined in this article, you can unlock deeper insights and take your Amazon advertising to the next level.

Start using the Search Query Performance report today to gain a competitive edge and maximize your ROI. It will help you spend smarter and scale faster.

This article is based on Episode 96 of That Amazon Ads Podcast. Subscribe for weekly Amazon PPC strategies.