Amazon Seller Search Term Report: Download & Analyze

Key Takeaways

• See what shoppers actually searched. The Amazon seller search term report shows the queries that triggered clicks on your Sponsored Products or Sponsored Brands ads.

• Archive your history before December 31, 2026. Amazon is retiring the legacy Sponsored Ads reports page, so move your reporting workflow to Unified Reporting.

• Know which report you are using. The PPC search term report shows your advertising performance, while Brand Analytics Search Terms provides broader search insights.

• Use data-based thresholds for negatives. Set negation rules around your conversion rate, target ACoS, and target CAC rather than reacting to a small number of clicks.

• Harvest proven search terms. Move relevant, converting terms into exact-match campaigns, then automate the recurring review and optimization process.

Shoppers often search for phrases you never added as keywords. The Amazon seller search term report reveals those queries and helps you identify which ones deserve more budget, tighter control, or negative targeting.

This guide explains where to find the report as Amazon changes its reporting system, how to read the key metrics, and how to turn each search term into an actionable campaign decision.

What Is the Amazon Seller Search Term Report?

The Amazon seller search term report shows the actual queries shoppers used before clicking your ads. It includes the search terms that triggered your Sponsored Products or Sponsored Brands ads, along with metrics such as clicks, spend, orders, and sales.

Think of it as the connection between what you bid on and what shoppers actually searched. You may bid on a keyword such as "water bottle," but the report can reveal more specific queries that Amazon matched to that keyword.

Example: Suppose you run an Amazon PPC campaign targeting the broad-match keyword "water bottle." Your Amazon seller search term report shows that shoppers clicked your ad after searching for "32 oz leakproof gym bottle." If this search term generates 10 clicks, 3 orders, and $90 in sales from $12 in ad spend, its ACoS is 13.3%.

If that result meets your target ACoS and the query is relevant to your product, you can add it to a manual exact-match campaign to gain more control over bidding. The report may also reveal irrelevant searches that waste ad spend and need to be reviewed for negative targeting. 

Search Term Report vs. Brand Analytics Search Terms

These two reports are easy to confuse because both contain "search terms" in their names, but they serve different purposes.

The PPC search term report is primarily an optimization tool for your advertising campaigns, while Brand Analytics provides broader marketplace search insights.

Search Term vs. Keyword: What Is the Difference?

A keyword is the term you add and bid on in your campaign. A search term is the phrase the shopper actually entered.

For example, you might target the broad-match keyword "water bottle" and discover a search term such as "32 oz leakproof gym bottle" in your report. That difference can reveal new keyword opportunities as well as irrelevant traffic that may need to be controlled.

Amazon Is Moving the Search Term Report: What Changes Before December 31, 2026?

Amazon is retiring the legacy Sponsored Ads reports page by December 31, 2026, with Unified Reporting becoming the replacement. This means advertisers should move their search-term reporting workflow before the old reporting interface disappears.

Where to Find the Report in Unified Reporting

In Unified Reporting, go to Measurement and Reporting → Reporting. From there, you can create a custom report or start from an existing template.

For a smoother transition, rebuild your search-term report in Unified Reporting and run it alongside your existing export for a short period. This gives you an opportunity to understand the new data before fully switching workflows.

Why Your Numbers May Look Different

Search-term data in Unified Reporting may not match older exports because the reporting system uses a different attribution approach. Orders and sales can therefore vary between the legacy and new reports.

When comparing performance, compare data from the same reporting system rather than treating differences between old and new exports as an error.

How to Archive Your Search Term History

The legacy reporting page will no longer be the place to rely on for scheduled reports, so archive the available history and recreate your reporting workflow in Unified Reporting.

A simple process is:

1. Download the available history before the legacy report disappears.

2. Save each export with its date range so the data remains easy to identify.

3. Combine the files into a master sheet for historical analysis.

4. Recreate scheduled reports in the new Reporting interface.

This gives you a clean historical record while you transition to the new reporting system.

For broader Amazon reporting, you can also explore the Amazon ads reporting guide. For more frequent advertising data, see Amazon Marketing Stream.

How to Download the Amazon Seller Search Term Report

Until the old page retires, you download the report from Sponsored ads reports. Here is the path:

1. Log in to the Amazon Ads console, or open Advertising in Seller Central.

2. Go to Measurement and Reporting > Sponsored ads reports.

3. Click Create report and pick Sponsored Products or Sponsored Brands.

4. Choose Search term as the report type.

5. Pick a time unit and date range.

6. Click Run report and download the file.

After the cutoff, you build the same view in Reporting instead.

Summary or Daily?

Pick Summary for weekly reviews. Pick Daily during launches, Prime Day and keyword tests, when you need day-by-day movement.

Which Date Range Should You Pick?

Amazon keeps about 65 days of search term data, so that is your ceiling. Use 14 to 30 days for decisions. Go longer for low-volume or high-ticket products. The most recent days can be incomplete, since orders may post after the click.

How to Read the Search Term Report: Columns That Matter

Customer Search Term: Shows the exact query shoppers used before clicking your ad. Check whether the term is relevant to your product and matches the intent of your target audience.

Targeting and Match Type: Reveals which keyword or automatic targeting method triggered your ad. Use this information to identify targeting gaps and understand where irrelevant traffic may be coming from.

Clicks and CPC: Shows how many shoppers clicked your ad and the average cost per click. Compare CPC with your product margins and conversion rate to assess whether the traffic cost is sustainable.

Spend: Shows how much you spent on each search term. Sort by spend to identify expensive queries, especially those that have generated few or no orders.

Orders and Sales: Help you identify which search terms are generating conversions and revenue. Relevant terms with consistent sales can be candidates for harvesting into manual exact-match campaigns.

ACoS and Conversion Rate: Help you evaluate advertising efficiency and how well clicks turn into orders. Compare ACoS with your target and use conversion rate to identify terms worth scaling, reducing bids on, or investigating further.

How to Analyze the Amazon Seller Search Term Report in Four Passes

Sort the Amazon seller search term report by spend, then place every material term into one of four buckets: winners, potential, under-performers and wasted spend.

Find Wasted Spend

Sort by spend and filter for zero orders. Check relevance first. A relevant term with no sales often signals a listing problem, like price, images or reviews.

Find Winners to Harvest

Look for relevant terms with orders and ACoS under your target. Winners from auto, broad or phrase campaigns are your harvest list. Terms with few clicks and early sales are "potential," so keep testing.

Fix High-ACoS Terms

Use this formula:

ACoS = CPC ÷ (conversion rate × AOV)

Say your CPC is $1.20, conversion is 10% and AOV is $30. ACoS is 1.20 ÷ (0.10 × 30), which is 40%. To hit 25%, your maximum CPC is 0.25 × 0.10 × $30 = $0.75. So cut the bid toward $0.75 before you consider negating.

How to Pick Negative Keywords from the Report

Negate a term only after it has had enough chances to convert, using a threshold tied to your own numbers. Atom11's negation framework works like this:

Below those lines, reduce the bid instead. Use negative exact for one bad query, and negative phrase when a whole idea is wrong, like "plastic" for a steel bottle. Don't negate your branded terms, and don't negate ranking terms that you bid on for placement. Pause or lower bids on those instead.

How to Harvest Search Terms into Exact Match

Harvesting means moving proven search terms from discovery campaigns into exact-match campaigns, where you control the bid.

1. Filter for relevant terms with orders and acceptable ACoS.

2. Add each one to a manual exact-match campaign.

3. Set a bid using the CPC formula above.

4. Negate the term in the source campaign to avoid overlap.

5. Review after 14 days.

How to Use Search Term Data in Your Listing

Search terms that generate conversions can reveal how shoppers naturally describe your product. Use the strongest, relevant terms in your product title, bullets, and A+ Content where they fit naturally.

You can also use variations and relevant long-tail phrases in backend search terms. The goal is not to add every search query, but to use proven customer language where it improves relevance.

Common Amazon Search Term Report Mistakes

Negating Too Quickly

Do not negate a search term after only two or three clicks. Give relevant terms enough data to determine whether they can convert before making a decision.

Mixing Branded and Non-Branded Terms

Keep branded and non-branded search terms separate when analyzing performance. They often have different intent and should not be judged by the same expectations.

Ignoring Long-Tail Search Terms

Long-tail queries may have lower search volume but can still deliver highly relevant traffic and conversions. Do not remove them simply because they generate fewer clicks.

Skipping Search Term History

Amazon's reporting changes make it important to archive historical data. Save your existing reports and rebuild your search-term reporting in Unified Reporting before the legacy Sponsored Ads reports are retired on December 31, 2026.

Applying Negative Phrases Too Broadly

Negative exact works well for a specific poor-performing query, while negative phrase can remove an entire search concept. Make sure the negative is applied to the right campaign so you do not accidentally block useful traffic.

How to Pull Amazon Search Term Reports and Analyze Them with MCP

Downloading search term reports, combining spreadsheets, and reviewing campaign metrics manually can take time, especially when you're managing multiple campaigns, brands, or client accounts. With Atom11's Model Context Protocol (MCP) integration, you can connect compatible AI assistants to your Amazon advertising data and ask questions in plain language instead of relying on repeated manual exports.

Get Search Term Insights Through AI Prompts

Once Atom11 MCP is connected and authorized, you can ask your AI assistant questions about advertising performance and use the available data to investigate optimization opportunities.

For example, you could ask:

• Find wasted ad spend: "Show me search terms with high spend and no orders over the last 30 days."

• Identify keywords to harvest: "Find relevant search terms with orders and ACoS below my target that I could add to exact-match campaigns."

• Review negative keyword opportunities: "Which search terms are spending above my target cost per acquisition without generating sales?"

• Compare performance: "Compare search-term performance this month with last month and highlight the biggest changes."

• Investigate performance changes: "Why did ACoS increase this week? Review the available advertising and retail data for possible causes."

These prompts help turn report data into a more focused analysis. You can investigate which search terms deserve more budget, which need further testing, and which may require bid reductions or negative targeting.

Why Use Atom11 MCP for Amazon PPC Analysis?

Atom11 MCP connects AI assistants to the advertising and retail data available through Atom11. This can help you analyze advertising metrics alongside relevant retail signals, such as inventory and pricing, instead of evaluating every change using ad metrics alone.

Rather than downloading a report, opening a spreadsheet, filtering search terms, and manually comparing results, you can ask questions conversationally and use the returned insights to guide your next steps. You should still validate the data, apply your campaign rules, and review proposed changes before making decisions that affect live campaigns.

To learn how the connection works and how to use AI assistants with Amazon data, read our guide to Amazon Seller MCP.

By combining search term reports, clear harvesting and negation rules, PPC automation, and MCP-powered analysis, sellers can spend less time collecting data and more time acting on meaningful insights.

How Atom11 Automates the Search Term Workflow

Reviewing search term reports across every campaign can quickly become a repetitive weekly task. Atom11 automates the repeatable parts of the workflow while keeping your optimization rules under your control.

Automated Search Term Negation

Atom11 lets you set negation rules based on your campaign objectives and apply those rules across multiple campaigns. You can also review negation history by campaign, time period, and rule name, making it easier to understand what was changed and why.

Search Term Harvesting

Atom11 can identify strong-performing search terms from auto campaigns and move them into manual campaigns based on performance. This helps turn proven search queries into more controlled keyword targets.

Bulk Campaign Actions

Instead of making the same search-term changes campaign by campaign, Atom11 supports bulk actions so you can manage optimizations across multiple campaigns more efficiently.

Inventory-Aware PPC Automation

Search-term optimization should also account for retail conditions. Atom11's PPC automation reads inventory signals, allowing you to pause advertising spend when products have low stock.

Ready to spend less time reviewing search term reports manually? Book a demo with Atom11 to see how the workflow can be automated.

Conclusion

The Amazon seller search term report shows what shoppers actually typed before clicking your ads, making it one of the most useful sources for keyword discovery and campaign optimization. Review it regularly and treat each important search term as a decision: harvest it, test it, lower the bid, or negate it.

For larger accounts, automation can handle the repetitive work while your team focuses on strategy. Atom11 combines search-term harvesting, rule-based negation, bulk campaign actions, and inventory-aware PPC automation to make that workflow easier to manage at scale.