How Does the Negative Keyword Tool Classify Search Terms?
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Quick answer
The Amazon Negative Keyword Tool classifies search terms by comparing each term’s performance signals with the campaign it appears in. Rather than relying on fixed thresholds, it evaluates spend, clicks, orders, sales, ROAS, ACoS, CPA, conversion rate, and campaign maturity. This produces a practical grouping: negative candidates, bid-reduction opportunities, or terms needing more data. Because the tool is read-only, those classifications become review tasks rather than automatic campaign changes, keeping the recommendation tied to actual reporting data.
Instead of applying a single rule to every campaign, the tool reads the performance patterns already present in your Sponsored Products reports. That makes the classification more relevant to the account you are actually working in and easier to defend during team reviews.
Campaign-specific signals, not fixed cutoffs
Each search term is compared with the performance context of the campaign it belongs to. The tool looks at spend, clicks, orders, sales, ROAS, ACoS, CPA, and conversion rate, along with how mature the campaign is. That matters because a term that looks weak in a new campaign may simply need more time, while the same metrics in a mature campaign can be a clearer negative candidate.
- Negative candidates: terms consuming budget without enough return.
- Bid-reduction opportunities: terms with some value but inefficient cost.
- Needs more data: low-volume terms where a decision would be premature.
Read-only classification before any action
The tool is read-only by design. It does not pause keywords or add negatives automatically. After classification, it places recommendations into a Cleanup Plan for team review, so you can approve or ignore each suggestion with the full data evidence attached.
For teams using Amazon Negative Keyword Tool by Todoza, this creates an audit trail between report import and campaign change.
When this matters
This classification approach is most useful when reports are being updated on a schedule. Instead of rebuilding the same Excel file and manually deciding which search terms to act on, the classification step refreshes the recommendation set from current reporting data. That keeps the cleanup workflow aligned with recent performance rather than stale snapshots.
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Once search terms are classified as negative candidates or bid-reduction opportunities, the next step is keeping that review loop connected to your routine Amazon Ads reporting. The same import-and-approve pattern also supports the broader goal of maintaining current Excel reports without rebuilding them from scratch each time.