Identifying Wasted Spend for Targeted Archiving

Signals that indicate wasted spend

Look for search terms that accumulate clicks and spend but remain below your target ROAS over a meaningful date range. Also review ad groups or campaigns with high impressions and low click-through or conversion rates. The common thread is spend that continues without producing sales at an acceptable return.

• Spend with ROAS below the account target
• Repeated clicks on broad or irrelevant search terms
• Campaigns or ad groups with consistent spend but no orders
• Terms with many clicks but zero or very low conversion

How to build a targeted archiving list

Start by exporting search term performance data using CSV, XLSX, or scheduled email imports. A tool like Amazon Negative Keyword Tool by Todoza can rank terms by performance signals and present a cleanup plan, so you do not need to manually review thousands of queries. Then classify each item as an archive candidate, negative keyword, or bid adjustment.

Because the analysis tools covered here do not make live campaign changes, the output becomes a task list for your team to approve. Cross-campaign and cross-marketplace visibility helps you spot repeated wasted terms that appear in multiple campaigns.

When this matters

Targeted wasted-spend review matters before a bulk archive because archiving entire campaigns can hide useful search terms or remove historical performance data you may need later. It is especially useful when managing multiple marketplaces or accounts, where manually scanning every query is impractical.