Amazon Ads terminology, defined clearly.
78 mechanism-first definitions, each with one permanent URL.
A
A+ ContentEnhanced product page content with rich modules and comparison charts, available to brand-registered sellers. It improves conversion on the listing that ads send traffic to.ACoSAdvertising Cost of Sales: ad spend divided by ad-attributed sales, as a percentage. Measures campaign efficiency, not business efficiency; see TACoS for the whole-business view.Ad GroupA container inside a campaign that holds targets and the products they advertise. Bids and match types are managed at this level.Amazon DSPAmazon's demand-side platform for programmatic display and video, on and off Amazon. Bought on impressions (CPM) rather than clicks.Amazon Marketing StreamA push-based data feed delivering hourly campaign performance and traffic data. The only reliable source for hour-of-day analysis, and therefore for dayparting.Attribution WindowThe period after a click during which a purchase is credited to the ad. Commonly 7 days for Sponsored Products and 14 days for Sponsored Brands and Display.Automatic TargetingA campaign type where Amazon chooses which searches and product pages to match, based on the listing. Commonly used for discovery and search term harvesting.
B
Best Sellers Rank (BSR)Amazon's sales-based ranking of a product within its category, updated frequently. A proxy for sales velocity, not for profitability.BidThe maximum you are willing to pay for one click on a target. The actual cost per click is usually lower.Bid AdjustmentA percentage modifier applied on top of the base bid, most commonly by placement. See Placement Bid Adjustment.Brand AnalyticsA report suite for brand owners covering search behavior, demographics and market basket data. Home of the Search Query Performance report.Branded KeywordA search term containing your own brand name. Cheap and high-converting, but bought indiscriminately it cannibalizes sales you would have made organically.Broad MatchA keyword match type that lets the term match related searches, synonyms and variations. Widest reach, lowest control.Buy BoxThe default offer on a product page that gets the Add to Cart button. Losing it makes advertising the ASIN wasteful: paid traffic lands on an offer that is not yours.
C
CampaignThe top-level advertising unit holding budget, targeting type and ad groups. Strategy is usually expressed through campaign structure.Category TargetingProduct targeting aimed at an entire Amazon category rather than individual ASINs. Useful for reach, riskier for efficiency.Click-Through Rate (CTR)Clicks divided by impressions. A relevance signal: low CTR usually means the wrong audience, the wrong creative or the wrong placement.COGSCost of Goods Sold: the direct cost of the product itself. The input that turns revenue reporting into profit reporting.Contribution MarginWhat a sale actually earns after COGS, Amazon fees, fulfillment and advertising. The number profit-first advertising optimizes for.Conversion Rate (CVR)Orders divided by clicks. The strongest signal of listing quality and traffic relevance, and a core input to bid decisions.Cost Per Click (CPC)The amount actually paid per click, set by auction dynamics. Rises with competition for the placement.Customer Search TermThe literal text a shopper typed, or the product page they were on, when the ad served. Distinct from the keyword you bid on.
D
Daily BudgetThe maximum a campaign may spend per day. Depleting it before peak conversion hours quietly caps profitable sales; see Dayparting.DaypartingScheduling or modulating bids and budgets by hour of day and day of week, based on when the product actually converts.Days of CoverSellable inventory divided by daily sales velocity: how many days until stockout at the current rate. The gate for inventory-aware advertising.Defensive CampaignCampaigns targeting your own branded terms or product pages to keep competitors off them.Duplicate TargetThe same keyword or ASIN targeted from multiple campaigns for the same product, competing against itself in the same auctions.Dynamic BiddingAmazon's bid strategy setting: down only, up and down, or fixed. Decides whether Amazon may adjust your bid in-auction based on conversion likelihood.
E
F
FBAFulfillment by Amazon: Amazon stores and ships your inventory. Affects fees, Buy Box eligibility and the delivery promise shoppers see.FBMFulfillment by Merchant: you store and ship. Different fee structure, and usually a weaker delivery promise.Fixed BidsThe dynamic bidding option where Amazon never adjusts the bid. Full control, no in-auction optimization.
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H
I
K
KeywordThe term you bid on, matched against customer search terms according to match type.Keyword IsolationStructuring campaigns so each converting term runs as an exact target in one place, with negatives preventing overlap. Keeps attribution clean.Keyword RankingWhere a product appears in organic results for a given search term. The compounding output that paid rank-building aims at.
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M
Market Basket AnalysisA Brand Analytics report showing what customers buy together. A source of cross-sell and product targeting opportunities.MarketplaceA country-level Amazon store. Campaigns, currencies and rankings are per marketplace.Match TypeThe rule deciding which searches a keyword may match: exact, phrase or broad.
N
Negative KeywordA term the campaign is forbidden to match. The primary tool for cutting wasted spend and enforcing structure.Negative Product TargetingExcluding specific ASINs or brands from product-targeted matching.New-to-Brand (NTB)Orders from customers who have not bought from the brand in the trailing 12 months. Reported for Sponsored Brands and Display.
O
OrderA purchase attributed to an ad within the attribution window. The numerator of conversion rate.Organic SalesSales not attributed to ads. The context TACoS is measured against, and the long-term payoff of rank building.Out of BudgetThe campaign state after the daily budget depletes. The ad simply stops serving for the rest of the day.
P
Parent ASIN / Child ASINThe variation family structure: a parent groups child variations such as size and color. Ads run on children; analysis often needs the parent view.Phrase MatchA keyword match type requiring the term, or a close variant, to appear in order within the search. The middle ground between exact and broad.PlacementWhere the ad served: top of search, rest of search, or product pages. Performance differs sharply by placement.Placement Bid AdjustmentA percentage increase applied to bids for a specific placement, usually top of search. The lever behind placement strategy.PortfolioA grouping of campaigns for budgeting and reporting. Useful for brand-level or category-level budget caps.PPCPay per click: the pricing model of sponsored ads. You pay for clicks, not impressions.Product TargetingTargeting specific ASINs, brands or categories instead of keywords. Ads appear on product pages and comparison placements.
Q
R
Rest of SearchPlacements below top of search in results. Cheaper, lower CTR, and often efficient at scale.ROASReturn on Ad Spend: ad-attributed sales divided by ad spend, the inverse of ACoS. A revenue metric, blind to margin.Rule-Based AutomationAutomation that executes predefined conditions, such as lowering a bid when ACoS exceeds a threshold. Exactly as good as the rules it is given.
S
Search Query Performance (SQP)A Brand Analytics report showing impressions, clicks, cart adds and purchases per search query at brand and ASIN level. The closest Amazon comes to a market-share view of search.Search Term ReportThe campaign report listing the customer search terms that triggered ads, with performance per term. Raw material for harvesting and negation.SessionsVisits to a product page, from Business Reports. With units ordered, yields Unit Session Percentage.SKUStock Keeping Unit: the seller-defined identifier for a sellable item. Profit tracking happens at SKU level.Sponsored BrandsBanner-style ads with logo, headline and multiple products, available to brand-registered sellers. Prime top-of-search real estate.Sponsored Brands Video (SBV)The video ad unit in search results. Auto-playing, high CTR, and subject to creative approval before serving.Sponsored DisplayAudience-targeted and product-targeted display ads on and off Amazon, without DSP budgets. Retargeting is its most common use.Sponsored ProductsAds for individual listings placed in search results and on product pages. The workhorse format where most Amazon PPC spend lives.StockoutInventory hitting zero. Advertising through one wastes spend and surrenders ranking that has to be bought back later.Suggested BidAmazon's estimated bid range to be competitive for a target. A reference point, not a strategy.Suppressed ListingA listing Amazon has hidden from search over content or policy issues. Ads pointing at it burn spend on an unbuyable page.
T
TACoSTotal Advertising Cost of Sales: ad spend divided by total sales, organic plus attributed. Falling TACoS with stable sales means organic strength is compounding.TargetingThe umbrella for what an ad matches against: keywords, products, categories or audiences.Top of SearchThe first sponsored row on page one. The most expensive placement, and usually the highest-converting.