Target Matches

A target match is the item that was matched with a target, either a keyword or a product (ASIN).

The term target match is not used in the Amazon documentation or elsewhere. It is common for people to refer to search terms to describe a keyword target match. But that doesn't help us when it comes to the other types of targets, such as products.

Therefore let us use the term target match as a general term to describe the item that was matched with a target, and then we can be more specific about what that target match was, either keyword target match or product target match.

If for example we had a phrase match keyword bicycle chain and a user searched in the search bar steel bicycle chain, if our ad was shown as a result of that search, the term steel bicycle chain would be one of our target matches for the keyword target bicycle chain.

Similarly if we had a product target for the product category Bike Chains, and a user was looking at a product in that category, that product (ASIN) would then become the target match for our product target.

Why Target Matches Are Important

It is possible to view all of the target matches for our targets in reports, which is incredibly helpful for optimising our campaigns.

For example the keyword target matches (search terms) are useful for finding new keyword targets (or negative targets) to add, which then optimizes the campaign, driving down the ACoS.