Amazon provides dozens of advertising reports. Knowing which ones to use—and what insights they provide—is essential for effective PPC management. This guide covers the most important reports and how to use them.
Report Types Overview
| Report | What It Shows | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Search Term | Actual queries triggering ads | Keyword harvesting, negatives |
| Targeting | Performance by keyword/product target | Bid optimization |
| Placement | Performance by ad placement | Placement bid adjustments |
| Advertised Product | Performance by ASIN | Product-level decisions |
| Purchased Product | Which products were bought | Cross-sell opportunities |
| Campaign | High-level campaign performance | Budget allocation |
The Essential Reports
Search Term Report
The search term report shows the actual customer search queries that triggered your ads. It's the foundation of keyword optimization.
Key columns: Customer Search Term, Impressions, Clicks, Spend, Sales, Orders
Actions from this report:
- Harvest high-performing search terms as exact keywords
- Add irrelevant terms as negative keywords
- Identify new product opportunities from related searches
Which Report Is Most Useful?
The Search Term Report is the single most valuable report. It reveals the actual queries customers use, enabling keyword harvesting and negative keyword optimization. If you only download one report regularly, make it this one.
Targeting Report
Shows performance aggregated by your targeting method—keywords or product targets you've specifically added to campaigns.
Key difference from Search Term Report: This shows your targeting performance, not the actual search queries. For broad and phrase match keywords, multiple search terms map to one targeting keyword.
Use for: Bid adjustments, pausing underperformers, identifying winners
Placement Report
Shows performance by where your ads appeared: Top of Search, Rest of Search, or Product Pages.
Key insight: Top of Search often has higher CTR but may have different conversion rates than Product Page placements. This report helps you decide where to increase or decrease placement bids.
Download Frequency
Search Term Report
Harvest keywords, add negatives
Targeting Report
Bid adjustments, pause decisions
Placement Report
Placement modifier adjustments
Campaign Report
Budget allocation, high-level health
Purchased Product
Cross-sell analysis, halo effect
Advertised Product
ASIN-level performance
Data Retention
Important: Amazon's Data Limits
Amazon only retains advertising data for 60-90 days depending on the report. If you need historical data for year-over-year analysis or long-term trends, download and archive reports regularly. After 90 days, the data is gone.
Recommended Archive Schedule
- Weekly: Download and save key reports locally
- Monthly: Compile into master spreadsheets or database
- Annually: Archive the full year for YoY comparisons
Using the Search Term Report
Keyword Harvesting Workflow
- Download the Search Term Report for the past 7-14 days
- Filter for search terms with Orders ≥ 2
- Check ACoS against your breakeven target
- Add winners as exact match keywords in dedicated campaigns
- Optionally add as negatives in source campaigns to consolidate data
Negative Keyword Mining
- Filter for search terms with Clicks ≥ 15 and Orders = 0
- Review relevance—is the term actually relevant to your product?
- Irrelevant terms: Add as negative exact immediately
- Relevant but not converting: Consider lowering bids first before blocking
When Should I Add Negative Keywords?
Wait for statistical significance. A keyword with 5 clicks and no orders might just need more time. Generally, 15-20 clicks with zero orders indicates the term isn't converting for your product. Always review for relevance before adding as negative.
Using the Placement Report
Understanding Placements
| Placement | Typical CTR | Typical CVR | Strategy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top of Search | Higher | Varies | Increase bid modifier if CVR is strong |
| Rest of Search | Medium | Medium | Base bid, no adjustment |
| Product Pages | Lower | Often higher | Increase if ROAS exceeds search |
Placement Bid Adjustments
Amazon allows you to increase bids up to 900% for Top of Search and Product Pages. Use the placement report to make data-driven decisions:
- If Top of Search ROAS > Rest of Search ROAS: Increase Top of Search modifier
- If Product Page ROAS > Search ROAS: Increase Product Page modifier
- Start with 25-50% adjustments and monitor for 1-2 weeks before further changes
Using the Purchased Product Report
Discover the Halo Effect
The Purchased Product Report shows which ASINs customers actually bought after clicking your ad. Often, customers click on one product but buy another from your catalog—or even buy multiple items.
Insights you'll find:
- Which products have strong cross-sell potential
- Whether your ads are driving catalog-wide sales
- Products that benefit from "halo" sales not shown in standard reports
Sponsored Brands Reports
Additional Reports for SB Campaigns
- Brand Metrics: New-to-brand orders and sales
- Store Traffic: Clicks and visits to your Brand Store
- Video Reports: View rates, completion rates for video ads
New-to-Brand Metrics
Available for Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display. Shows what percentage of your orders come from customers who haven't purchased your brand in the past 12 months.
Using New-to-Brand Data
High new-to-brand percentage indicates customer acquisition. Lower new-to-brand means you're reaching repeat customers. Both can be valuable depending on your goals—acquisition campaigns should aim for higher NTB%, while defensive brand campaigns will naturally have lower NTB%.
Report Automation
Scheduled Reports
Amazon allows you to schedule recurring reports:
- Go to Campaign Manager → Reports
- Create the report with your desired filters
- Enable "Schedule this report"
- Choose frequency (daily, weekly, monthly)
- Reports are emailed and stored in your account
API Access
For advanced users, the Amazon Advertising API allows programmatic report access:
- Automatically download reports on a schedule
- Import directly into databases or BI tools
- Build custom dashboards and alerts
Common Report Mistakes
- Looking at too short a time period: One day of data is noise. Use 7-30 day windows for decisions.
- Ignoring attribution windows: Sales may attribute days after the click. Wait 7+ days for complete data.
- Not archiving data: Amazon deletes old data. Download and store regularly.
- Confusing targeting vs. search terms: Your keywords aren't what customers type—check the Search Term Report.
- Acting on insufficient data: Wait for statistical significance before making bid changes.
Key Takeaways
- Search Term Report is most important—download weekly for keyword harvesting and negatives
- Placement Report reveals where to invest—adjust modifiers based on ROAS by placement
- Archive data regularly—Amazon only retains 60-90 days
- Purchased Product Report shows the halo effect—capture cross-sell insights monthly
- Use scheduled reports to automate your workflow
- Wait for statistical significance—don't make decisions on small sample sizes
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