Keywords buy **searches**. Targets buy **placements on product pages** — your ad shown beside a specific ASIN, or across a category.

They live on their own screen because they behave differently, and judging them by keyword standards leads you to cut the wrong ones.

[Watch the walkthrough](https://kb.trackiq.com/kb-assets/kbvideo-targets-explainer-83730bc0.mp4)

*Prefer to watch? Sixty-seven seconds on why targets need different judgement from keywords.*

## **The screen**

![The Targets screen](/kb-assets/shot-b23-targets-view-9828b0.png)

Same layout as the rest of Amazon Ads. The table identifies each target by where it lives and what it points at:

| Column | |
|---|---|
| **Campaign** | which campaign |
| **Ad group** | which ad group |
| **Targeting** | the expression — e.g. `Asin="B0..."` |
| **Status** | enabled, paused, archived |
| **Type** | the ad type |
| **Match type** | how the target resolves |

**The Targeting column holds an expression, not a word.** An ASIN target reads as `Asin="B0..."`, which is why this screen looks more technical than Keywords. It is naming a product, not a phrase.

## **Two kinds of target**

**Product targeting** puts your ad on one specific ASIN's detail page. You choose the product.

**Category targeting** puts it across a category, optionally narrowed by attributes like price band or review rating. You choose the shelf.

The difference in practice: product targeting is a **list you maintain**, category targeting is a **rule that keeps finding new products**.

## **Why targets need different judgement**

**Intent is weaker.** Someone searching *“manuka honey 525”* has told you what they want. Someone looking at a competitor's page has told you far less. Expect lower conversion, and set expectations accordingly.

**Position matters more than volume.** A target on a high-traffic competitor with a much better price will spend and not convert. A target on a comparable product where you are cheaper or better-reviewed can convert well on modest volume.

**Category targets drift.** The category keeps changing underneath you as products come and go. A category target that worked six months ago may now be reaching a different set of products entirely — which is the main reason to re-check them periodically rather than set and forget.

## **What to look for**

**Sort by spend, then look at conversion rather than ACoS alone.** A target that gets clicks and never converts is usually a mismatch of product rather than a bid problem.

**Compare targets to each other, not to keywords.** Targets should look worse than your best exact-match keywords. That is the nature of the placement, not a failure.

**Watch for one ASIN target consuming the ad group.** A single high-traffic competitor can absorb the budget that ten better-matched targets needed.

**Defensive targeting on your own ASINs is legitimate** and will look odd on efficiency — you are paying to occupy your own page so a competitor cannot. Judge it as defence, not harvest. This is exactly why campaigns doing different jobs belong in different groups — see **Optimization Groups**.

## **Automating them**

Targeting rules act on **keywords and product targets together** — the rule type is called Targeting for that reason. So everything in [**Targeting Rules: Adjusting Bids and Pausing Targets**](https://kb.trackiq.com/hc/knowledge-base/articles/targeting-rules-bids-and-pausing) applies here:

- **Pause dead keywords** works on targets too — the classic 25-click cutoff.
- **Rein in high ACOS** steps bids down in tiers.
- **Boost profitable winners** raises bids on converters.

One caution: if a group mixes keywords and targets, a single ACoS threshold judges both by the same standard, and targets will fail it more often. **Scope target-heavy ad groups into their own rule group** if you want them judged fairly.

A **Harvest Product Targetings** rule type is listed in the chooser but **not yet available**.

## **Related**

- [**Keywords and Match Types**](https://kb.trackiq.com/hc/knowledge-base/articles/keywords-and-match-types) — the other thing you bid on.
- [**Ad Groups**](https://kb.trackiq.com/hc/knowledge-base/articles/ad-groups) — where targets inherit their default bid.
- [**Rule Groups**](https://kb.trackiq.com/hc/knowledge-base/articles/rule-groups) — scoping so targets are judged on their own terms.