The Amazon ads industry has an interesting habit. It keeps changing the rules. a
By Elizabeth Greene · March 15, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
The Amazon ads industry has an interesting habit.
It keeps changing the rules.
and calling each new rule "the way."
I've been in this space long enough to watch it happen in real time:
"Don't put more than 50 keywords in a campaign." ← Was gospel once.
"No more than 20." ← Also gospel.
"10 max." ← You guessed it.
"Everything should be a single keyword campaign." ← Currently gospel.
Here's what I actually think:
The obsession with keyword limits is almost entirely arbitrary.
Think about it:
what is the actual mechanism by which having 15 keywords in a campaign hurts performance vs. 10?
Nobody can really explain it..
because the answer depends entirely on your strategy, your budget, and what you're trying to accomplish.
I'm not saying structure doesn't matter. It does.
But I've seen accounts with 200 keywords in a broad match campaign absolutely crush it because the bids were low (10-15 cents),
the net was wide,
and the goal was pure discovery.
And I've seen single-keyword campaigns sit completely idle for months because nobody allocated budget to them.
Rules give people comfort.
Strategy gives people results.
Before you follow the next "you must do X" post you see, ask yourself:
→ What is this campaign supposed to DO?
→ Does this structure serve that goal?
→ What am I actually trying to learn or achieve here?
That's it. That's the framework.
Everything else is just a preference dressed up as a rule.
Drop your take in the comments..
do you limit keywords? Why or why not?