How to Read and Use Amazon's Search Query Performance Report

Where to find it

In Seller Central, go to Brands, then Brand Analytics, then Search Query Performance. The report is available only to sellers enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry. If you're not brand-registered, see our guide on setting up Brand Registry.

The SQP report shows your product's performance for specific search queries across the entire Amazon ecosystem, not just your paid campaigns. This is the only report that shows how your product performs organically for any given search term, which makes it one of the most valuable data sources available to Amazon sellers.

Select your date range (weekly or monthly), ASIN(s), and whether you want ASIN-level or account-level data. Start with ASIN-level for your top 5 products to see which queries drive the most traffic and conversions for each product individually.

Key metrics explained

The SQP report provides a funnel view for each search query. Understanding each stage helps you identify exactly where your listing is winning or losing:

Total query volume: How many times customers searched this term on Amazon. This tells you the size of the opportunity. A query with 50,000 monthly searches represents far more potential than one with 500.

Impressions: How many times your product appeared in results for this query. If this is low relative to query volume, your product isn't ranking well organically or you're not bidding on this keyword in PPC.

Clicks and click share: How many shoppers clicked your listing from this query, and your share of total clicks vs competitors. Click share is a proxy for visibility and appeal. If you have a 15% click share, 85% of clicks go to competitors.

Cart adds: How many shoppers added your product to their cart after clicking. A drop between clicks and cart adds suggests your product detail page isn't convincing enough (price, reviews, images, or content issue).

Purchases and purchase share: The final conversion. Your share of total purchases from this query shows your competitive position. If your purchase share is higher than your click share, your listing converts exceptionally well, you just need more traffic.

How to use it for optimization

Keyword prioritization for PPC: Focus your ad budget on queries where you have high conversion rate but low click share. These are your highest-ROI opportunities because you know the listing converts; it just needs more visibility. Increasing PPC bids on these terms is a reliable way to grow revenue.

Listing optimization signals: Low CTR (clicks relative to impressions) on high-volume queries means your listing isn't compelling in search results. The two things shoppers see in search are your main image and title. If CTR is low, one or both need work. See our listing optimization guide.

Content gap identification: Queries where you have impressions but zero clicks reveal keywords that shoppers use but your listing doesn't match well. Your product appears in results, but shoppers don't think it's relevant enough to click. Often, adding these terms to your title or bullets fixes this.

Competitive benchmarking: Track your click share and purchase share for your top 10 queries over time. If click share is declining, a competitor is gaining ground (better images, more reviews, lower price). If click share holds but purchase share drops, your listing conversion has weakened.

SQP vs Search Term Report

These two reports are often confused but serve different purposes:

Use both reports together. The Search Term Report optimizes your PPC campaigns. The SQP report optimizes your overall search strategy including organic positioning.

Advanced SQP strategies

The "conversion gap" play. Find queries where your click share exceeds your purchase share. This means shoppers click your listing but buy from competitors more often. Your listing is getting attention but not closing the deal. Investigate: is your price too high? Are competitors offering something your listing doesn't show?

The "hidden keyword" discovery. Look at queries driving purchases that you're not actively targeting in PPC. These are organic wins that you could amplify with advertising. Creating PPC campaigns for these proven converters is low-risk, high-reward.

Tracking competitive shifts. Monitor your top 5 queries' click share weekly. A consistent decline in click share over 3-4 weeks signals a competitor is gaining ground. Investigate what changed: did they improve their listing, launch a promotion, or accumulate more reviews?

Seasonal trend analysis. SQP data reveals seasonal shifts in query popularity before they appear in your sales data. If query volume for "holiday cutting board" starts climbing in October, you want to increase PPC bids and inventory preparation before your competitors notice the same trend.

Analysis in practice