What is a keyword in OTTO advertising?
Last updated: 31 October 2026 · The MargenOptimierer app is in German. Button and menu names are shown exactly as you see them, with the English meaning in brackets.
A keyword is a word or phrase you book at OTTO so your ad can appear on matching searches.
What a customer actually types is called a search term. The match type sets how closely the search term has to fit the keyword. You only book keywords in manual campaigns.
Example: The keyword “gartenstuhl holz”
Say you book the keyword “gartenstuhl holz” with a 0.40 € bid in “Manual – Garden furniture”. If a customer searches for it, OTTO can show an item from that campaign as an ad, and a click costs you 0.40 € at most.
The campaign has 298 items, so at OTTO the keyword is attached to each of the 298 items. You still only pay for clicks that really happen. In the ad console the keyword sits on one row, and if you change its bid there, the new bid applies to all 298 items.
Ein Keyword steht in MargenOptimierer in einer Zeile mit einem Gebot, bei OTTO hängt es an jedem Artikel der Kampagne.
Keywords and search terms
Excluding search terms
In an automatic campaign you can exclude a search term instead of booking a keyword. OTTO then doesn't show your ad on that search. These search terms are called negative keywords, have no bid and sit in the Negatives (negative keywords) tab of the ad console.
Next
- How do I add search terms as keywords or exclude them?
Where this term appears
- How MargenOptimierer works
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- How do I lower or raise bids based on my targets?
- How do I create campaigns for a product group?
- Which items aren't in any campaign yet?
- How do I set up a campaign template?
- Where do I change budgets and bids?
- How do I pause a campaign or change its end date?
- How do I add search terms as keywords or exclude them?
- How do I send my changes to OTTO?
- How do I undo a change?
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