Amazon PPC basics: launch campaigns without burning budget
Amazon PPC puts your product in front of shoppers at the moment they search. It is powerful, but it is also easy to spend money on clicks that never convert. A simple, disciplined structure fixes most of that.
Know your numbers first
Before you launch, work out your break-even ACoS: your profit margin before ad costs. ACoS is ad spend divided by ad sales. If your margin is 30%, an ACoS above 30% loses money on each ad sale.
Start with two campaigns
- Automatic campaign: Amazon chooses where to show your ad based on your listing. It is a research tool that reveals search terms you had not thought of.
- Manual campaign: you choose the keywords. Start with your most relevant ones in exact and phrase match.
Harvest and negate weekly
Each week, check the search term report. Move terms that convert from your automatic campaign into your manual one. Add terms that spend without converting as negative keywords so you stop paying for them.
Fix the listing before raising bids
Ads bring traffic; your listing turns it into sales. If clicks are high but orders are low, improve the main image, title, price or reviews before spending more.
Expand when it works
Once Sponsored Products are profitable, test Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display if you are brand registered. Scale budget on the campaigns that are already hitting your target.
Be patient at launch
New products often run a higher ACoS for the first weeks while they gather sales history and reviews. Plan for it in your launch budget rather than switching ads off too early.
