How to Run Amazon PPC: Step-by-Step Guide for Success
If you’re selling on Amazon and not running PPC (Pay-Per-Click) ads, you’re leaving money on the table. With over 60% of product searches beginning on Amazon, PPC gives your listings the visibility they need to compete and convert.
Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced seller looking to fine-tune your strategy, this guide will teach you exactly how to run Amazon PPC effectively to increase sales and reduce wasted ad spend.
How to Run Amazon PPC
🎯 What Is Amazon PPC and Why It Matters
Amazon PPC is Amazon’s internal advertising platform. Sellers bid on keywords, and their ads show up in search results or product pages. You pay only when someone clicks your ad.
Running Amazon PPC helps you:
- Gain immediate product visibility
- Boost organic rankings
- Increase conversions
- Gather valuable customer data
For a full breakdown of Amazon PPC ad types, visit Amazon Ads Help.
.
🧠 Step 1: Understand the Types of Amazon Ads
To run effective campaigns, you need to know your ad formats:
- Sponsored Products: Promote individual listings. Best for all levels.
- Sponsored Brands: Promote your brand and a collection of products. Great for brand awareness.
- Sponsored Display: Retarget customers who have viewed similar or your own products.
Each serves a different purpose, and a well-rounded campaign strategy uses a mix of them.
🔍 Step 2: Keyword Research
Start your PPC journey by identifying the right keywords. Use these tools to guide your research:
- Helium 10
- Jungle Scout
- Amazon’s own search term reports
Group your keywords into three categories:
- Branded Keywords (e.g., your brand name)
- Competitor Keywords (rival brand names)
- Generic/Descriptive Keywords (e.g., “wireless earbuds”)
Also, segment keywords into Exact, Phrase, and Broad Match to test different user intents.
⚙️ Step 3: Structure Your Campaigns Properly
Organized campaign structure improves performance and makes optimization easier. Here’s a winning campaign layout:
- Create separate campaigns for branded, generic, and competitor keywords.
- Use Single Keyword Ad Groups (SKAGs) for better control.
- Include one Automatic campaign to discover new converting keywords.
This ensures each ad group performs based on its specific goal and reduces overlap.
💰 Step 4: Set Smart Bids and Budgets
Amazon lets you set manual or automatic bids. For beginners, start with dynamic bidding (down only), then move to fixed or rule-based strategies as you collect data.
Start small:
- Bids: $0.50–$1.50 depending on competitiveness
- Daily Budget: $10–$50 per campaign
Adjust based on:
- ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sales)
- CTR (Click-through rate)
- Conversion rates
Need help tracking performance? Use SellerApp’s PPC Analyzer.
🔁 Step 5: Optimize Weekly
Running Amazon PPC is not a set-it-and-forget-it strategy. Optimization is where the magic happens:
- Add negative keywords to reduce wasted spend.
- Lower bids on high-spend, low-converting terms.
- Pause underperforming ad groups.
- Promote winning keywords into exact match or separate campaigns.
- Use placement adjustments to increase top-of-search bids if they’re profitable.
Consistent optimization = long-term profitability.
🚀 Bonus: Use PPC Automation Tools
If you’re scaling your Amazon store, consider using PPC automation tools like:
- PPC Entourage
- Quartile
- Perpetua
These tools help automate bidding, keyword harvesting, and campaign scaling based on performance data.
📞 Ready to Run Profitable Amazon PPC Campaigns? Let’s Talk.
Running Amazon ads without a strategy can be costly. Why not shortcut the learning curve?
📅 Book a Free Amazon PPC Strategy Session
In this 30-minute call, we’ll:
- Audit your current PPC campaigns (if applicable)
- Recommend a proven campaign structure
- Share optimization tactics tailored to your niche
- Help you lower ACoS and boost profitability
👉 Click here to schedule your strategy session now and start turning ad clicks into actual sales!
Learning how to run Amazon PPC doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Start simple, stay consistent, and track what works. With proper keyword research, campaign structure, and regular optimization, your ads will drive more traffic and better sales—without burning through your budget.
If you’re feeling stuck or want a hands-on expert to guide you, don’t hesitate to book a free call. Your Amazon growth journey starts now.
