The Ultimate Guide to Amazon PPC Optimization in 2024

2019-09-18

In 2024, Amazon PPC optimization is more important than ever for sellers looking to maximize their sales and visibility on the platform. With the increasing competition and evolving algorithms, understanding how to effectively manage and optimize your Amazon PPC campaigns is crucial for success.

 

This ultimate guide will provide you with all the essential information and strategies you need to know to make the most out of your Amazon PPC campaigns. From setting up your campaigns to keyword research, bid management, and ad copywriting, we will cover everything you need to know to drive more traffic and sales to your products.

 

Whether you're a beginner looking to get started with Amazon PPC or an experienced seller wanting to take your campaigns to the next level, this guide has got you covered. By following the tips and best practices outlined in this article, you'll be able to optimize your Amazon PPC campaigns and achieve better results in 2024 and beyond. So, let's get started and take your Amazon PPC game to the next level!

What is Amazon PPC or Pay-Per-Click?

Amazon PPC, or Pay-Per-Click, is an advertising system that allows sellers to promote their products on Amazon. When you use Amazon PPC, you create ads for your products, and these ads appear in search results or on product pages. 

 

You only pay when someone clicks on your ad, hence the name "Pay-Per-Click." This system helps your products get more visibility and can lead to more sales. By setting a budget and choosing the right keywords, you can control how much you spend and who sees your ads. It's a useful tool for anyone looking to boost their product’s presence on Amazon.

How Do I Optimize My PPC on Amazon?

To optimize your PPC on Amazon, follow these detailed steps to ensure your campaigns are effective and cost-efficient:

 

  1. Conduct Keyword Research
  2. Create Targeted Campaigns
  3. Set Competitive Bids
  4. Monitor Performance
  5. Adjust Bids
  6. Use Negative Keywords
  7. Test and Refine

Step 1: Conduct Keyword Research

Begin by identifying the most relevant and high-performing keywords for your products. Keywords are the terms or phrases that potential customers use when searching for products like yours on Amazon. To find these keywords, you can use various tools designed for keyword research. One popular option is Amazon's Keyword Planner, which helps you discover keywords that are frequently searched and have high conversion rates.

 

In addition to Amazon's Keyword Planner, consider using SellerSprite's Keyword Research tool. SellerSprite offers a comprehensive suite of features that allow you to uncover valuable keywords, analyze their performance, and gain insights into your competitors' keyword strategies. By leveraging these tools, you can compile a list of targeted keywords that will help your products appear in relevant search results, ultimately driving more traffic and sales to your listings.

 

Taking the time to conduct thorough keyword research is a foundational step in optimizing your Amazon PPC campaigns, ensuring that your ads reach the right audience and deliver the best possible return on investment.

Step 2: Create Targeted Campaigns

Organize your keywords into specific campaigns and ad groups. This makes it easier to manage your bids and ensures your ads reach the right audience. By grouping similar keywords, you can tailor your ads more precisely and improve their performance. This approach helps you control your budget better and increases the chances of your products being seen by potential customers who are most likely to buy.

Step 3: Set Competitive Bids

Start by setting your initial bids based on the average Cost-Per-Click (CPC) for your chosen keywords. This helps you stay competitive in the auction for ad placements. As your campaign runs, regularly review performance data such as clicks, conversions, and sales. 

 

Use this information to adjust your bids accordingly. Increasing bids for high-performing keywords can drive more traffic while lowering bids for underperforming keywords can help you save money.

Step 4: Monitor Performance

Regularly check how your campaigns are doing by looking at key metrics. Focus on the click-through rate (CTR) to see how often people click on your ads, the conversion rate to understand how many clicks turn into sales, and the Advertising Cost of Sales (ACoS) to track how much you're spending on ads compared to your sales. 

 

By keeping an eye on these metrics, you can make informed decisions to improve your campaign's effectiveness.

 

Read more about Amazon TACoS: A Key Metric for Sellers.

Step 5: Adjust Bids

Based on your performance data, tweak your bids to get the best return on investment. Increase bids for keywords that are doing well and bringing in sales. Lower bids for keywords that aren't performing as expected to save money.

Step 6: Use Negative Keywords

Add negative keywords to your campaigns to stop your ads from showing up for irrelevant searches. This helps you save money and makes your ads more effective by targeting only relevant searches.

Step 7: Test and Refine

Keep testing different strategies and fine-tuning your campaigns. Try out various bid amounts, keywords, and ad copy to see what works best for you. Continuous testing and refinement will help you get the most out of your advertising efforts.

 

By following these steps, you can effectively optimize your CPC on Amazon and make the most out of your advertising budget.

Click-through Rate(CTR)

If one stays for a long time in an AD position, it means the click-through rate(CTR) can be relatively high. Through testing, the longest staying time is on the top two positions, that is, the probability of clicking is the highest.

Advertising Ranking Key Factors

1. Correlation

2. Product classification

3. Historical CTR and CVR

How Does Amazon Define Correlation?

If a customer posts an ad that is more clickable and has a higher purchase rate than competitors, Amazon will consider it a high-quality ad that provides a good experience for customers.

 

For example, if your product is sunglasses for men and you choose "sunglasses" as a keyword to get more exposure, your ad might appear in search results for "sunglasses for women" or "DK sunglasses," which are not relevant. This lack of relevance will lower the performance score of your ad.

How to Judge the Effect of Advertising? The Lower the Acos is, the Better It Performs.

1. Advertising is designed to boost sales and profits. When it comes to ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sales), we need to find a balance rather than aiming for the lowest possible value.

 

2. For advertisements with few orders, how can we estimate the effect of an ad that does not perform very well? We can better understand this through the following example:

 

Example: The price of Product A is $20, and the net profit is $5 (after deducting commission, purchase cost, shipping cost, etc.). The advertising fee for one month is $500, and the ad generates 50 orders. (There is no other activity during this period).

 

Before advertising, the natural sales volume of Product A was 75 units per month. With advertising, the natural sales volume of Product A increased to 140 units per month.

 

This example illustrates how advertising can impact overall sales, even if the ad itself does not generate a high number of direct orders. The increased visibility can lead to more organic sales, boosting the overall performance of the product.

What are the Effects of Amazon PPC?

  1. The cost of an advertising order is $10 ($500/50).
  2. ACoS is 50% ($10/$20).
  3. The advertising profit per order is -$5 ($5-$10).

 

At first glance, this advertisement seems to perform poorly, as we lose $5 for each product sold through the ad. However, there's more to consider.

 

Natural sales increased by 65 units (140-75) after advertising, which is an 87% increase (65/75). In other words, these 65 orders are indirect orders generated by the advertising.

 

Therefore, 115 orders (50 direct orders + 65 indirect orders) can be classified as PPC sales. The new results should be as follows:

 

  • The advertising cost per order is $4.34 ($500/115).
  • ACoS is 21.7% ($4.34/$20).
  • The advertising profit per order is $0.64 ($5-$4.34).
  • The total advertising profit is $0.64 * 115 = $73.60.

 

Therefore, this advertisement is still profitable.

Why do We do Advertising?

 

In addition to viewing advertising reports, it still has two indirect effects that cannot be ignored!

1. The increases in natural traffic;

2. The increases in related search terms.

 

The primary factor in ranking is sales. (Absolutely, when sales are the same, reviews, performance systems, and other factors will be taken into consideration.)

As a result, advertising increases sales, ranking, and natural traffic will increase as well. The more traffic generated, the more sales we will reach.

 

In addition, advertising can increase the correlation of search terms. 

 

For example, your listing only has three keywords, ABC. When advertising, the system will generate multiple keywords, DEFG, according to attributes, categories, and keywords of your product. If only the D keyword has orders, the system will consider the D keyword as relating to your product.

 

When your advertising ranking drops out of the ad position, customers searching for the D keyword will still find your product on the natural ranking results.

 

Therefore, when judging the effect of advertising, these two factors cannot be ignored. Sales from the indirect effect of advertising should also be counted.

An Advertising or Amazon PPC Analysis Report: Explained

Before optimizing your advertising, it's important to first look at the advertising data report. This report mainly includes four key numbers: impressions, clicks, orders, and ACoS. Effective advertising optimization is based on analyzing these numbers and taking specific actions based on that analysis.

When Your Advertising Campaign is Running

When your advertising campaign is running, the first number to focus on is impressions. If impressions are too low, it often means your bid is too low, or the details of your listing are not accurate, making it hard for the system to identify it. In this case, the first step is to check your listing details. 

 

Make sure the category is correct, keywords are used properly, and keyword coverage is thorough. If everything looks good, then the low impressions are likely due to a low bid. At this point, increasing your keyword bids a bit to get higher impressions can be important.

Focus on Clicks When Exposure is Sufficient

When you have enough impressions, the next step is to pay attention to clicks. Generally, the click-to-impression ratio (CTR) should be around 0.5%. If the CTR is too low, there could be two reasons:

 

  1. The main image is not appealing.
  2. The ad is displayed towards the back of the page.

 

To fix this, optimize the main image of your listing or adjust the bidding (either increase or decrease the bid) to change the ad's position.

Understanding High ACoS and Initial Clicks

When your ad starts getting clicks, many sellers immediately look at the ACoS value. At the beginning of an ad campaign, ACoS is often high, sometimes even reaching 100%. This can make sellers anxious and prompt them to hastily suspend the ad without knowing how to handle the situation.

Focus on Conversion Rate Over ACoS Initially

In the initial stage of advertising, the conversion rate (CR) from click to order is more important than the ACoS value. Normally, the conversion rate should be around 15%. If it's lower, it might mean your listing isn't optimized, your price is too high, or your reviews are too few or too negative. 

 

Compare with your competitors, identify gaps, and work to close them. Once you achieve a conversion rate of around 15%, then focus on ACoS. If ACoS is close to or less than your gross profit margin, the ad is cost-effective and worth continuing. However, if ACoS is higher than the gross profit margin, you'll need to make further adjustments.

Analyzing ACoS and Key Variables

ACoS is the percentage of advertising spend over a period compared to advertising sales during that same period. Variables affecting ACoS include ad bidding, product price, clicks, and orders. While clicks and orders are results you have to accept, ad bidding and product price are variables you can control and optimize.

Reducing High ACoS

If your ACoS is very high, first check if your ad bid is too high. Try reducing the bid based on the previous week's CPC (Cost Per Click) price. The new bid should be slightly higher than the previous week's CPC. After reducing the bid, observe the ad's impressions, clicks, and conversions. This adjustment usually has little effect on impressions and clicks but can reduce ad costs. 

Additionally, compare your prices with those of your competitors. If you can reasonably increase your product price, this can also help lower ACoS, as it increases your revenue per sale.

Optimizing Keywords and Time-Segment Bidding

Beyond adjusting bidding prices and product prices, it's crucial to analyze specific keywords in the data report. Identify and negate keywords that have high impressions and clicks but low or no conversions. This will help reduce unnecessary ad spend.

 

Another effective strategy is time-segment bidding, which involves adjusting your bids based on the time of day or week when your ads perform best. This targeted approach can help you maximize ad efficiency and further reduce costs.

Conclusion

In summary, optimizing your Amazon PPC advertising involves a multi-faceted approach. Start by ensuring you have sufficient impressions, then focus on improving your click-through rate (CTR). Understand and manage your Advertising Cost of Sales (ACoS), and continuously optimize your keywords and bidding strategies. By carefully analyzing and adjusting these variables, you can create a more cost-effective and successful advertising campaign.

 

To aid in this process, consider using tools like Seller Sprite Ads Insight Tools. These tools can provide valuable insights and data, helping you make informed decisions and further enhance your Amazon PPC campaign's performance.

Related Articles to Read:

Frequently Asked Questions

What is PPC optimization in Amazon?

PPC optimization in Amazon involves refining your pay-per-click ad campaigns to get the best results at the lowest cost. This includes adjusting bids, selecting the right keywords, and improving your product listings. The goal is to increase clicks and sales while reducing ad spend.

How to make Amazon PPC work?

To make Amazon PPC work, start by choosing relevant keywords that match what shoppers are searching for. Set competitive bids and create compelling ad copy and images. Regularly monitor and adjust your campaigns based on performance data to improve results.

How to lower Amazon PPC costs?

To lower Amazon PPC costs, focus on optimizing your keyword bids and eliminating underperforming keywords. Improve your product listings to boost conversion rates, which can lower your cost per click. Use negative keywords to prevent your ads from showing for irrelevant searches.

How do I optimize my CPC on Amazon?

To optimize your CPC (cost per click) on Amazon, adjust your bids based on the performance of each keyword. Lower bids for keywords that are not converting well and increase bids for high-performing keywords. Regularly review and refine your keyword list to ensure you're targeting the most effective terms.

How do I increase my Amazon PPC conversion rate?

To increase your Amazon PPC conversion rate, make sure your product listings are detailed and attractive, with high-quality images and clear descriptions. Use relevant keywords to attract the right audience and set competitive prices. Regularly analyze your campaign data to identify and focus on the best-performing keywords and ads.

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