- Set Goals & Schedule: Define measurable objectives (e.g., reduce ACoS, increase ROAS) and decide how often to audit based on ad spend and product lifecycle.
- Gather Data: Pull performance reports for all ad types (Sponsored Products, Brands, Display) and supplement with insights from Brand Analytics and Seller Central.
- Organize Campaigns: Use clear naming conventions, group campaigns logically, and separate automatic from manual targeting.
- Analyze Performance: Review keyword data, targeting methods, and key metrics like ACoS, ROAS, CTR, and CPC.
- Adjust Bids & Budgets: Optimize bids for high-performing keywords, reduce wasteful spending, and allocate budgets to campaigns with the highest ROI.
- Plan for Seasonality: Adjust campaigns ahead of major events like holidays, Prime Day, and seasonal trends.
How to Conduct Amazon PPC Advertising Audit : 6 Easy Steps
Getting Ready for Your Amazon PPC Audit
Before jumping into your audit, it’s important to lay a solid foundation. Start by setting clear objectives and gathering all the necessary data. This preparation ensures that your analysis will be focused and effective, paving the way for deeper insights into campaign structure and performance.
Set Audit Goals and Schedule
Start by defining your objectives. What do you want to accomplish with this audit? Are you aiming to lower your ACoS by 15%? Boost your ROAS from 3.5 to 4.2? Or perhaps you’re hunting for new, profitable keywords to broaden your reach? Clear, measurable goals help you zero in on the metrics that matter most and prioritize your findings.
How often you audit depends on your business size and ad spend. If you’re spending over $5,000 a month on ads, monthly audits can help you catch trends early and make timely adjustments. For smaller budgets or campaigns that are already running smoothly, quarterly reviews are often sufficient. High-volume sellers, on the other hand, might benefit from weekly performance checks paired with monthly deep dives.
The lifecycle stage of your products also plays a role. New launches require more frequent reviews – weekly during the first month – while mature products with steady performance can be audited less often, either monthly or quarterly.
With a clear schedule and goals in place, the next step is gathering the right data.
Collect PPC Performance Data
Accurate analysis starts with complete data. Begin by pulling Sponsored Ads performance reports from the Amazon Advertising Console. Download reports for campaigns, ad groups, keywords, and search terms for the audit period. These reports give you a detailed view of how your ads are performing at every level.
Make sure to include data for all ad types you’re running:
- Sponsored Products: Identify which listings drive the most profitable sales.
- Sponsored Brands: Evaluate the performance of brand awareness campaigns across multiple products.
- Sponsored Display: Assess the effectiveness of retargeting and off-Amazon visibility.
Don’t stop there. Supplement these reports with insights from Amazon Brand Analytics and Seller Central. For example:
- Search Query Performance Reports (from Brand Analytics) allow you to compare organic and paid keyword performance. This can help you decide where to scale back or ramp up your advertising efforts.
- Business Reports (from Seller Central) provide broader context, such as session counts and unit session percentages, which connect ad performance to overall traffic trends. Inventory reports are also vital – they prevent situations where ads are running for out-of-stock products.
If you’re using Amazon DSP, make sure to include those reports as well. They provide audience and geographic data, which can reveal how your display ads are performing outside of Amazon’s marketplace.
| Data Category | Essential Reports | Why You Need It |
|---|---|---|
| Core Advertising | Campaign, Ad Group, Keyword, Search Term Reports | Tracks performance at every campaign level |
| Ad Type Performance | Sponsored Products, Brands, Display Data | Highlights which ad formats deliver results |
| Market Insights | Brand Analytics Search Query Performance | Compares organic vs. paid keyword performance |
| Business Context | Seller Central Business Reports, Inventory Data | Links ad performance to overall business metrics |
Format Data Correctly
Once you’ve gathered your data, it’s time to organize it. Consolidate all raw files into a single Excel or Google Sheets workbook. Use separate tabs for each report type but keep column headers and formatting consistent across all sheets. This structure makes it easier to cross-reference and ensures transparency throughout the audit process.
When downloading reports, use consistent date ranges across all data sources. A 30-day period typically provides enough data for meaningful analysis. If your business is seasonal, consider comparing the same period from the previous year to account for those trends.
Finally, double-check your data. Ensure key metrics like impressions, clicks, and conversions align across reports. Any missing data or formatting errors can lead to flawed conclusions about your campaigns.
With your data properly formatted and ready to go, you’re all set to dive into analyzing your campaign structure.
Checking Campaign Structure and Organization
Having a well-structured campaign is the backbone of effective Amazon PPC management. Without proper organization, you risk wasting ad spend and missing out on valuable opportunities to grow your business.
Check Campaign Structure and Naming
A clear and consistent naming system can save you time and prevent errors. Your campaign names should instantly convey critical details like the campaign type, product, and targeting method. This becomes especially important as your account scales beyond 50 campaigns. For example, a name like "SP_KitchenScale_Auto_Exact" immediately tells you it’s a Sponsored Products campaign for a kitchen scale, using automatic targeting with exact match keywords.
Take a moment to review your current naming conventions. Effective naming typically includes three elements: the campaign type, a product identifier, and the targeting method. If your naming patterns aren’t this clear, it’s time to refine them.
Portfolio organization is equally important. Group related campaigns into portfolios based on product categories, brands, or your business objectives. For instance, a seller of supplements might create portfolios like "Protein Powders", "Vitamins", and "Fitness Accessories" instead of lumping all campaigns together. This not only simplifies budget tracking but also makes performance analysis much easier.
Next, check the structure of your ad groups within campaigns. Each ad group should focus on closely related keywords or products. If you notice ad groups with 50+ keywords that cover vastly different search intents, it’s time to split them into smaller, more specific groups. This level of detail gives you better control over bids and budgets for each keyword theme.
Review Campaign Grouping
Building on clear naming conventions, you’ll want to examine how your campaigns are grouped. Your grouping strategy should reflect your business goals and product catalog. The most effective accounts separate campaigns by match type, product category, and objective, rather than cramming everything into a few large campaigns.
Pay close attention to how you’re handling automatic and manual campaigns. Best practice is to run separate automatic campaigns to discover new keywords. Once you identify high-performing search terms, move them into dedicated manual campaigns for better control. Mixing automatic and manual targeting in the same campaign can lead to keyword conflicts and inflated costs.
Take a look at your campaign objectives. Campaigns with similar goals – like brand defense, product launches, or competitor targeting – should be grouped separately. Each type of campaign requires a different approach to bidding, budgeting, and optimization.
Seasonal and evergreen products also need distinct campaign structures. Holiday-specific products should be in campaigns that can easily be paused during off-seasons, while evergreen items should maintain consistent campaign setups. This separation helps you avoid wasting your budget and simplifies seasonal planning.
Confirm Campaign Settings
After organizing your campaigns and ad groups, it’s time to ensure your settings are optimized for performance. Campaign settings play a crucial role in how your ads perform and how much they cost. Start by reviewing your daily budgets. Campaigns that consistently hit their daily limits may be missing profitable impressions, while campaigns spending only a fraction of their budgets might have issues with targeting or bids.
Check your targeting settings to ensure they align with your strategy. Dynamic bidding options should match your goals. For example, "Down only" bidding works well for stable, established campaigns, while "Up and down" bidding is better for newer campaigns or those testing different strategies. Fixed bids give you maximum control but require more hands-on management.
Don’t overlook geographic targeting. Verify that your campaigns are targeting the right regions or states based on where your product demand is strongest.
Review your negative keyword lists at both the campaign and ad group levels. Shared negative keyword lists should be applied consistently across related campaigns. For instance, if "free" or "cheap" keywords don’t convert for your premium products, make sure these terms are blocked across all relevant campaigns.
Campaign scheduling is another setting that can have a big impact. Check whether your ads are running during the hours when your audience is most active. For example, B2B products often perform best during business hours, while consumer electronics may see higher conversions in the evening.
Lastly, ensure your budget distribution reflects your priorities. High-margin products and best-sellers should receive larger budget allocations, while test campaigns for new products can start with smaller budgets. Your audit should reveal whether your current budget setup aligns with your profit goals and inventory levels.
Reviewing Performance Metrics and Targeting
Once you’ve structured your campaigns, the next crucial step is diving into performance data. This analysis helps you spot both opportunities and inefficiencies, setting the stage for smarter optimization decisions.
Review Keyword Performance
Keywords are the backbone of your campaigns, and managing them effectively can make or break your budget. Start by pulling recent keyword performance data to identify trends and patterns. Don’t just focus on total spend – dig deeper into metrics that reveal true profitability.
Take a close look at your top-spending keywords, as these consume the largest portion of your budget. High ACoS keywords that haven’t generated recent sales might need bid reductions or even negative keyword adjustments. Broad match keywords also deserve scrutiny, as they can trigger irrelevant searches. Use search term reports to pinpoint unqualified traffic that may be draining your budget.
If you notice keywords with high impressions but low clicks, it could signal weak ad appeal. On the flip side, consistently profitable keywords might benefit from gradual bid increases to capture more market share while maintaining profitability.
Don’t overlook long-tail keyword phrases. These specific, multi-word phrases often deliver higher conversion rates with less competition. Expanding into related variations of these keywords could open up new opportunities for growth.
Use the insights from your keyword analysis to fine-tune your overall targeting strategy.
Check Targeting Methods
Once you’ve reviewed keyword performance, it’s time to assess your targeting methods. Your targeting approach determines who sees your ads, directly influencing both cost efficiency and conversion rates. Amazon provides several targeting options, and it’s essential to ensure you’re using them effectively.
Start with your automatic campaigns. These can be a goldmine for discovering new keywords. If they haven’t yielded promising results recently, review your bid levels and negative keyword settings to expand their potential for discovery.
Product targeting is another powerful tool. For example, if you’re selling phone cases, targeting customers browsing popular phone models could reach buyers at a critical decision-making moment. Similarly, category targeting can work well, but it’s important to strike the right balance. Broad category targets might spread your budget too thin, while narrowing down to specific subcategories can often deliver better results.
Also, check for overlaps between campaigns. When multiple campaigns target the same keywords or products, you risk driving up costs through internal competition. Consolidating overlapping efforts can streamline your budget and improve overall efficiency.
Make sure your targeting aligns closely with your product to maximize conversion rates.
Monitor Key Metrics
After reviewing keywords and targeting, shift your focus to key performance metrics. These metrics are your guide to understanding the health of your campaigns and the impact of your optimization efforts. While ACoS is a critical indicator, a thorough audit should include a range of metrics for a complete picture.
Start by evaluating ACoS in relation to your profit margins. Calculate a realistic break-even point that factors in production costs, fees, and shipping. This gives you a clearer view of whether your campaigns are truly profitable.
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) is another essential metric, showing how much revenue your ads generate for every dollar spent. A high ROAS is a strong indicator that your campaigns are delivering meaningful results.
Click-through rate (CTR) measures the relevance and appeal of your ads. If CTR is low, it might be time to reassess your ad copy or targeting.
Impression share is also worth monitoring. This metric shows how much of the available market your ads are capturing. A low impression share might mean your bids, budgets, or timing need adjustment.
Finally, watch trends in cost-per-click (CPC). If CPC is climbing without a corresponding increase in conversions, it could signal rising competition or a drop in ad relevance.
These metrics not only validate your campaign adjustments but also highlight areas for further improvement. Additionally, successful PPC campaigns often boost organic search performance. Keep an eye on organic rankings for your targeted keywords to measure the broader impact of your advertising efforts.
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Improving Bids and Budgets
Once you’ve analyzed your performance metrics, the next step is to fine-tune your bids and budgets. This process helps you make the most of profitable opportunities while cutting back on wasteful spending.
Review Bid Strategies
Take a closer look at your bidding strategies to ensure they align with your current goals. Each campaign’s bid approach plays a key role in achieving your objectives.
- Manual Bidding: Raise bids on keywords that consistently deliver strong results, and lower them for those underperforming.
- Dynamic Bidding: Use "down only" to reduce bids when conversions are less likely, or "up and down" to maximize placements that are more likely to convert profitably.
- Placement-Based Adjustments: Evaluate bids for specific placements, such as top-of-search. If the higher cost of these placements doesn’t lead to better conversions, it might be time to adjust your modifiers.
Keep your profit margins in mind when assessing bid performance. A spend level that works well for one product might not be sustainable for another with tighter margins. Once your bids are optimized, reallocate budgets to focus on campaigns that are driving the best results.
Redistribute Budgets
Campaign performance can shift over time, leading to misaligned budget allocations. Use your audit results to identify where funds should be increased and where they can be reduced.
- Analyze Budget Utilization: Look at the last 30 days to spot campaigns hitting their daily limits. These may need additional funding to keep up with demand.
- Expand High-Potential Campaigns: Campaigns with strong conversion rates but low impression share could benefit from more budget.
- Seasonal Adjustments: Adjust budgets for products with seasonal demand. Allocate more to campaigns tied to peak seasons and scale back those linked to off-peak periods.
A tiered budgeting strategy can help you allocate resources effectively. Dedicate the largest share of your budget to top-performing campaigns, a solid portion to consistently good performers, and a smaller amount to experimental campaigns. If you’re using portfolio-level budgets, double-check that they aren’t inadvertently holding back high-performing campaigns by forcing them to compete for limited funds.
Plan Seasonal Changes
Seasonal trends can have a big impact on Amazon PPC performance. Your audit should account for these shifts to prepare your campaigns in advance.
- Holidays: Increase budgets ahead of the holiday season to capture the spike in gift-related searches.
- Back-to-School: Adjust campaigns in categories like electronics, office supplies, and clothing to match seasonal demand.
- Major Sales Events: For events like Prime Day, temporarily increase bids and budgets to capture the surge in traffic, then scale back once the event ends.
- Weather-Dependent Products: Consider regional and seasonal variations. For instance, sunscreen or pool supplies may need staggered budget adjustments based on geographic demand.
Tracking year-over-year seasonal performance can help you identify trends unique to your products. Additionally, slower periods might offer opportunities to gain market share when advertising costs are lower. Be sure to set seasonal adjustments at least 30 days in advance so the platform’s algorithms have enough time to optimize your campaigns for peak demand.
Action Items and Next Steps
Set clear priorities for your findings and establish a practical timeline to ensure consistent progress.
Organize Recommendations by Campaign Goals
Every campaign has its own purpose, so your action plan should align with these specific objectives. Here’s how to approach different campaign types:
Profitability-focused campaigns should address unnecessary spending first. Start by pausing keywords with an ACoS above 50% that haven’t converted in the past 30 days. Then, test cost efficiency by lowering bids by 15-20% on keywords with ACoS between 30-50%. For sales-driving search terms, add them as exact match keywords but use cautious bids to control costs.
Growth-oriented campaigns benefit from expansion tactics. Add broad match keywords related to your top-performing exact match terms to attract more traffic. If campaigns are hitting daily budget limits but maintaining a healthy ACoS, increase their budgets. You can also launch Product Targeting campaigns to target shoppers browsing competitor products – start with bids 10% lower than your current average cost-per-click.
Visibility campaigns prioritize building market share and brand awareness. These might include Sponsored Brand campaigns targeting high-traffic category terms or defensive campaigns centered on your own brand name. For these efforts, focus on maximizing impression share while keeping ACoS within acceptable limits to avoid overspending.
Document all recommendations by noting the campaign name, relevant metrics, and expected outcomes. This step helps create accountability and simplifies performance tracking after implementation.
Create Implementation Timeline
Roll out changes gradually to maintain campaign stability. Here’s a suggested timeline:
- Week 1: Focus on immediate cost-saving actions, such as pausing non-performing keywords and reducing bids on underperforming terms. These adjustments often yield noticeable results within 3-5 days, offering quick wins.
- Weeks 2-3: Shift to budget reallocations and bid strategy updates. Make changes incrementally, adjusting no more than 25% of a campaign’s budget at a time. Keep an eye on daily performance, as it can take 7-14 days for algorithms to adapt.
- Weeks 4-6: Introduce expansion strategies, such as adding new keywords, testing new campaign formats, or launching additional campaign types. Allow sufficient time to evaluate these initiatives before making further adjustments.
Schedule weekly reviews to monitor performance changes. Use a simple spreadsheet to log what was changed, when, and the results after one week and one month. This documentation will be invaluable for future audits and help refine your optimization strategies.
Work with My PPC Pal Experts
Handling an in-depth PPC audit while managing your business can be overwhelming. My PPC Pal offers a human-centered approach to ensure your audit recommendations are implemented effectively, avoiding the pitfalls of automated solutions.
Their team provides weekly campaign optimizations based on real-time data, ensuring your strategies adapt as market conditions shift. This hands-on approach is especially important during the critical weeks after your audit, helping you avoid common mistakes like overhauling too much at once or misinterpreting performance changes.
Monthly one-on-one meetings with the founder offer personalized guidance tailored to your audit findings. These sessions connect your campaign strategies to larger business goals, whether you’re preparing for seasonal trends, launching new products, or scaling successful campaigns. This direct support ensures your optimization efforts align with your overall objectives.
For private label sellers managing multiple products, My PPC Pal’s data-driven approach helps prioritize which recommendations will deliver the most impact. Their expertise with high-budget accounts allows them to scale campaigns effectively while maintaining profitability – an essential balance when implementing changes across a large portfolio.
The flat-fee monthly structure also eliminates the uncertainty of fluctuating management costs, even as you test new strategies that may temporarily increase ad spend. This predictable pricing makes it easier to plan your budget during the optimization process.
Conclusion: Growing Your Business with Regular PPC Audits
Regular Amazon PPC audits turn the chaos of campaign management into a structured process, paving the way for meaningful growth and better profitability. Think of these audits as a blueprint for turning data into actions that truly make a difference.
The insights gained from an audit guide your key decisions. Whether it’s reallocating budgets from campaigns that aren’t performing, doubling down on winning keywords, or tweaking bids to match seasonal trends, a step-by-step approach – like making weekly adjustments – ensures smooth transitions. This also gives Amazon’s algorithms the breathing room they need to adapt.
Navigating the complexities of Amazon advertising often requires more than just basic know-how. Fine-tuning bids, budgets, and keywords demands a deeper level of expertise. Without it, mistakes like over-optimization can easily derail your efforts, highlighting the importance of professional oversight.
For private label sellers managing significant ad budgets, the stakes are even higher. A poorly executed audit can hurt your bottom line, but a carefully planned one can open the door to new growth opportunities. Opting for a flat-fee management model can also remove the anxiety of unpredictable costs, allowing you to focus entirely on driving results.
FAQs
How can I combine Amazon’s automatic and manual campaigns to improve my PPC performance?
To get the most out of your Amazon PPC strategy, begin with automatic campaigns. These are great for gathering broad keyword data and spotting search terms that deliver strong results. Once you’ve identified those high-performing keywords, shift them into manual campaigns. This approach gives you more control to fine-tune your targeting, adjust bids, and focus on driving efficient performance.
Keep a close eye on your campaign metrics. Look for patterns, tweak underperforming keywords, and double down on the ones that are working well. By blending automatic and manual campaigns, you can strike the perfect balance between data gathering and precision, increasing your ROI and uncovering new ways to grow your advertising efforts.
What are the best strategies for adjusting Amazon PPC bids and budgets during major shopping events like Prime Day or the holiday season?
To get the best results from major shopping events like Prime Day or the holiday season, it’s smart to start planning your campaigns 4-6 weeks ahead of time. Kick things off with lower bids to build relevance, then gradually increase your budgets so your spending peaks during the busiest shopping days.
Consider using dynamic bidding or manually adjusting bids to focus on keywords that drive the most conversions. Be ready to allocate more budget to handle the increased search traffic, and fine-tune your targeting to highlight your best-performing products or audiences. These tweaks can boost your visibility and help you get the most out of these high-traffic shopping periods.
How often should I perform a PPC audit based on my ad spend and product lifecycle?
The frequency of PPC audits largely hinges on how much you’re spending and where your product stands in its lifecycle. If you’re running campaigns with high budgets or promoting products with short lifecycles, daily or weekly reviews can help you keep a close eye on performance. On the other hand, for campaigns with lower budgets or longer lifecycles, monthly or even quarterly audits might be enough.
For most businesses, quarterly audits strike a good balance. However, the timing should always align with the complexity of your campaigns and your specific goals. Regular reviews not only help you make the most of your ad spend but also uncover opportunities for growth and improvement.