How to structure Amazon PPC campaigns so they scale
A campaign structure that keeps research, scaling and brand defence apart, so you can see what is working and move budget with confidence.
Most Amazon advertising accounts we audit don't have a bidding problem. They have a structure problem. Keywords that should be tested sit next to keywords that are already proven, branded and non-branded search share one budget, and nobody can say which campaign is paying for which sale.
A clear structure fixes that. It won't lower your ACOS overnight, but it makes every later decision easier: what to scale, what to cut and where the next pound should go.
Separate campaigns by job, not just by product
Every campaign in the account should have one job. We use three:
- Research campaigns find new search terms. Automatic campaigns and broad or phrase match keywords live here, with modest bids and a fixed budget.
- Performance campaigns scale what is proven. Only exact match keywords and product targets that have already converted move here, and they get most of the budget.
- Brand campaigns defend your own name. Searches that include your brand are cheap and convert well, so they belong in their own campaign where they can't flatter the results of everything else.
Keeping these apart means a strong brand campaign can no longer hide a weak research campaign, and you can see the true cost of winning new customers.
Graduate search terms on a schedule
The link between research and performance is the search term report. Once a week, look at the terms your research campaigns paid for:
- Terms that converted at an acceptable cost move to a performance campaign as exact match keywords.
- Those same terms are added as negative exact keywords in the research campaign, so the two campaigns stop competing for the same search.
- Terms that spent without converting, or are clearly irrelevant, become negatives.
Set your own thresholds before you start, for example a number of clicks without a sale, and apply them the same way every week. Consistency matters more than the exact number.
Group products that share a margin
A target ACOS only makes sense against a margin. If one campaign mixes a product that makes 40% with one that makes 15%, any single target is wrong for at least one of them. Group products with similar margins and price points, and set targets per group.
Calculate your break-even ACOS for each group (the margin before advertising, as a percentage of price). Anything below that line is profitable on the first sale; anything above it needs a reason, such as launching a product or winning reviews.
Use placements and dayparting carefully
Top-of-search placements often convert better, but they cost more. Look at placement reports for each performance campaign and raise placement adjustments only where the numbers support it. The same goes for time of day: trim bids when shoppers browse but don't buy, rather than switching campaigns off completely.
A weekly routine that keeps it tidy
- Review search terms and graduate or negate them.
- Adjust bids on performance keywords against each group's target.
- Check budgets: campaigns running out before the evening are leaving sales on the table.
- Look at total sales, not only ad sales. Advertising should lift organic rank too.
The routine takes an hour or two a week for most brands, and it compounds. After a few months the account almost manages itself, because every keyword is in the right place for its job.
Where to start
If your account has grown without a plan, don't rebuild everything at once. Start by pulling branded search into its own campaign, then set up one research and one performance campaign for your best-selling product group. Once that runs smoothly, repeat it for the next group.
If you would like a second opinion on your current set-up, our Amazon team can review the account and show you where the budget is going.
