How to Set Up Amazon PPC Campaigns That Actually Make Money

Why Amazon PPC Is Non-Negotiable

If you launch a new product on Amazon in 2026 without advertising, you are invisible. Zero organic rank, zero visibility, zero sales. Amazon PPC campaigns are how you get your product in front of buyers, collect data on what keywords convert, and build the sales velocity that drives organic ranking.

The equation is simple: traffic multiplied by conversion rate equals sales. Amazon PPC is how you control the traffic side of that equation. At Marknology, we manage millions in ad spend across hundreds of brands, and the pattern is clear: the brands that invest strategically in PPC dominate their categories. The ones that try to skip it or automate it blindly bleed money.

"The equation on Amazon is traffic and conversions. Half of the equation is traffic. PPC is how you control that half. If your conversion rate is decent, PPC is how you scale."

The Right Campaign Structure (Most Get This Wrong)

The biggest mistake sellers make is dumping 50 keywords into one campaign and hoping for the best. Here is the structure that works:

Rule 1: One Campaign, One Ad Group

Multiple ad groups in a single campaign leads to uneven budget distribution. Amazon will allocate most of the budget to the ad group that performs first, starving the others. Keep it clean: one campaign, one ad group.

Rule 2: Five Keywords Maximum Per Campaign

Beyond five keywords, Amazon struggles to distribute impressions evenly. Keywords 15 through 40 in your campaign are likely getting zero impressions and zero data. You are flying blind on the majority of your targets.

Rule 3: Separate Match Types Into Different Campaigns

Your Broad, Phrase, and Exact match campaigns serve different purposes:

• Broad match: Discovery. Find new keywords shoppers are using to find products like yours.
• Phrase match: Refinement. Capture search terms that include your keyword phrase.
• Exact match: Precision. Target the specific keywords you know convert and control the bid tightly.

The Recommended Structure

• Auto campaign (broken into close match, loose match, complements, substitutes)
• Broad match campaigns for your top keyword groups
• Phrase match campaigns for your top keyword groups
• Exact match campaigns for proven converting keywords
• Product targeting campaigns (competitor ASINs and related products)
• Sponsored Brand campaigns (headline search + video)

Keyword Research That Actually Works

Start with these sources, in order of reliability:

1. Amazon's own search bar (autocomplete suggestions = real search data)
2. Competitor analysis using tools like Helium 10 or Jungle Scout to see what top competitors rank for
3. Your own Search Term Reports (the single best source of keyword data, period)
4. Brand Analytics if you are Brand Registered (search query performance data)
5. Customer reviews of your product and competitors (the language customers use is the language they search)

"Think about describing this product in the way that your mom would search for it. On Amazon you are going to say stain remover. You are not going to say how do I get a stain out of my shirt. You search differently on Amazon. That is how you need to describe your product."

Setting Up Your First Campaigns

1. Start with an Auto campaign. Set a $50 to $100 daily budget with a moderate bid ($0.75 to $1.25 depending on category). Let it run for 7 to 14 days to collect data.
2. Mine the Search Term Report. After 7 to 14 days, download your search term report. Identify keywords with good click-through and conversion rates.
3. Create manual campaigns with your best-performing search terms. Start with Exact match for proven converters. Launch Broad match campaigns for promising but unproven terms.
4. Set minimum $100 daily budgets. Control spend through bids, not budgets. A $10 daily budget tells Amazon your campaign is not important and you will get the worst placements.
5. Launch Product Targeting campaigns against your top 3 to 5 competitors. These show your product on their listing pages.

The Growth and Optimization Cycle

PPC management is not a set-and-forget game. It operates in two alternating modes:

Growth Mode (2 to 4 weeks)

• Launch new campaigns to test new keywords and placements
• Increase bids on promising keywords to get more impressions
• Expand to Sponsored Brand and Sponsored Display campaigns
• Track: Spend going up, sessions going up, sales going up (even if ACOS rises)

Optimization Mode (1 to 2 weeks)

• Negate keywords with high spend and zero or low conversions
• Lower bids on keywords with poor ROAS
• Pause underperforming campaigns
• Track: Spend going down, conversion rate going up, profit going up

This cycle repeats indefinitely. Growth, optimize, growth, optimize. The brands that win are the ones that stay disciplined with this rhythm.

5 PPC Mistakes Burning Your Budget

1. Letting software run everything. We have taken over accounts with 4,600 campaigns for 8 ASINs because an automated tool went wild. A human needs to own the strategy.
2. Ignoring the Search Term Report. This is the gold mine. If you are not reviewing it weekly, you are wasting money on keywords that do not convert.
3. Setting budgets too low. A $5 or $10 daily budget tells Amazon your campaign does not matter. You will get bottom-tier placements and terrible data.
4. Never negating keywords. Without negative keywords, your Broad and Auto campaigns are spending on completely irrelevant searches.
5. Optimizing too frequently. Amazon's data has a lag. Making changes every day based on yesterday's data leads to overcorrection. Give campaigns 7 days minimum before adjusting.

"If your conversion rate just drops slightly during a growth phase, it is understandable. You are testing new keywords. But if it craters, your listing is not built for scale."

The Metrics That Actually Matter

Stop obsessing over ACOS alone. Here is what you should track:

• TACOS (Total Advertising Cost of Sales): Ad spend as a percentage of total sales (not just ad-attributed sales). This tells you if your ads are growing the whole business.
• ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): Revenue generated per dollar of ad spend. Aim for 3x+ for profitability.
• Conversion Rate by Keyword: Which search terms actually turn into purchases?
• New-to-Brand Percentage: What percentage of your ad-driven purchases are from first-time customers?
• Organic Rank Movement: Are your organic positions improving as you spend on ads? This is the ultimate measure of PPC effectiveness.

Amazon PPC is the most powerful tool available to sellers. Used strategically, it builds your organic ranking, collects invaluable data, and drives profitable growth. Used carelessly, it burns cash. The difference is strategy, attention, and consistency.

Learn more about our approach to Amazon growth on our Amazon Experts page, or dive deeper on the Startup Hustle Podcast.