Top Amazon PPC Optimization Mistakes

Amazon PPC optimization happens after you have started conducting your sponsored ads campaign. It’s when you realize that you’re not achieving your goals and that the ACoS (Average Cost of Sale) is excessively high.

When this happens the time is now to reverse slightly and review the live Amazon PPC campaigns. Use this opportunity to enhance the effectiveness of your Amazon sponsored ads and develop the most effective Amazon PPC Strategy.

1. Treating Amazon ads like Facebook ads

Facebook ads are like annoying pop-up advertisements that appear anywhere on the display. Amazon PPC ads don’t work in this manner.

Amazon sponsored ads will only show ads that have relevance to the buyer. One factor that contributes to this behavior is the keywords that the customer is able to type into Amazon’s search box.

2. Inadequate Amazon PPC campaign structure

Your efforts will be wasted If you do not plan your PPC campaigns in a proper manner. It is impossible to increase the size of your campaigns in the course of time.

Yes, you are able to clean and repeat or even delete the current ad and create an entirely new one. However, it can alter the performance of your listings for products and sales. Additionally, you may overspend the campaign budget.

3. Name conventions that are not systematized

This mistake might not be among the strategies for online marketing of Amazon that is available. If it is not properly executed the first time around, it can influence Amazon’s PPC optimization in the future. How?

Imagine labeling the Amazon PPC campaign “Test 123” because you’re merely A/B-testing that time. After running several tests throughout the week and finally achieving the desired results, only to accidentally launch the campaign.

In the end, you didn’t change its name since you’re planning to launch a second advertisement. The nightmare of tracking campaign names such as “Test ABC,” “XYZ ad,” or the generic “Amazon Campaign no.1.”

4. Excluding misspelled keywords

The wrong spelling isn’t a problem but is that really true? In reality, Amazon’s A9 algorithm evaluates and considers spelling mistakes in search queries.

It affects the PPC campaigns their visibility, but Amazon does not take into account it. If a user types “headphones,” it will not display ads that have “headphones” as its keyword. 

Therefore, you should start including misspelled words in your list of keywords.

Incorporate negative keywords, and even close variations, for example, “shoes” and “shoe.” However, on the other side, Amazon ignores words like “the,” “when,” “of,” and “if.”

5. Avoiding automated campaigns

With Amazon-sponsored items, sellers can choose to run either an automated and/or manual campaign.

If you’re running the Amazon PPC in an automatic campaign mode, it receives its information from the listing’s SEO information. However, this mode gives you more control over how you personalize and optimize your PPC campaign.

6. Monitoring ACoS only

For Amazon PPC optimization, one of the metrics that you must constantly monitor is ACoS, which is the advertising Cost of Sale. 

ACoS is calculated by the amount you’ve spent and divided by total revenue from one campaign. The lower your cost of sales is, the more effective. But, it’s not just a barometer for the effectiveness of your PPC campaign.

7. Mixing brand and non-brand keywords

For a review, keywords are search terms that have your brand’s name, paired with an adjective or another term. 

It is possible to use this kind of keyword if your potential customers are likely to find your product.

It is therefore not recommended to mix brand and non-brand terms in one PPC campaign.

Recommended Guide; Amazon Brand Registry.

8. Running out of stocks

You’re too concentrated on the details of an Amazon PPC optimization that you neglected the inventory. 

What’s the reason to be concerned about your product being out of inventory? One of the things Amazon evaluates is the state of your stocks. It’s among the things listed on the Amazon Retail Readiness Checklist.

9. Developing a habit of the “set-it-and-forget-it” approach

Do you know how many times you optimize your Amazon PPC campaign? When you first launched the campaign did you forget about it and let your campaign take over? 

There isn’t anything like a “magic pill” when managing Amazon PPC campaigns. It takes hard work determination, commitment, and an analytical mind to develop the most efficient Amazon PPC campaign strategy.