Amazon has become a global giant in the world of online marketplaces, attracting a staggering 223.72 million visitors each month. For sellers looking to make their mark in such a fierce and competitive environment, advertising is an integral part of scaling their business. However, the competition is intense, with every seller vying to get their products in front of potential consumers. This is where PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising comes into play. When done right, PPC can significantly boost your sales, enhance your brand image, and build awareness in your niche. But, to truly gain a competitive edge over your rivals, a well-planned and tested strategy is crucial. Without proper optimization and careful bidding, even the smallest mistakes in your PPC campaigns can become costly.

Starting on a new platform like Amazon often involves a lot of trial and error. Many marketers find themselves falling into the same pitfalls as they navigate the world of Amazon PPC. From the outset, it’s important to refine your strategy step by step. We’ve seen that advertisers often make the same common mistakes repeatedly, which can hinder the success of their PPC efforts. To help you avoid these pitfalls and get started quickly, we’ve put together an overview of the 10 most common mistakes in Amazon PPC. These are the errors that can be easily prevented with a bit of foresight and careful planning. By recognizing these mistakes early on, you can set your campaigns up for success and ensure that your efforts in selling on Amazon are both effective and efficient.

It’s easy to think that Amazon and Google are the same when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO). After all, they both want to show the best products and ads to their users, right? But the truth is, they have very different algorithms and techniques that determine what ranks high.

What works on Google might not work on Amazon, and vice versa. Sellers often make the mistake of using the same strategies on both platforms, which can lead to sub-optimal results. For example, a keyword that performs well on Google might not be as effective on Amazon, because Amazon customers use different search terms. That’s why it’s crucial to understand the unique algorithms and techniques of each platform. You need to tailor your strategies to each platform to get the best results.

Think of it this way: Amazon is a marketplace, while Google is a search engine. On Amazon, customers are looking to buy specific products, so their search terms are more focused. On Google, customers are often researching different options, so their search terms are broader. This difference in search intent means that you need to use different keywords and strategies to reach your target audience on each platform

Let’s face it: running Amazon PPC campaigns can feel like navigating a jungle. You’re constantly bombarded with data, trying to analyze what’s working and what’s not. But without a solid structure and organization, you’re setting yourself up for frustration and lost profits.

Think of it like this: would you try to build a house without a blueprint? Of course not! You need a plan to guide your construction and ensure everything fits together. The same goes for your Amazon PPC campaigns. A well-structured campaign makes it much easier to analyze your advertising reports, understand the reasons behind your success or failure, and improve your campaigns to scale your business.

Many sellers make the mistake of throwing all their products into one big campaign. This makes it impossible to track which products are generating clicks and which ones are driving sales. It’s like trying to find a needle in a haystack! Instead, experts like those at SellerApp recommend structuring your campaigns by product, targeting, and campaign type. This way, you can easily see which keywords are underperforming and need adjustments, and which campaigns are delivering the best results.

Here’s a simple example: Imagine you sell both bike golves and car covers on Amazon. Instead of lumping them together in one campaign, you should create separate campaigns for each product. This allows you to tailor your targeting, bids, and ad copy to the specific needs of each product. You can even create separate campaigns for different variations of the same product, like different sizes or colors. This level of detail will help you get more precise with your targeting and ultimately drive more sales.

Why is this so important?: Because a well-structured campaign makes it much easier to analyze your data and make informed decisions. You can easily see which keywords are performing well, which campaigns are driving the most sales, and which products need more attention. This allows you to optimize your campaigns for maximum efficiency and ROI.

Here’s a breakdown of some common campaign structuring mistakes: 

• Not segregating campaigns well:

Many sellers make the mistake of not segregating their campaigns well. Let’s say you want to analyze and measure what campaigns are working well and which keywords are underperforming. To better understand advertising reports and the reasons behind the success or failure of campaigns so that you can improve and scale accordingly, you need to have a good campaign structure. Sellers need to avoid grouping a large number of products together under the same campaign.

• Separating variations of the same product:

While grouping, variations of the same product need to be in the same campaign but some sellers make the mistake of separating them. Improper structure mixes it all up and makes it extremely difficult to understand which products generated clicks and which ones generated high sales.

Here’s what Amzinity’s Amazon PPC experts recommend while structuring your campaigns:

• Consider the products that require maximum budget coverage: While deciding what and how many campaigns to have, consider the products that require maximum budget coverage.
• Evaluate budget diversity, Keyword or ASIN targeting, and type of campaign strategies: Then, evaluate budget diversity, Keyword or ASIN targeting, and type of campaign strategies.

The following PPC structuring strategy is a template tailored for Sponsored Product campaigns:

{Ad Type} – {Campaign Type} – {Targeting Type}- {Product} – {Strategy}

For example, here are two properly named campaigns:

1. SP – Automatic – KW – A01XXXXXXX – Bike Golves – Dynamic Bidding
2. SP – Manual – PAT – A02XXXXXXX – Car covers – Buyer Keyword or Converting Search Terms

Here’s some additional points which you should need to perform:

Create a separate campaign for brand keywords, top buyer keywords & Competitor Product targets.

Additional Read: How to Optimize Your Amazon PPC Campaigns for Maximum ROI

Imagine spending your precious advertising budget on clicks that lead nowhere. That’s the reality for many Amazon sellers who haven’t mastered the art of negative keyword targeting.

Sellers often conduct Amazon keyword research to find high-volume, top-converting keywords that they want their ads to target. But they forget to do the equally important task of finding keywords that their ads should not target.

Think of it like this: you want your ad to show up for searches related to your products. But when your ad shows up for searches that generate traffic and clicks but no conversions, or for unrelated products, your ad budget gets drained. This is where negative keyword targeting comes in. By adding a list of negative keywords to your campaigns, you can prevent your ads from showing up for irrelevant searches, saving you money and improving your results.

Keyword harvesting is a powerful technique for expanding the reach of your ads and offering more targeted bids. It involves collecting relevant keywords from your automatic campaigns, feeds, or other platforms and adding them to your manual campaigns.

Imagine you’re running an automatic campaign for your new line of bamboo sheets. You’ll notice that Amazon is showing your ads for various related search terms, like “bamboo bedding,” “organic sheets,” or “eco-friendly bedding.” By harvesting these keywords and adding them to your manual campaigns, you can create more specific targeted bids for these terms, increasing the chances of your ads being seen by potential customers.

Sellers often make the mistake of adding a list of negative keywords and this results in wasted ad spending. In this respect, sellers forget to check Amazon’s Customer Search Terms Report which gives you insights into keywords that are bringing in sales. But since these reports give you data only at an ad group level, sellers don’t realize how difficult it is to extract the useful information they need from it.

Keyword harvesting can help you uncover valuable keywords that you might have missed during your initial research. It’s like tapping into a hidden treasure trove of data that can help you refine your targeting and boost your sales.

By combining negative keyword targeting with keyword harvesting, you can create a powerful Amazon PPC strategy that maximizes your ROI and drives more sales.

When managing Amazon ads, understanding the right bidding strategies is crucial. Many advertisers overlook the key differences between Dynamic Bidding (Up and Down), Dynamic Bidding (Down Only), and Fixed Bids. Dynamic Bidding (Up and Down) allows Amazon to increase your bid by up to 100% when conversions are likely, while Dynamic Bidding (Down Only) lowers your bids when chances of conversions are low. Choosing the wrong strategy can bleed your budget, leading to reduced efficiency and higher ad costs. On the other hand, Fixed Bids keep your bid static, regardless of market fluctuations or the number of conversions. For new advertisers, opting for a safer strategy like Dynamic Bidding (Down Only) might be the best way to avoid costly mistakes.

Another common error is using the same bid for every product. Not all products have the same conversion rate (CR) or average order value (AOV), so it’s essential to predict the expected performance for each one. Adjusting bids too quickly, especially when you don’t have enough data, can lead to poor decisions. Early on, your data will likely be fragmented and not detailed enough at the product level to make accurate predictions. Aggregate your data to get a clearer picture, helping you to set specific bids that maximize your chances of success without offering too much or too little.

Competitors can use your brand name to advertise and potentially steal consumers who could have been reached organically. This means your own advertisements might cannibalize your organic sales. To avoid this, it’s crucial to analyze brand-related searches separately and apply a distinct target and strategy.

When it comes to Amazon PPC, the entire process requires careful optimization at every step. Whether you’re a beginner, an intermediary, or a large established seller, using PPC is essential to promote your business and stay ahead in the competition. This powerful tool can help you ace your rivals and ensure you don’t lose out on important sales. However, achieving optimal results demands being cautious and paying close attention to detail.

Throughout your advertising journey, it’s crucial to remember the key points and avoid the common mistakes that others have made. Commit to refining your strategy and don’t repeat these errors in your future campaigns. By being mindful and thorough, you’ll find that your efforts will soon yield the most optimal outcomes, helping your business thrive on Amazon.