Discover & Explore — Start Here¶

Welcome. This is the landing page for anyone new to Amazon PPC, whether you just launched your first product on Amazon or you're joining a team that runs Amazon ads. Everything else in this wiki is detailed and reference-quality. This page is different — it's a guided path.

What Do You Want to Do?¶

I want to understand what Amazon PPC actually is : Start with What is Amazon PPC. It explains the basics without assuming you know anything about advertising.

I'm ready to set up my first campaigns : Follow the Learning Path below step by step. It tells you what to do and in what order.

I want to know where I stand : Take the Self-Assessment to figure out which path fits your situation.

I need wins I can use this week : Jump to Quick Wins — specific actions with real impact.

I learn best from real examples : Check the Case Studies section for campaigns that show what works and what doesn't.

Learning Path¶

The wiki is organized in numbered sections. Here's the order that actually makes sense to follow:

Phase 1: Foundations (Sections 1-2)¶

What is Amazon PPC — understand the three ad types (Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Display)
The Amazon Advertising Ecosystem — who the players are, how Amazon's algorithm fits in
Core Terminology Primer — learn the vocabulary before you try to read about strategy
Account Structure Philosophy — understand how campaigns relate to each other

Phase 2: Launch Your First Campaigns (Sections 3-4)¶

Sponsored Products — this is where almost everyone starts
Keyword Match Types — understand broad, phrase, and exact before you write your first keyword list
Product Targeting — competitor targeting once you're past the basics

Phase 3: Bidding and Budget (Sections 6-7)¶

Manual Bidding Fundamentals — learn to bid before you hand control to the algorithm
Dynamic and Rule-Based Bidding — when to let Amazon bid for you
Budget Allocation Frameworks — don't run out of money mid-day

Phase 4: Optimization (Sections 8-11)¶

Placement Types Explained — Amazon search results vs. product pages vs. elsewhere
Negative Match Types — the single most underrated skill in PPC
Core Metrics Deep Dive — ACOS, TACOS, RoAS, CTR, CVR — know what each means
Native Amazon Reports — where your actual data lives

Self-Assessment¶

Answer these three questions to find your starting point:

Q1: Do you have an existing product with sales history? - No, I'm launching a new product → Start with keyword research methodology and auto-targeting campaigns - Yes, I have data → Jump to search term harvesting and manual bidding optimization

Q2: What's your main goal right now? - Get found → Focus on Sponsored Products auto campaigns and keyword research - Protect my brand → Look at Sponsored Brands and negative keyword strategy - Grow sales efficiently → Focus on ACOS targets, placement optimization, and bid management - Test new products → Look at product targeting and competitor ASIN campaigns

Q3: What's your budget tolerance? - I need to spend carefully, every dollar matters → Start with exact match long-tail keywords and rule-based bidding - I have room to experiment → Auto campaigns + long-tail is a good starting mix - Growth is the priority, efficiency can wait → Head terms + dynamic bidding + broad match

Quick Wins You Can Implement This Week¶

These are specific actions with a clear before/after:

Add 10 negative keywords today — look at your search term report for any searches that generated clicks but will never convert (your own brand name if you're not selling it, generic searches that match your product but not the variant). Add them as negative exact.
Check your placement distribution — go to Campaign Manager → Placement tab. If more than 60% of your spend is going to "Product pages (top of search)" and your CVR there is below your average, try reducing your placement bid modifier by 10-15% for that placement.
Raise your bids on keywords with 5+ conversions and zero ACOS warnings — if a keyword is converting reliably but your ad isn't showing because your bid is too low, Amazon is just not entering the auction. A 10-20% bid increase often pays for itself.
Look at your search term report for the last 30 days — export it, sort by spend descending, and find the top 10 terms. Ask yourself: for each one, "Is this search genuinely related to my product?" If not, add it as a negative.
Check if your campaign is running out of budget — if your campaign hits its daily limit before 6pm in your main market, you're losing afternoon and evening traffic. Either raise the budget or narrow the campaign scope.

Case Studies¶

Case Study 1: New Product Launch (Kitchen Gadget, $25 price point)¶

Started with one auto campaign (all 4 targeting categories) and one exact match campaign
Initial ACOS: 42% — above target of 30%
Week 3: moved winning search terms from auto into exact match campaigns
Week 8: ACOS dropped to 26% by eliminating spend on irrelevant auto matches
Key lesson: auto campaigns are a discovery tool, not a long-term strategy

Case Study 2: Brand Defense (Supplement Brand, $45 price point)¶

Competitors were targeting the brand's product ASINs with Sponsored Display
Response: launched Sponsored Brands campaign with brand terms, raised bids on own brand keywords
Added competitors as negative targets on product targeting campaigns
Result: own brand term rank improved from page 3 to page 1 within 4 weeks
Key lesson: ignoring competitor targeting lets them capture your buyers

Case Study 3: Seasonal Scale (Outdoor Product, $80 price point)¶

Q4 strategy: created separate seasonal campaigns with 3x budget, started 6 weeks before Black Friday
Used placement bid modifiers: +50% for top of search during the peak 3 weeks
Temporarily lowered ACOS target from 25% to 30% during peak conversion period
Result: 4x normal revenue in November, Q4 ACOS averaged 28%
Key lesson: peak season is not the time to be conservative — be where the traffic is