How to create your first PPC campaign?

What are PPC campaigns?

PPC (Pay-Per-Click) campaigns on Amazon allow you to advertise your products and only pay when a shopper clicks on your ad. These campaigns can help boost your product’s visibility and sales.

Step-by-step guide to creating your first PPC campaign

Step 1: Log in to Seller Central

Step 2: Set up campaign settings

You’ll be directed to the Campaign Settings page, where you need to set the following:

Campaign name: Choose a unique name for your ad campaign.
Daily budget: Set your daily budget. (See Step 1 for tips on how to calculate this.)
Campaign time frame: Choose the start and end dates for your campaign.
Targeting type: Select either Automatic or Manual targeting.
Choosing your targeting type: Manual vs. Automatic
Automatic targeting: Amazon will automatically target your ads based on your product information, saving you time. No need to input keywords manually.
Manual targeting: This option gives you more control, allowing you to choose specific keywords for your ads.

There is no “best” type; it depends on your business strategy. We’ll walk you through how to set up both options.

Setting up a manual PPC campaign

Step 1: Select manual targeting

On the Campaign Settings page, choose Manual targeting and click Continue to next step.

Step 2: Set up your ad group

You’ll be prompted to name your ad group and select the products you want to advertise.

Step 3: Choose your default bid

Set your default bid amount based on your budget and goals. You can use the formula from Step 1 to calculate this amount. If you use this formula, you won’t need Amazon's Bid+ option, as it already adds a 50% buffer.

Step 4: Select keywords and match types

You can either use Amazon’s keyword suggestions or add your own. When adding your keywords, choose the appropriate match type:

Broad match: Your ad appears when a shopper searches for your keyword in any order or includes similar variants.
Phrase match: Your ad shows up when a shopper searches for your exact keyword, with other words before or after it.
Exact match: Your ad only appears when the shopper searches for the exact keyword without additional words.

Tip: To avoid overlapping bids, add your Exact match keywords to the Negative Exact section in your Broad match ad group. You can find the Negative Keywords section by clicking on your campaign, under the second tab.

Setting up an automatic PPC campaign

Step 1: Select automatic targeting

On the Campaign Settings page, choose Automatic targeting and click Continue to next step.

Step 2: Set up your ad group

Just like in the manual setup, name your ad group, select the products to advertise, and enter your bid amount.

Step 3: Save and finish

Once you’ve set up your ad group, selected products, and entered your default bid, click Save and finish. Your automatic PPC campaign is now ready to go!