How to Fix the Most Common PPC Problems

59% of brands that use Amazon PPC face increasing advertising costs (Source: Jungle Scout).

Unoptimized PPC campaigns cause wasted ad spend and missed sales opportunities. If your campaigns drain your budget with little to no returns, learn how to fix Amazon PPC problems.

This is where this article comes in.

It discusses the most common PPC problems and actionable steps to fix them. We will show you exactly how to fine-tune your Amazon PPC campaigns to boost sales.

So, let's get started.

What are Amazon PPC campaigns & are they worth it?

Amazon PPC (pay-per-click) is a paid advertising model where you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. It gets your products in front of shoppers who are searching for relevant keywords or items on Amazon. Plus, it helps boost your products' visibility and increase sales.

Let's assume you sell premium kitchen knives on Amazon. You will bid on specific keywords like "best chef knives" or "premium kitchen tools" so your product appears in search results. This will increase your chances of getting more clicks and sales.

Three benefits of ad campaigns

According to JungleScout, 71% of third-party and 79% of first-party sellers use at least one form of Amazon PPC to drive their sales. PPC campaigns target shoppers actively searching for products like yours, increasing the chance of a sale.

Here are 3 main benefits of creating PPC campaigns:

• Increased product visibility: Your products appear at the top of the search results, creating maximum exposure.

• Better budget control: You can set specific budgets and only pay for results, making your advertising spend more efficient.

• Improved organic ranking: Your organic listing will rank high in search results as you increase sales through your campaigns.

How to fix Amazon PPC problems (10 ways)

Identify the gaps in your current Amazon PPC campaign and apply the following actionable steps and tools to optimize your results.

1. Focus on keywords & bidding if you have high clicks but 0 sales

You are 56.55% likely to increase your account's performance with exact match keywords, compared to 27.34% with broad match keywords (Source: Loud Digital).

If you are getting clicks without any sales, your keywords bidding strategy is not working. This is one of the primary reasons why you may be overpaying for Amazon PPC ads. Your keywords might be driving irrelevant traffic, or your bids may be too high for low-converting keywords.

Here's how you can fix this:

• Lower your bid for exact-match keywords and the ad group that is not converting well. 

• Identify poor-performing keywords (with less than 1% conversion rate or a high CPC with low sales) with Helium 10's Cerebro.

• Don't use phrase-match keywords in high-priority campaigns (for example, a search for “organic coffee beans” can trigger ads for “how to roast organic coffee beans”) because they can pull in too many irrelevant searches. Use broad match or exact match keywords like branded keywords.

• Use negative keywords to identify and exclude keywords that attract irrelevant clicks. Identify which terms are costing you without converting. For example, if you sell men’s shoes, add women’s shoes as a negative keyword so Amazon doesn’t display your ads for users searching for that term.

• Test bids on a product level and don't use the same bid across all SKUs. Use a bid automation tool for each product based on performance.

• Run keyword harvesting campaigns with Helium 10. Use broad match keywords initially to discover high-performing keywords. Then, shift to exact match keywords for the top performers.

2. Set an ACOS target to make it easier to optimize your campaigns

Your ACOS should be 25%-40%, which is the average range for Amazon sellers (Source: Jungle Scout).

Setting a target within this range will make your campaigns more cost-effective and drive more sales. This helps you determine how much you are willing to spend on Amazon ads against the sales you are generating through them.

For example, if your ACOS target is 20% and your profit margin is 25%, you will remain profitable and drive sales.

Here's what you need to do:

• Calculate your break-even ACOS. Determine your product profit margin. If it's 30%, your target ACOS should be below this.

• Automatically lower your bids when your ACOS exceeds the target with Dynamic Bidding (Down Only) in Amazon's advertising console. 

• Focus on profitability alongside your revenue and direct your efforts toward campaigns that stay within your target ACOS, even if they generate fewer clicks.

• Eliminate poor-performing campaigns that consistently overshoot your ACOS. Reallocate the budget to higher-performing keywords.

• Monitor ACOS using Amazon's performance dashboard. Set weekly or daily reviews with SellerApp or other automation tools to stay within your target range. 

3. Clearly define your Amazon PPC goals for better campaign structure & organization

You're 4x more likely to have success if you actively set clear goals for your campaigns (Source: Co Schedule).

Without a well-defined goal, it's hard to measure your campaigns’ success or even optimize them. Whether you want to increase brand awareness or drive more sales, your goals should be clear from the outset.

Clear, measurable goals will increase your Amazon PPC campaign's performance and deliver the results you want to see.

Here's what to do for this:

• Break down your goals into smaller SMART goals. These are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound goals. For example, "Increase sales of [product] by 15% in Q4."

• Create separate campaigns for different goals. For example, focus on Sponsored Brands for brand awareness and Sponsored Products campaigns for sales.

• Use campaign naming conventions to organize your campaigns based on product type, goal, and time frame. For example, "[Product Name_Sales_Q4."

• Set calendar reminders to review and adjust your goals quarterly based on market changes or product performance.

• Monitor each goal separately and track performance metrics like ACOS and conversions for each specific goal using Amazon's Campaign Manager.

4. Invest in listing optimization & detail page quality to  boost your conversion rates

50% of your customers will take 28 minutes to buy after they land on a product page with high intent.

Even if your PPC campaign strategy is perfect, it won't convert into clicks if your product page doesn't meet your customers' expectations. So, you have to fully optimize your product listing to convert most of your ad traffic into buyers.

Plus, if you have detailed, accurate product information, you will increase customer retention by building trust.

This is especially useful for brands that operate in a highly competitive space like health and wellness. For example, brands that sell products requiring high consumer trust, like Green Supply, can optimize their product pages to secure high conversion rates for most of their consumers who expect transparency, product efficacy, and clear details. This will encourage your customers to buy.

Here's what to do:

• Add your primary keyword to your title and highlight your product's benefits in your bullet points. Use a listing optimization tool for this, like Helium 10.

• Use Amazon's A+ Content Manager if you are brand registered to add premium visuals and more detailed descriptions.

• Collect at least 15 reviews because your shoppers will trust your products more with social proof. Send follow-up emails with Helium 10’s Follow-Up tool to request reviews from your happy customers.

• Display promotions and special offers like discounts or coupon codes at the top of the product page to encourage quick sales.

• Use additional sales channels like dropshipping to reduce your costs further using these 6 steps to start dropshipping for free. This will complement your Amazon strategies, reduce upfront costs, and expand your reach.

• Use high-quality images and videos to show your product from different angles, and add a couple of lifestyle images. You can also create infographics to highlight features with Canva.

5. Monitor performance for strategic campaign improvements

Monitoring your PPC performance and making relevant adjustments can give you a return on investment (ROI) of 200%.

If you track your Amazon advertising metrics, you will know what works and what doesn't. This consistent analysis will make sure you don't waste your money on ineffective campaigns. Plus, it will create customer loyalty as you refine your campaigns for customer and keyword relevance.

Here's what you should do:

• Check your ACOS weekly with Amazon's Campaign Manager to make sure every campaign is within your target range. 

• Use Amazon Attribution to track which campaigns are driving off-Amazon traffic and allocate more of the budget to high-performing channels.

• Review search term reports that show which keywords and branded keywords drive more traffic and sales. Automate this process with Helium 10 or a similar tool.

6. Invest in the right bidding strategies to avoid over-spending

You will deplete your budget quickly without achieving your goals if you spend too much or bid inefficiently. This is where advanced bidding strategies come in. They reduce your ad spend and maintain or increase your sales.

Amazon offers 3 bidding strategies:

• Fixed Bids

• Dynamic Bidding (Down Only)

• Dynamic Bidding (Up and Down)

The key to controlling your costs is knowing when and how to use each of these.

Here's what you need to do:

• Test fixed Bids for seasonal campaigns because they give you complete control over how much you spend per click. Use them for short-term campaigns where you already know the keyword performance, like holiday promotions.

• Use Dynamic Bidding (Down Only) for low-converting keywords to adjust your bid down when Amazon predicts a lower chance of conversion. You won't overbid this way for exploratory campaigns with less historical data.

• Use Dynamic Bidding (Up and Down) for high-converting keywords with proven results, as Amazon increases bids when conversions are more likely. 

• Adjust your bids based on performance with Amazon's "Adjust Bids by Placement" tool to increase bids for top-of-page placement where visibility is key.

• Monitor your bidding strategy's impact on ACOS to compare how different bidding strategies affect your ACOS and adjust as needed.

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7. Invest In Amazon PPC automation to focus on core PPC tasks

65% of your high-intent searches will increase clicks on your PPC ad.

This makes automatic campaign settings an important step for you to save hours and increase ad efficiency. Plus, you can then focus on strategic tasks like keyword research and performance optimization instead of adjusting bids and campaign settings.

You can set up different rules for different ad campaigns with automation to manage your manual campaigns based on performance metrics.

Here's what to do:

• Set automation for negative keyword harvesting to automatically add underperforming keywords to your negative keyword list to prevent wasted ad spend. Manage this process with Helium 10 or a similar tool.

• Schedule automatic performance reports with Helium 10 to receive daily or weekly reports on campaign performance. This will let you review your data in one glance.

• Set automated rules for high-performing campaigns with a low ACOS to maintain current bids and monitor changes.

• Set rules to raise bids for high-performing keywords and lower them for poor-performing keywords.

• Set specific rules to increase or decrease bids based on conversion rates, ACOS, and other key metrics with Ad Badger or any other bidding automation tool.

8. Focus on search intent to connect with your customers on a deeper level

80% of your customers likely use informational search intent, while the rest use navigational and transactional search intent.

Search intent is the goal a customer has when entering a search term on Amazon. Understanding this improves your conversion rate because your ads will display accurate information that meets their exact needs. Plus, if you tailor your ads and keywords to match intent with different ad groups, you will automatically increase ad efficiency.

Here's what to do:

• Research buyer personas to understand search intent and create detailed customer profiles to identify their search behaviors and needs.

• Match your ad copy to search intent. For example, if your customers search for "budget-friendly outdoor gear," your ad should reflect affordability, not just quality.

• Use specific, long-tail keywords instead of a broad keyword like "hiking boots." Add intent-specific terms like "best hiking boots for beginners." 

• Create different campaigns for different search intentions. Separate campaigns based on different stages of the buyer's journey, like awareness vs. intent to purchase, and organize these with Amazon's campaign manager.

• Monitor search term reports to find keywords that best align with your customer's intent and shift your budget to keywords that drive the most conversions.

9. Create video ads to boost your customer reach

Video ads will increase your customers' search intent by 35% because these ads give them more detailed product information and engage them more effectively.

These ads show your product in action, explain key features, and engage potential buyers. Plus, they increase your visibility and help build trust with shoppers who wish to see your product before buying.

For example, brands that need to create an emotional response to encourage a purchase, like Whole Wood Playhouses, can use video ads. They can highlight the easy assembly of their products, their eco-friendly materials, and the attention to detail in their handcrafted designs.

A video demonstrating children playing in spacious interiors, climbing the loft, and sitting on the furniture can especially evoke the desired responses from parents.

Here's what you need to do:

• Use professional-grade video production or services like VideoAds to create high-quality, engaging product videos for your ads to showcase your product's best features.

• Use the video to highlight your product's unique selling points and focus on what sets your product apart, like ease of use or durability. Keep your videos short and to the point. For example, create 30-second ads for Sponsored Brand Videos.

• A/B test different video formats, lengths, and content focus to see which performs best. You can run these tests within your Amazon campaigns with Jungle Scout.

• Add videos to product listings on individual product detail pages to further reinforce your product's value.

• Track video ad performance separately with a video ad reporting tool. Monitor views, clicks, and conversion rates to optimize your ads based on engagement metrics and feedback.

5 Steps to Run Smooth Advertising Campaigns on Amazon

Assess any flaws in your current process, and make adjustments every couple of months following these steps:

• Review your budget to make sure it is enough to support your campaigns. Adjust your bids and use dynamic bidding (down only) to avoid overspending.

• Optimize your product listings alongside your PPC ads, including titles, bullet points, and images.

• Set clear KPIs and monitor them weekly with Amazon's Campaign Manager—track metrics like ACOS, CPC, and ROAS.

• Automate repetitive tasks and generate detailed reports highlighting improvement areas with automation and reporting tools.

• Test different ad types and formats. Experiment with Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Displays, and Sponsored Product Ads to find the best format for your audience type.

Conclusion

Refine your keywords and optimize your bids as a starting point to get the most out of your ad spend. As you gain traction and your campaigns grow, you can expand into some of the more advanced strategies here, like geo-targeting or automation.

We specialize in streamlining Amazon PPC for sellers just like you. With over a decade of experience in tailored campaign optimization services, we're your best pick to cut costs, boost sales, and dominate your niche on Amazon.

Contact us today to take your Amazon PPC campaigns to the next level.

Author Bio:

Burkhard Berger is the founder of Novum™. He helps innovative B2B companies implement modern SEO strategies to scale their organic traffic to 1,000,000+ visitors per month. Curious about what your true traffic potential is?