PPC Quick Start Guide Sponsored Products: Best 2025 Guide

Are you struggling to get your Amazon products noticed despite having a great listing?

You’re not alone! Amazon’s marketplace is more crowded and competitive than ever. The solution is mastering Amazon’s pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, especially Sponsored Products ads. In this PPC Quick Start Guide Sponsored Products article, we’ll show you exactly how to leverage Sponsored Products campaigns to stand out and drive sales on Amazon. By the end, you’ll know what Sponsored Product ads are, why they’re so powerful in 2025, and how to set up and optimize your own campaigns step by step. Let’s dive in!

Why Amazon PPC Matters More Than Ever in 2025

Amazon isn’t just an e-commerce site; it’s the world’s largest product search engine. In fact, over 60% of product searches now start on Amazon rather than on Google. This means shoppers on Amazon often have high purchase intent. If someone searches for a product on Amazon, chances are they’re ready to buy, not just browsing. Relying on organic rankings alone is tough when countless sellers offer similar items. That’s where Amazon PPC comes in. Running ads on Amazon puts your product front and center for relevant shopper searches, ensuring your listings don’t get lost in the crowd.

At the same time, competition on Amazon has evolved. There are 9.7 million registered Amazon sellers worldwide, but only about 1.9 million are active sellers as of 2025. Many sellers have left or gone inactive, and surprisingly, this reduced competition can be an opportunity. Fewer active sellers means more traffic per seller. For example, in the U.S., the active seller count dropped from 2.4 million in 2021 to 1.9 million in 2025, while the average traffic per seller jumped by ~31% in that period.

In other words, Amazon’s pie of shoppers is bigger per active seller than before. However, those remaining sellers are savvy and aggressive. Simply having a good product isn’t enough; you need to actively advertise to capture that increased shopper traffic. Studies even show that Amazon PPC campaigns can significantly boost brand awareness and sales velocity (with one meta-analysis noting Amazon ads are far more effective at driving purchase intent than ads on other platforms).

In short, Amazon PPC matters in 2025 because it’s the most direct way to get in front of high-intent buyers on a platform where buyers are ready to purchase. If you’re not running ads, your competitors certainly are, and they’re reaping the rewards in visibility and sales. Next, we’ll focus on the most popular ad type on Amazon: Sponsored Products ads.

Amazon’s 2025 Competitive Landscape and Sponsored Products’ Popularity

Amazon’s marketplace is hyper-competitive, but also full of opportunity for those who play it smart. There are millions of sellers, but many follow the same playbooks. As a new or growing seller, you have to differentiate yourself. First, make sure your product listing is fully optimized (great images, title, bullet points, price, etc.) to maximize conversion potential; otherwise, even the best ads won’t convert clicks into sales. For tips on optimizing listings for Amazon’s search algorithm, see our guide on How Amazon’s Search Engine Works. Once your listing is retail-ready, advertising is the next step to drive traffic.

Sponsored Products are by far the most widely used Amazon ad format. They’re the default choice for the majority of sellers because they’re effective and easy to use. In fact, roughly 74% of third-party Amazon sellers favor Sponsored Products ads as their primary advertising method. And among sellers who use any Amazon PPC, about 88% use Sponsored Products, far outpacing those who use Sponsored Brands or Sponsored Display. Why such popularity? As we’ll see, Sponsored Product campaigns are open to almost all sellers, don’t require special creative assets, and can directly boost your sales and visibility.

Another reason Sponsored Products are essential is how Amazon’s algorithm works. Paid ads can boost your organic rankings indirectly by driving sales velocity and keyword relevance. Each sale you get via PPC sends positive signals to Amazon’s system (higher conversion rate, more recent sales, etc.), which can improve your organic placement over time. So, advertising not only generates direct sales but also helps your products climb the organic search results, a double win.

Bottom line: Amazon’s competitive landscape in 2025 rewards those who advertise. If you implement the strategies in this guide, you’ll be ahead of the many sellers who either don’t use PPC or don’t use it properly. Now, let’s get specific about Sponsored Product ads and how to set them up for success.

What Are Amazon Sponsored Products Ads?

Sponsored Products are Amazon’s flagship PPC ads that promote individual product listings within shopping results on Amazon. These ads look similar to normal search results except for a small “Sponsored” label, so they blend in naturally. Sponsored Products can appear at the top of search results, in the middle or bottom of search pages, and on product detail pages (often in the “Products related to this item” carousel). With a recent update, Sponsored Product ads now also appear off-Amazon on select third-party sites and apps (like Pinterest, BuzzFeed, and others) when relevant. This expansion means your product ads can reach shoppers even beyond Amazon’s website, dramatically extending your potential audience.

So how do Sponsored Product ads work? In simple terms, you choose a product you sell, decide on keywords or product targets that match what shoppers might search for, and Amazon will display your product ad to shoppers searching for those terms or viewing related products. It’s a pay-per-click model; you only pay when someone clicks your ad. If the ad is shown but not clicked, you don’t pay a cent. When a shopper clicks your Sponsored Product ad, they’re taken directly to your product’s detail page, where they can make a purchase.

Unlike Amazon’s other ad types (Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display), Sponsored Products require no special creatives or designs. The ad uses your product’s existing listing info, the main image, title, price, Prime badge, star rating, etc., making it very easy to get started. You don’t need to design a banner or shoot a video; Amazon automatically formats the ad using your listing content. This simplicity is one reason Sponsored Products are the go-to for new advertisers.

To put it succinctly, Sponsored Products ads are the on-Amazon equivalent of Google search ads; they let you bid on keywords so your product appears prominently when shoppers search for those terms. Because these ads appear where customers are actively shopping, they often have a strong conversion rate. Shoppers see your ad in the search results, click to your page, and if your offer is compelling, they buy.

New in 2025: Amazon’s algorithms have gotten smarter about when and where to show Sponsored Products. The system now automatically adjusts ad placements and bids in real time based on shopper behavior patterns. For example, if certain hours of the day or certain placements get higher conversion, Amazon may prioritize showing your ad then/there (especially if you use features like dynamic bidding or rules). Also, as mentioned, Amazon automatically extends Sponsored Products to external partner sites, with no extra setup required on your part. This means even more potential impressions for your ads, without any additional effort.

To summarize, Sponsored Product ads are cost-per-click ads for individual products that can appear across Amazon’s search and product pages (and even off-site). They’re easy to create, charged only when clicked, and incredibly effective at driving product visibility and sales.

Sponsored Products ads look similar to regular listings, showing as relevant results with a 'Sponsored' tag. They can appear at the top of search results or within the results list, and also on product detail pages in carousels.

Why Use Sponsored Products Ads?

Sponsored Products ads offer a host of benefits for Amazon sellers, making them an indispensable tool in your marketing arsenal. Here are some of the key reasons to use Sponsored Product campaigns:

1) Immediate Visibility and High-Intent Traffic

Sponsored Products can put your item at the top of search results, meaning it’s one of the first things shoppers see. This prime placement is huge for getting clicks. Importantly, you’re reaching shoppers who are already searching for products like yours, so they’re highly likely to convert. Unlike Google Ads (where a search might be informational), an Amazon search usually means the customer is ready to buy. Sponsored Products help you intercept that purchase intent and direct it to your product.

2) Cost-Effective, Pay-Per-Click Model

With Sponsored Products, you control your budget and bids, and you only pay when someone clicks. There’s no charge for impressions. You can start with a modest daily budget (even ~$10/day to test) and scale up. This cost-per-click (CPC) model ensures your ad spend is focused on interested shoppers. You can also set a maximum bid per click that you’re willing to pay. This budget control makes Sponsored Products one of the most efficient ways to advertise; small sellers and big brands alike can find a level of spend that suits them.

3) No Creative Skills Needed, Uses Your Listing

Sponsored Product ads are generated automatically from your product listing. There’s no need to design banners or produce videos. If your product page has a good title, images, and reviews, your ad will reflect that. This low barrier to entry means you can launch campaigns quickly without creative overhead. Essentially, your product detail page is your ad creative. Amazon even updates the ad in real time (e.g., if you change the price or run out of stock, the ad reflects that or stops showing).

4) Highly Relevant Targeting

You have flexible targeting options to reach relevant shoppers. Keyword targeting lets you bid on specific search terms (e.g., “organic dog treats” or “running shoes men”). Product targeting allows you to have your ads show on specific ASINs or categories (e.g., on a competitor’s product page or within a category like “Dog Treats”). Amazon also offers an automatic targeting mode where Amazon’s system chooses keywords for you based on your listing content. This is great for beginners to discover which searches work best. In short, you can cast a wide net automatically or use pinpoint manual targets, or both. This flexibility ensures your ads reach the right audience.

5) Fast Results and Measurable Impact

Once you launch a Sponsored Products campaign, you can start getting impressions and clicks within hours. Most sellers see initial data in a day or two of launching a campaign. That means you can quickly tell if your ads are driving traffic. Over a couple of weeks, you’ll gather enough data to gauge performance and make optimizations. Every aspect is measurable; you can track clicks, spend, sales, Advertising Cost of Sales (ACoS), etc., from Amazon’s campaign dashboard. This data-driven feedback loop helps you refine campaigns to improve results continually. Few other marketing methods on Amazon offer such a quick and clear ROI measurement.

6) Boosting Organic Sales & Rank

Sponsored Products don’t just get you paid sales; they often lead to a halo effect on your organic sales. By driving more buyers to your listing and moving more units, your product’s sales history and sales velocity improve, which in turn can raise your organic search ranking for key terms. Additionally, if you’re launching a new product, PPC ads can generate those crucial first sales and reviews to kickstart organic momentum. Many Amazon experts view a well-run Sponsored Products campaign as essential for launching products successfully and for sustaining sales over time through rank improvement.

7) Versatility for Different Goals

Sponsored Products can be used in various strategies. For example:

• Product launches: Get initial visibility and sales for a new product.

• Clearing inventory: Push older or overstock products with ads to increase sell-through.

• Defending your turf: Bid on your own brand name as a keyword so competitors don’t steal those clicks (brand defense strategy).

• Cross-selling: Target your ads on your own complementary products’ pages to encourage customers to buy related items from you.

• General growth: Drive more traffic to your listings to increase daily sales.

In summary, Sponsored Products ads are a proven, cost-efficient way to increase your product’s visibility and sales on Amazon. They require minimal effort to create, give you full control over spending, and deliver your ads to high-intent shoppers. It’s hard to overstate their importance. In 2025, nearly three-quarters of Amazon sellers use Sponsored Products as a core part of their marketing, precisely because they work so well. If you want to maximize your Amazon revenue, Sponsored Products should be one of your first stops.

Sponsored Products ads blend into shopping results, making them a natural part of the customer’s browsing experience. They drive immediate visibility and can quickly boost sales for the advertised product."

Who Can Use Sponsored Products Ads?

One of the great advantages of Sponsored Products is that almost any Amazon seller can use them. You do not need to be a big brand or have special permissions (unlike Sponsored Brands, which require Brand Registry). Here are the eligibility details:

1) Seller Account Requirements

Sponsored Products are available to Professional Seller account holders, as well as Amazon Vendors, book vendors, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) authors, and agencies managing seller accounts. If you sell on Amazon through Seller Central with a Professional plan, you’re eligible. (Individual sellers without a professional plan generally cannot run sponsored ads.) Most sellers reading this guide will meet this criterion.

2) Product Requirements

The products you want to advertise must be in stock and eligible for the Featured Offer (Buy Box). Amazon will only display ads for listings that can actually make a sale at that moment. If you’re not the Buy Box winner on your listing (for example, if Amazon Retail or another seller is winning it), your Sponsored Product ad typically won’t show. Additionally, your product must be in an eligible category for advertising. The vast majority of categories are eligible, but a few restricted categories (e.g., adult products, some closed categories) cannot be advertised. Always ensure you follow Amazon’s ad policies, and products must comply with Amazon’s content guidelines (no prohibited content, etc.).

3) No Brand Registry Needed

Unlike Sponsored Brands (which require you to be brand-registered), Sponsored Products do not require Brand Registry. This is a huge plus for newer sellers who haven’t trademarked their brand yet. You can still run ads on your items as long as you have a professional account and the buy box. This also means retail arbitrage or wholesale resellers can use Sponsored Products for the items they sell (again, assuming they have the buy box). Amazon doesn’t restrict Sponsored Product ads only to brand owners; anyone selling a product can advertise that product.

4) One Seller at a Time

It’s important to note that only the Buy Box winner’s ad can show for a given product at a time. If you and other sellers are on the same listing, effectively, only the seller with the buy box will have their Sponsored Product ad shown (since the click directs to the buy box offer). This is why maintaining competitive pricing and seller performance to win the buy box is critical if you want your ads to display. If you lose the buy box, Amazon will pause your ad impressions for that product until you win it back.

In summary, any Amazon seller with a Professional account and an eligible, in-stock product can use Sponsored Products. This includes third-party (3P) sellers across all Amazon marketplaces, as well as first-party (1P) vendors through Vendor Central. Even authors can advertise their books via KDP. The broad availability of Sponsored Products is a key reason they’re the most popular ad type; they’re the entry point into Amazon advertising for most sellers. If you’re unsure about your eligibility, double-check that you have a Pro account and that your product category isn’t restricted. Barring a few exceptions, you should be good to go.

Pro Tip: If your product isn’t eligible for the Buy Box, for example, used items or collectible books, you won’t be able to run Sponsored Product ads on it. Also, some categories, like Alcohol, have advertising restrictions. Consult Amazon’s advertising policies if in doubt.

Where Do Sponsored Product Ads Appear?

Sponsored Products enjoy prime real estate on Amazon’s platform. Knowing where your ads can show will help you understand their impact:

1) In Search Results

This is the most prominent placement. Sponsored Product ads can appear at the very top of the search results page, ahead of all organic results (often labeled “Sponsored” or “Featured”). They also appear within the search listings; for example, one or two ads might be sprinkled after a few organic results, labeled as ads. And they can show at the bottom of the page as well. Top-of-search placement is highly coveted because it typically yields the highest click-through rate (CTR). Amazon allows advertisers to bid extra for “top of search” placement via placement modifiers, which shows how valuable it is. When your ad holds a top-of-search slot, it’s practically the first thing a shopper sees after entering their query, dramatically increasing your visibility.

2) On Product Detail Pages

Sponsored Products also appear on competitors’ product pages. Scroll down a detail page and you’ll often see a carousel like “Sponsored products related to this item” or “Products related to this item.” These are ads, and your Sponsored Product ad can show up there if you target that product or if Amazon deems your item related. These product page placements put your item in front of shoppers who are already looking at a similar product, giving you a chance to lure them to your listing instead. It’s a form of display advertising, but using your product listings. These ads blend in with the “Related products” carousels that Amazon naturally has, so users often scroll through and click them, much like they would any product.

3) Off Amazon (External Websites/Apps)

A major update in late 2023 and into 2024 is that Amazon now syndicates Sponsored Product ads to external partner sites. According to Amazon’s announcement, Sponsored Products ads can appear on third-party websites and apps, such as Pinterest, BuzzFeed, Hearst media properties, Ziff Davis sites (like Mashable, Lifehacker), and others. These are contextual placements, meaning if a person is browsing an article on, say, BuzzFeed about holiday gift ideas, Amazon might show Sponsored Product ads for Amazon products relevant to that context.

If the user clicks, they’re taken to Amazon to view the product. Importantly, this external reach is automatic; advertisers don’t need to create separate campaigns. Amazon’s default setting, “Maximize Reach,” places your ads off-site when appropriate. If you prefer a more conservative approach, Amazon offers a “Minimize Spend” setting to limit external impressions. Either way, your Sponsored Products can now reach beyond Amazon’s own site, which is a big deal for expanding brand awareness. The best part is you don’t pay extra for these external placements; it’s still the usual CPC model and part of your normal campaign spend.

4) Across Devices (Desktop & Mobile)

Sponsored Products appear on all device types. On desktop, they might show in a grid or list; on mobile, they often appear as a swipeable carousel in search or as inline items. Amazon automatically optimizes the ad format for the device. This ensures you’re reaching shoppers whether they’re on a phone, tablet, or computer. (Mobile placements are especially important; a large portion of Amazon’s traffic is mobile, and Sponsored Products are heavily featured in the mobile shopping experience, often as the first scrollable row of results.)

In short, Sponsored Product ads can show up anywhere a customer is browsing products: at the top, middle, or bottom of search result pages, on other product pages, and even off Amazon on partner sites. This wide distribution means Sponsored Products capture shoppers at multiple points in their journey, during product discovery (search) and during consideration (comparing on detail pages).

Amazon reports that ads may also appear on “Amazon-owned and operated sites” beyond the Amazon marketplace itself (for example, on IMDb or other Amazon properties, though Sponsored Brands/Display are more common for those). But the key takeaway is that wherever a shopper might be looking or reading about products, Amazon wants to be there, showing them a relevant Sponsored Product ad.

Understanding these placements helps you strategize. For example, top-of-search is best for high-intent keywords where you want maximum exposure, whereas product page placements might be great for conquering a competitor’s audience. Amazon’s reporting even breaks out placement performance (top of search vs rest of search vs product pages), so you can adjust bids accordingly.

The recent extension to external sites is also significant, as it broadens the funnel. A user might see your product ad on a news site even if they weren’t on Amazon at that moment, potentially attracting new customers. And remember, all this happens seamlessly under the Sponsored Products umbrella. No wonder Amazon said, “Sponsored Products has always been about helping customers discover products they may love,” and now they’re extending that mission beyond Amazon’s walls.

How Much Do Sponsored Product Ads Cost in 2025?

One of the first questions sellers ask is “How much will I spend on Amazon PPC?” The good news is that Sponsored Products have no set fee; you can spend as little or as much as you want, since you control bids and budgets. However, it’s useful to know the typical cost-per-click and ad spend trends in 2025 to plan your strategy. Let’s break down the cost considerations:

1) Average Cost-Per-Click (CPC)

Amazon advertising is an auction system, so the cost per click varies by keyword, category, and competition level. In 2025, the average CPC for Amazon ads is around $1.00. Multiple analyses show the overall average CPC on Amazon has risen to roughly $0.91–$1.04 per click. Ad Badger’s data specifically puts the current average at $1.04 (about $0.07 higher than the previous year). In other words, expect to pay about a dollar each time someone clicks your Sponsored Product ad, on average. This is still relatively low compared to Google Ads in many categories, which often cost several dollars per click.

2) CPC Range by Category

The average is just that, an average. Actual CPCs depend heavily on your niche. Competitive categories like high-end electronics, supplements, or popular consumer goods see higher CPCs, while niche categories have lower CPCs. For example, data shows:

• Sponsored Products in most categories average about $0.85 to $1.10 per click.

• In hyper-competitive niches (supplements, luxury electronics), CPCs can exceed \$2 or \$3, especially for very popular keywords. In some cases, top keywords in supplements or electronics can even approach \$5 per click if there’s aggressive bidding.

• Conversely, in less competitive niches (say, handmade crafts or obscure hobby products), you might see clicks for $0.50 to $0.75 because fewer sellers are bidding on those terms.

• Sponsored Brand ads (headline ads) tend to cost more per click (often $1–$3), and Sponsored Display varies, but Sponsored Products remain the most cost-effective ad type in terms of CPC.

3) Rising Costs Trend

It’s important to note that Amazon’s ad costs have been rising year-over-year. The average CPC has increased roughly 7-10% from 2024 to 2025. Many sellers are concerned about rising ad bids, and with good reason. If your category suddenly gets hot or more brands flood into ads, the bidding war drives prices up. Amazon’s own financial reports show advertising revenue grew ~19% in early 2025, indicating more spending by advertisers. As a seller, you need to keep an eye on your ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sales) to ensure that even if CPCs rise, you maintain profitability. Later in this guide, we’ll touch on strategies to combat high CPC (like using long-tail keywords and negatives).

4) No Minimum Spend:

Amazon does not require a minimum campaign spend or a monthly fee for Sponsored Products. You can start a campaign with, say, a $5 daily budget and $0.50 bids if you want. That said, to gather meaningful data and make sales, a higher budget is often beneficial. Many experienced sellers recommend at least \$20–\$30 per day per campaign as a starting point. If your budget is too low and you get a lot of clicks, your ads might run out of budget by afternoon and stop showing, which means missed opportunities. With a $20-$30/day budget, you’re likely funding enough clicks (20-30 clicks at $1 average CPC) to potentially get a sale or two and have data to optimize with. You can always adjust budgets up or down anytime.

5) Bidding Strategy

You set a max bid for each keyword or target; that’s the most you’ll pay for a click. The actual amount you pay is often slightly above the next highest bidder’s amount (second-price auction). For instance, if you bid $1.00 and the next highest competitor bid $0.75, you might win the auction and pay around $0.76 for that click. Amazon provides suggested bids for keywords based on historical data, which can guide you. You can also choose automated bidding strategies (dynamic bids up/down, etc.), where Amazon adjusts your bids in real time to try to maximize conversions or value. As a quick tip, consider starting with Amazon’s suggested bids or slightly lower, and then adjust after seeing performance. If a keyword is not getting impressions, you may need to increase your bid. If it’s getting clicks but no sales (and costing you), you might lower the bid or add it as a negative.

5) Daily Budget Tips

When setting your campaign’s daily budget, remember that Amazon might exceed the daily budget by up to 25% on a given day (but will not exceed your total budget over the month). This is to account for days of high traffic. For example, if you set $20/day, Amazon could spend up to $25 in one day, but then will underspend on other days to average $20 over 30 days. Also, if your budget is frequently running out (Amazon will show a “campaign out of budget” notification), consider increasing it. A campaign that stops at 2 PM daily due to the budget cap could be missing out on evening sales. It’s usually better to have a budget that covers the full day’s demand. You can always pause or adjust if spending too fast.

6) Cost per Acquisition

Another way to look at cost is your ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sales) or its inverse, ROAS (Return on Ad Spend). ACoS = ad spend ÷ ad-attributed sales. For instance, if you spend $10 and get $50 in sales, ACoS = 20%. You want an ACoS that aligns with your profit margin. Many sellers aim for an ACoS at or below their profit margin so they’re not losing money on ads (some will tolerate a higher ACoS for a while to boost rank or for new products).

In 2025, a rough benchmark: an ACoS of 20% or less is considered good in many categories, meaning you spend 20 cents to get a dollar of sales. A 10-15% ACoS is excellent (very efficient), and anything above ~30-40% might need optimization unless you have huge margins. We mention this here because cost-per-click alone doesn’t tell the full story; two sellers could both pay $1 per click, but if one converts 1 in 5 clicks and another converts 1 in 20 clicks, their ACoS will be drastically different. So manage your CPC, but also work on improving conversion rates (through better listings, targeting, etc.) to make each click count.

To recap, you have a lot of control over Sponsored Products costs. Typical CPCs are around $0.7 to $1.0 for many products, but can be a few dollars in hot markets. You decide how much to bid and budget, so you can scale spend according to your comfort level. Start with a test budget and see what kind of results you get. Many sellers find that spending on PPC is an investment that comes back with increased sales and organic growth. As long as you monitor your results and adjust, you can keep PPC profitable even as costs fluctuate.

(Fun fact: According to one study, advertisers in 2025 are spending more on Amazon ads than ever, but 45% of sellers also say managing their ad spend is a challenge due to rising costs. Don’t be intimidated, with the knowledge from this guide, you’ll be equipped to manage your bids and budgets wisely.)

How to Launch Your First Sponsored Products Campaign (Step-by-Step)

Now that you know the why and what of Sponsored Products, let’s walk through how to set up a campaign. Creating a Sponsored Product campaign is straightforward using Amazon’s advertising console. Follow these steps to get your first campaign up and running:

1) Sign in and Create a New Campaign

To start, log in to your Amazon Seller Central account and navigate to the Amazon Advertising Console (you can also go directly to advertising.amazon.com and sign in). In Seller Central, you can find it under the “Advertising” menu > “Campaign Manager”. Once you’re in the campaign manager, click the “Create Campaign” button. Amazon will present you with ad type options: Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display. Select Sponsored Products.

Next, you’ll be asked to choose a campaign type/objective if applicable. Amazon sometimes updates the interface with a guided setup. In most cases, for Sponsored Products, you can proceed without a specific “goal” selection, or Amazon might simply tag your campaign as driving sales.

Note: If Amazon asks for a campaign objective, just pick the one that best fits, e.g., “Sponsored Products, Promote individual products”.

2) Name Your Campaign and Set Duration

Now fill in the basic settings:

• Campaign Name: Give your campaign a descriptive name so you can identify it later. For example, “SP, Running Shoes Launch, Feb 2025” or “SP Automatic, Dog Treats, All Stars”. A good naming convention includes the ad type (SP), the product or category, and maybe the strategy (auto/manual) or date. This is internal for your reference; customers don’t see it.

• Start Date: Choose when you want the campaign to begin. You can start immediately (default to today) or pick a future date if planning.

• End Date: You can either set an end date or leave it open-ended (no end date). For continuous advertising, many sellers do not set an end date; you can manually pause or stop the campaign when you want. If you’re running a short-term promo or have a finite budget, you might set it to run for a month, for example. For a quick start, it’s fine to have no end date and just monitor the campaign over time.

3) Set Your Daily Budget

Decide how much you’re willing to spend on this campaign per day. Enter that value as the Daily Budget. As discussed in the cost section, there’s no minimum, but a realistic starting budget might be \$20/day (you can do less if you’re cautious, or more if you have the budget). This budget is the average daily spend. Amazon might spend a bit more on one day and less on another, but over the month it won’t exceed daily_budget * number_of_days.

If you have multiple campaigns (say one for each product or category), remember the budgets are per campaign. For example, 3 campaigns each at $20/day could theoretically spend up to ~$60 in a day (if each maxed out). Plan according to your total ad budget. You can always adjust these on the fly, so don’t stress too much; it’s better to start and get data, then refine.

4) Choose Targeting Type: Automatic or Manual

This is a crucial setting for Sponsored Products. Amazon will ask if you want Automatic targeting or Manual targeting for the campaign:

• Automatic Targeting

Amazon’s system will automatically match your ads to relevant search terms and products. It uses your product information (title, description, category, etc.) to decide when to show your ad. This option is great for beginners or when you want to discover new keywords. It requires less work; you don’t have to input keywords. Amazon will also adjust bids slightly for different matches if you use the default set. Automatic campaigns are excellent for research: after running one, you can check the search term report to find which search queries converted to sales, then use those in manual campaigns later. For a quick start, we recommend starting with an Automatic campaign if you’re new, because it casts a wide net and teaches you what the market responds to.

• Manual Targeting

You provide specific targets, either keywords or product ASINs/categories (or both, in separate ad groups). Manual targeting gives you precise control. You can choose keyword match types (broad, phrase, exact) and set individual bids per keyword or product target. This is ideal once you have some keyword data or if you already know keywords you want (e.g., brand name, very relevant product terms). Manual campaigns often yield better ACoS once optimized, because you can eliminate wasteful spending and focus on proven terms. However, they require more setup and ongoing adjustment.

For this first campaign, pick one. You can actually do both by setting up one auto campaign and one manual campaign in parallel. But to keep it simple: if unsure, select Automatic targeting for your first campaign. If you feel confident with some keywords, you can select Manual. (We’ll assume automatic in this setup for simplicity, and later we discuss building manual campaigns.)

5) Select Your Products to Advertise

Next, choose which products you want to include in this campaign. Amazon will show you a list of your eligible listings. You can select one or multiple ASINs.

Strategy tip: It’s often best to advertise one product (or a close-knit group of variations) per campaign, especially for manual campaigns, so you can tailor keywords and budgets to that product. For an automatic campaign, you could add multiple products, and Amazon will handle each. However, if the products are very different, it’s usually better to separate them for clarity in reporting. In this Quick Start, select the main product you want to boost.

For example, select your “Running Shoes, Blue, Size 9” ASIN. If you have parent/child variations (say the same shoe in different sizes or colors), you can decide whether to include all variations in one campaign or split them by variation. Including all variations can give Amazon more opportunities to find a sale (if blue doesn’t sell, maybe red will), and they share a budget. Splitting allows you to control each variant. Many sellers advertise at the parent level (which effectively covers all children).

After you check the box for the desired product(s), Amazon may ask you to set a default bid (for automatic campaigns) or start adding keywords (for manual). Let’s cover bidding next.

6) Set Bids and Targeting Details

If you choose Automatic targeting, Amazon will show a “default bid” field. This is the base CPC bid Amazon will use for all automatic matches. Amazon might suggest a default bid based on category averages. For example, it might say “Suggested default bid: $0.75”. You can accept the suggestion or adjust. For a new campaign, it’s fine to start around the suggested bid or a bit lower if you’re cautious. (e.g., if it suggests $0.75, you might put $0.70). Keep in mind, if your bid is set too low, your ads may not win auctions and you’ll get few impressions. If it’s too high, you might spend more than necessary per click. You can change this later, so pick a reasonable number to start.

Amazon also allows bid adjustments by targeting group, even in auto campaigns. In auto campaigns, there are four match types Amazon uses in the background: close match, loose match, substitutes, and complements. You can set higher or lower bids for those specifically. As a quick start, you can leave those at the default (100% of your default bid). This is advanced tuning that you can explore once data comes in.

If you chose Manual targeting, you’ll need to add keywords or product targets:

For keywords, Amazon will often suggest a list of relevant keywords for your product, along with suggested bids for each. You can choose match types for each keyword (Broad, Phrase, Exact). A broad match covers searches that contain your keyword terms in any order (plus possibly other terms); phrase match covers searches containing your exact phrase in order (with possible words before/after); exact match means the search is exactly your keyword or a close variant. Broad gets more reach, exact is more precise. For each keyword, you can set a specific bid or use a default for all and adjust some. In a quick start, you might add, say, 10-20 highly relevant keywords.

Example: for running shoes, keywords like “men running shoes”, “running shoes size 9”, “blue running shoes”, “marathon shoes”, etc. Use a mix of match types (Amazon can help with suggestions).

For product targeting: Instead of keywords, you can target specific ASINs (competitors or complementary products) or categories. For instance, target the category “Men’s Running Shoes” or a competitor’s shoe ASIN. You can refine category targets by brand, price range, star rating, etc., if you want to focus. Set bids for these as well.

Manual setup is more involved, but very powerful. Amazon’s “Suggested” tab and “Search” tab (to find keywords) can be useful to pick targets. For an initial manual campaign, you might stick to ~10-20 keywords that you believe are most relevant, using suggested bids as a baseline.

Tip: Start with automatic campaigns for discovery, then use those search term reports to fuel manual campaigns. Many experts recommend running both an auto campaign to harvest new keywords and a manual campaign to hone in on proven winners. According to Amazon, a balanced approach (auto for discovery, manual for control) often yields the best results.

7) Choose Bidding Strategy (Dynamic Bids/Placements)

Amazon provides three bidding strategy options:

• Dynamic bids, down only: Amazon will lower your bid in real-time if it thinks a click is less likely to convert (no increase, only decreases).

• Dynamic bids, up and down: Amazon might raise your bid by up to +100% if a click seems very likely to convert, or lower it if not likely.

• Fixed bids: Amazon always uses your set bid, no adjustments.

For beginners, “Dynamic bids, down only” is a safe choice. It ensures you never pay more than your bid, and Amazon might help save some cost on low-chance impressions. “Up and down” can increase spend (Amazon could double your bid for top of search if it thinks it’ll convert, for example). That can be useful once you trust the algorithm and have more data, but it can also spend more. Fixed bids give you full control but no algorithmic help.

You can also set placement multipliers (bid adjustments) for “Top of Search” and “Product Pages”. For example, you could say “increase bids by 50% for top of search placement.” If you’re brand new, you can skip setting these for now, or set a small increase (like +15% for top of search) if you strongly want to appear there. These multipliers let you bid more aggressively for valuable placements. They’re optional but powerful. It might be wise to revisit this after your campaign has run a bit and you see which placement yields better ACoS. Initially, leaving them at 0% (no adjustment) is fine for a quick start.

8) Launch and Monitor Your Campaign

Double-check your settings and then hit “Launch Campaign.” Congratulations, your Sponsored Products campaign is now live! Amazon will usually take a short time to start delivering ads. In many cases, your ads can start appearing within an hour or two (sometimes sooner). Amazon might also review the ads if they trigger any policy flags (e.g., in restricted categories), but for most products, there’s no manual review required for Sponsored Products (unlike some category-specific ads).

Once launched, you’ll want to monitor your campaign regularly. In the first 24-48 hours, you may see some impressions and maybe clicks. Don’t panic if you spend a bit with no sales immediately; it can take a little time to get traction and data. After a few days to a week, analyze the performance:

• Check how many impressions and clicks you got. Are you getting enough impressions? If impressions are very low, it could mean your bid is too low or your product is not indexed well for the keywords. Consider raising bids if needed.

• Look at any spending and sales. If you have conversions, great, which search terms/product targets drove them? If you’re running auto, download the Search Term Report after a couple of weeks to see actual search queries that led to clicks and sales. This is gold for refining your approach.

• Calculate ACoS (Amazon shows it in campaign manager if sales occurred). Is it looking profitable? If ACoS is too high, you might need to lower bids on expensive keywords or improve your listing (maybe your price is high, or your listing could convert better).

• If certain keywords or targets spent a lot without sales (in manual campaigns), consider pausing them or adjusting bids down. If certain ones have great ACoS, you might increase their bids for more exposure.

For automatic campaigns, you can add negative keywords to block irrelevant searches. For example, if you sell premium running shoes and you see your ad showing for “cheap running shoes” and got clicks from bargain hunters who didn’t buy, you might add “cheap” as a negative term. Negatives prevent wasted spending. Initially, you won’t set any negatives, but as data comes in, use them to refine.

Lastly, consider expanding to manual campaigns once you have some data. Take the best search terms from your auto campaign that converted and create a manual campaign targeting those terms with exact match. This way, you can bid appropriately for them and drive even better efficiency.

Launching a Sponsored Products campaign is just the beginning; the real improvement comes from continuous optimization. But even out of the box, a basic campaign can start driving sales and learning for you. Many sellers are amazed to see their ad-generated sales after just a short time.

For example, one seller might find that after launching an auto campaign for “dog treats,” within a week, they spent $30 and got 5 sales totaling $100, an ACoS of 30%. With tweaks (e.g., removing a costly broad term that ate $10 with no sales), their ACoS could drop to 20% the next week. This iterative process is how you turn a basic campaign into a finely tuned sales machine.

We’ve now covered how to get your campaign up and running. Next, we’ll discuss some optimization tips and advanced strategies to take your Amazon PPC to the next level, once you have the basics down.

Advanced Strategies and Optimization Tips for Sponsored Products (2025)

Once you have a campaign or two running and have gathered some data, it’s time to optimize and consider advanced PPC strategies. Amazon PPC in 2025 is more sophisticated than ever, but that also means more opportunities for savvy sellers to gain an edge. Below are some advanced tactics and tips to help you maximize your Sponsored Products performance:

1) Leverage Search Term Reports & Add Negative Keywords

One of the most powerful optimization tools is the Search Term Report (available in your advertising reports). This report shows exactly which user search queries triggered your ads and what the outcomes were (clicks, spend, sales, etc.). Analyze this data:

• Identify high-performing search terms: If certain queries have a good conversion rate or ACoS, consider adding them as exact match keywords in a manual campaign (or increasing bids on them if already in your campaign).

• Identify wasteful spend: Find search terms that got many clicks but no conversions, or totally irrelevant terms. Add these as negative keywords to your campaign to prevent future ads on those searches. For example, if you sell premium coffee and see clicks coming from “free coffee samples,” that’s irrelevant to making a sale, so negative match “free” or “samples”. Sellers often improve ACoS significantly by trimming out mismatched traffic.

• Match type refinement: You might find a term that converts well, but you were matching it on a broad level. Adding it as an exact match with a tailored bid can boost efficiency. Meanwhile, you might reduce bids on the broad version or add negatives for close variants that don’t perform.

Make it a habit to review search terms at least every week or two initially. As Amazon itself suggests, regularly adding negatives and focusing on high-converting terms is key to reducing wasted ad spend. Over time, your campaign will become “leaner”, all money going to terms that work.

2) Optimize Bids by Placement and Time (Dayparting)

Dayparting is an advanced strategy where you adjust your campaigns to run at specific times of day or days of the week when performance is best. Amazon’s ad console now allows advertisers to schedule advertising times (or you can use rules or third-party tools). For example, if you notice most of your conversions happen in the evenings, you could schedule your campaign to concentrate the budget in the evening hours and lower it overnight. Some sellers pause campaigns during low-conversion hours to conserve budget. In 2025, tools (and Amazon’s bulk operations) have made this easier, and many experienced sellers engage in dayparting to improve efficiency.

To use dayparting:

• Check your data by daypart (you might need to download reports and pivot by hour if Amazon’s UI doesn’t show it directly). See if ACoS or conversion rate is significantly better at certain times.

• If yes, consider increasing bids or budgets during peak hours, and decreasing or pausing during off-peak.

• Be cautious: dayparting requires enough data to be sure. If uncertain, you might run campaigns 24/7 but with slightly higher bids during prime shopping hours (perhaps evenings and weekends when people shop more).

Amazon shoppers are global and shop at all hours, but depending on your product, you might see patterns. (E.g., office supplies might see less traffic at 3 am, while insomnia remedies might actually sell at night!). Advanced sellers even adjust by day of week, maybe weekends have more window shoppers who don’t convert, so they bid down then, etc. This level of control can eke out extra ROI.

3) Experiment with Bid Optimization & Rule-Based Adjustments

Amazon PPC is not “set and forget.” To optimize:

• Raise bids on keywords that have good conversion and low ACoS; you may be able to get more volume by bidding up a bit. For instance, if a term has 10% ACoS, it’s very profitable; try raising the bid by 20% and see if you get even more impressions and still an acceptable ACoS.

• Lower bids on keywords or targets that are getting clicks but at too high an ACoS. If you still want to advertise on them (maybe strategic reasons), a lower bid will reduce cost per click and hopefully improve efficiency.

• Pause keywords that consistently perform poorly (after sufficient data). There’s no point burning budget on terms that just don’t convert for you.

• Use Amazon’s suggested bid range as a guide, but not a rule. Don’t be afraid to bid above the suggested amount if you know a term is super valuable (you might need to for top placement), or below if you want cheap long-tail traffic.

• If you have the Budget Rule feature, you can set rules to increase the daily budget during high-demand periods (like the holiday season or Prime Day) so you don’t run out, and decrease it afterward. Similarly, you can use Dynamic Bidding strategies as mentioned to allow Amazon’s AI to help adjust.

In 2025, many sellers also use machine learning tools or bulk sheets to adjust bids at scale. But even manually, checking your key metrics weekly and tweaking bids will keep your campaigns healthy. Aim to gradually bring your ACoS down (or ROAS up) while also growing total sales.

4) Use Product Targeting 7 ASIN Conquesting

Sponsored Products isn’t just about keywords. Product targeting is a potent feature. You can target competitor ASINs so that when a shopper views their product, your ad for a similar product appears. This is sometimes called ASIN conquesting; you attempt to “steal” the sale by luring the customer to your product. To do this effectively:

• Identify top competitors in your niche (the ones ranking next to you, or brands you want to take market share from).

• In a manual product targeting campaign, add those competitor ASINs as targets. Set a reasonable bid; often, product page placements might need slightly lower bids than search, since conversion can be lower when people are already on a product (they might be less likely to switch).

• Ensure your offer is compelling compared to the competitor. If your ad shows up on their page but your price or reviews are much worse, the shopper might stick with the original product. Use ASIN targeting where you have an advantage (better price, better rating, different feature).

• Monitor results; some ASIN targets will perform great (especially if that competitor often runs out of stock or is priced higher), while others may not. Refine accordingly.

You can also target complementary products. Example: If you sell phone cases, targeting “phone screen protectors” ASINs could snag shoppers who might also need a case. This can broaden your reach.

Amazon allows category targeting, too, which is a broader way to appear on many product pages in a category. You can refine by price range, star rating, etc. Category targeting is good for exposure, but keep an eye on relevance; sometimes it can show your ad on somewhat loosely related items.

5) Implementing Negative Keyword Strategies (for Automatic Campaigns)

We touched on adding negatives from search term reports. But it’s worth highlighting a strategy: run auto and manual campaigns together and segment via negatives.

For example: Run an Auto campaign to discover new terms, but add as negative exact any keywords that you’re targeting in your Manual campaign. This way, you avoid “double dipping” and let the manual campaign handle those specific terms, while the auto focuses on finding new ones. This strategy channels each campaign to its purpose. Also, consider adding negatives to campaigns targeting broad terms when you find certain variations don’t convert. E.g., your broad keyword “running shoes” might show your ad on “kids running shoes” queries that are not relevant if you only sell adult shoes; you’d add “kids” as a negative in that campaign.

Negatives can be at the campaign or ad group level and can be exact or phrase match. Use phrase negatives carefully (they block any search containing that phrase). Typically, exact negatives are safer for blocking specific queries without losing broader matches.

6) Track Key Metrics & Continuously Optimize

To excel in Amazon PPC, track metrics beyond just sales:

• ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sale), we’ve discussed, key profitability metric.

• TACoS (Total ACoS), ad spend as a percentage of total overall sales (including organic). This tells you how ads impact the total business. If TACoS is dropping over time, it means organic sales are growing relative to ad spend, a good sign that your ads are boosting organic performance.

• CTR (Click-Through Rate), the percentage of impressions that turned into clicks. If CTR is very low (say <0.3%), it might indicate your ad isn’t very relevant or your main image/title isn’t attracting clicks. A good CTR on Amazon could be around 0.5-1% or higher, depending on the category. You can improve CTR by testing different main images (now Amazon allows main image experiments via Manage Your Experiments) or by ensuring your ad is showing on highly relevant queries (by refining keywords). 

• Conversion Rate (CVR): of the clicks you get, how many convert to sales. This often ranges widely, but say 5-15% is a common ballpark on Amazon. Higher is better, obviously. If CTR is fine but conversion is low, it signals a possible listing issue or that you might be targeting too broad an audience. Optimize your product listing (images, price, description) to improve conversion, or adjust targeting to more intent-focused keywords. Amazon’s average conversion rate on ads can be around 10% for many categories.

• Impressions Share, Amazon now provides impression share data for campaigns (how often your ad showed versus how often it could have). If impression share is low on important keywords, consider raising the budget or bid. If it’s high but sales are low, maybe that keyword’s not worth it.

• New-to-Brand metrics (if you’re a brand-registered seller, Amazon provides NTB%, indicating how many ad sales are from first-time customers to your brand). If your goal is customer acquisition, a high NTB% is good; if you mostly want immediate ROI, you might not care as much who buys as long as they buy.

Consider using tools like Amazon’s Campaign Manager, Brand Analytics, or third-party software (Helium 10, Jungle Scout, etc.) to track these metrics more easily. These can help identify trends and opportunities.

7) Take Advantage of New Features & Trends

Amazon continually adds features. Stay updated on new targeting options or reports. For example, Amazon has introduced search query performance dashboards, budget optimization recommendations, etc. In 2025, 34% of Amazon sellers are using AI tools to help manage PPC, from automating bidding to generating ad content suggestions. You might explore AI-based PPC optimizers that can crunch your data and suggest changes faster than manual analysis. Just be cautious and review any AI-driven changes; don’t blindly accept them.

Also, Amazon’s algorithm can change. Strategies that work now might shift. For example, some sellers observe that Amazon is giving more weight to listing quality and seller performance in ad ranking (not just bid). So ensure your listing quality is top-notch (high-res images, clear title, etc.) and your seller metrics (stock availability, reviews) are good; these indirectly improve your ad performance. This aligns with Amazon’s goal: to show ads that lead to happy customer purchases.

Finally, watch your competition. If a new competitor comes in and starts bidding insanely high, don’t get drawn into a bidding war that wrecks your profitability. Sometimes it’s okay to yield on a keyword and find more niche ones. Conversely, if a competitor runs out of stock or reduces ads, that’s your chance to capture more traffic, maybe increase your bids then.

By applying these advanced strategies, dayparting, bid optimization, negative keywords, product targeting, and diligent metric tracking, you’ll elevate your Sponsored Products campaigns from basic to pro level. Many of these optimizations can lower your costs and raise your sales significantly. Amazon PPC success is really about constant refinement: launch, test, analyze, tweak, and repeat. The sellers who embrace this cycle are the ones who dominate their niches over time.

Remember, even small improvements (a few percent better conversion rate, a slightly lower CPC) can compound into large gains in profitability. Be patient and persistent; the data will guide you to the best results. And if all of this feels overwhelming, consider consulting with or hiring experts (there are Amazon PPC agencies and consultants who live and breathe this, even our team at My Brand Genius is here to help if needed). But armed with this guide, you have all the essentials to get started and succeed on your own!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What’s the minimum budget needed to start Amazon PPC?

There is no official minimum daily budget requirement; you could start with even \$5 or \$10 per day if you want. Amazon allows very small budgets. However, most successful sellers recommend starting with at least \$20–\$30 per day per campaign to gather meaningful data and see results.

How long does it take to see results from Amazon PPC?

Typically, you’ll begin seeing clicks and initial data within 24–48 hours of launching a campaign. Amazon ads start serving pretty fast. However, seeing substantial results (like consistent sales or statistically significant performance metrics) takes a bit longer. Generally, plan for about 2–4 weeks to gather enough data to make informed decisions. In the first few days, you might get some sales, but the performance can be volatile. Give the campaigns a couple of weeks to run so you can identify patterns, which keywords are working, what times convert, etc.

Should I use automatic campaigns or manual campaigns (keywords) as a beginner?

Ideally, use both in tandem. If you’re brand new, start with an Automatic campaign to let Amazon do the initial heavy lifting in finding relevant search terms. Automatic campaigns are great for discovery. Amazon will show your ad on a variety of related searches and product pages. After a couple of weeks, check which search terms led to sales (from the report). Then, create a Manual campaign with those high-performing keywords for more control (bid optimizations, exact match targeting, etc.).