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Amazon is a highly competitive marketplace. Every single day, around 3,700 new sellers join the platform and start competing for the attention of shoppers.
But don’t let that discourage you. With the right approach to Amazon Ads management, you can make your products stand out from the competition—earning visibility, orders, and profits.
In this Merch Jar guide, we'll walk you through the fundamentals of Amazon ad management. We'll cover everything you need to know about setting up campaigns, tracking performance, and optimizing for success.
Let's dive in!
Let’s start with a quick refresher—what is Amazon Ads management, and why should you care?
Amazon Ads management is the process of (you guessed it) managing Amazon PPC ads and ad campaigns. This usually involves a few related tasks, including:
All of this can be done manually via Amazon Seller Central, but there are also a variety of tools to automate the process.
With automated Amazon Ads management tools like Merch Jar, you can save time and effort while ensuring that your campaigns remain up-to-date and perform optimally.
A well-thought-out ad management strategy is one of the easiest ways to keep your costs down (while still hitting your targets).
It’s a matter of making small, targeted, fine-tuned adjustments based on real-time data rather than falling into the traps of over- and under-compensation. When you combine timely actions with reliable data, the result is lower ACOS and higher ROAS.
Ads can make your products visible to the right customers, boosting your sales and increasing brand awareness.
Targeting is at the core of Amazon Ads management—it ensures you reach out to the right audience with the right message at the right time. You can also test different ad types to determine which works best for your product.
The simplest reason to take Amazon Ads management seriously? Your competitors already do.
According to the 2022 Amazon Annual Report, the company earned $37 billion in ad revenue from 1.9 million active sellers last year—roughly $19,000 per seller.
These sellers aren’t just blindly throwing money into Amazon’s accounts—they’re taking a strategic approach to Amazon Ads management that’s earning them a profit.
If you have a large product catalog or lack the time, skills, or resources to manage your campaigns, investing in an Amazon Ads management tool is the best move you can make.
Merch Jar is designed to automate and streamline the process of managing Amazon ad campaigns at scale, with tools for:
The result? You save countless hours in manual optimization while increasing revenue and shrinking your ACOS.
Want to run more effective Amazon Ads campaigns? Start with a clear goal in mind.
Generally speaking, there are four kinds of campaigns you can run:
Once you know your goal, you can tailor your campaigns accordingly to maximize results.
This means using keywords that are relevant to the product and customer you’re targeting, setting bids according to traffic volumes, and adjusting spending limits as needed. Additionally, experiment with different ad formats, such as sponsored products or display ads.
Having a clear goal also helps you choose the metrics that will guide your success. For example, if you’re focused on conversions, you can define success in terms of sales, ROAS, and ACOS.
Ad fatigue is a modern problem that can reduce the effectiveness of your campaigns. It occurs when customers are exposed to the same ads too often, and they start to ignore them.
To combat ad fatigue, tweak your creative periodically. Use different images and videos in your ads or change their copy for a fresh look. You can also experiment with new ad formats or audiences from time to time.
Also, make sure you’re paying attention to frequency—a metric that tracks how often customers are exposed to your ads. You want your target audience to see your ad enough, but not too much—a tough balance to strike. Aim for a frequency of 5-20.
We’ll talk about how to create ad groups later on but know that you want to separate your keywords into different ad groups. Doing so will give you more precise control over the ads that are being shown for each keyword.
Here’s a simple example.
If you sell a range of men’s shoes, you can create a broad ad group containing everything from sneakers and hiking shoes for the very broad keyword “men's shoes”.
Hiking shoes aren’t relevant for the keyword “men's running shoes”, though. So you’ll need to create a separate ad group for that.
As you start creating these, you’ll start to realize that there are a ton of edge cases that you need to consider. For example, “men's athletic shoes” might encompass running shoes and track shoes.
Retargeting ads target users who have already interacted with your brand but haven’t made a purchase… yet.
They’re a powerful tool because you know that the user is already interested in what you’re selling. That makes them more likely to engage with your ad and eventually make a purchase.
By running retargeted ads, you can increase conversions by as much as 150%. It’s a great way to focus your ad spend where it’s most likely to yield a return.
Head over to Seller Central and click the three-bar menu.
Click “Advertising” and then open “Campaign Manager”.
Click “Create Campaign”.
Next, give your campaign a name.
Try to stick to a naming convention (e.g., “Retargeting Campaign October 2023”). This will make things much easier down the line.
A Portfolio is a grouping of ad campaigns that allow you to set common budgets and other settings.
Select the portfolio you want to use or create a new one if necessary. Potential grouping criteria include:
Pretty self-explanatory!
Now it’s time to set a budget.
Remember—if you have multiple Portfolios, you’re setting a budget for each one. That means you’ll need a master budget to keep track of the total.
Automatic and manual targeting are two different approaches you can take to get your ads in front of searchers.
If you’re new to Amazon advertising, go with automatic targeting—you can always fine-tune your campaign later using a tool like Merch Jar’s Promotions. More experienced Amazon advertisers will probably fare better with manual targeting.
There are three bidding strategies you’ll need to choose from:
It’s time to give your ad group a name that will be easy to identify later. Try to make it descriptive and include the products or keywords you’re targeting for even more clarity.
Now you’ll need to choose which products within the ad group you want to target. You can either select them from the list or search for specific ones.
You’ve already picked your bidding strategy, now it’s time to set your bid.
If you selected “Manual Targeting” earlier, now’s the time to add your keywords. The keywords you choose should accurately match the products or services you’re promoting.
And you’re done! Just click “Save and Finish”.
With average conversion rates between 10% and 15%, Amazon is an incredibly profitable platform for sellers who take the time to master Amazon Ads management. With a little practice and the right tools, you can become an Amazon Ads pro.
Speaking of tools, Merch Jar was designed to help sellers automate the tedious parts of Amazon Ads management. From bid optimization to keyword management, Merch Jar arms you with the tools you need to optimize your campaigns for success.
Supercharge your Amazon Ads with a 30-day free trial!
