It’s almost impossible to reach success on Amazon without running their Ads. This marketplace has a competitive ecosystem that has firmly established itself and is unlikely to change anytime soon. 

In fact, high-ranking organic results are now much less common than they were before because of Sponsored Products, and competition has become fiercer. For some cases, PPC campaigns and keyword targeting are no longer optional. They’re fundamental to staying competitive on Amazon.

But while most sellers know they need to run ads, far fewer know how to structure them effectively. Without a clear campaign strategy, it’s easy to waste ad spend and lose track of performance across products.

That’s why this article will explain a successful method that sellers use to apply performance-based rules and make the most out of their budget.

Why structure matters in PPC Campaigns 

Campaign structure is one of the most crucial components of a successful Amazon advertising campaign. How your campaigns are organized directly affects performance, visibility, scalability, and data clarity.

When campaigns aren’t structured properly, a series of negative consequences arise. For example, it’s hard to tell what’s working and what’s not, which leads to a wasted budget on irrelevant keywords. This also affects Amazon’s ability to learn which keywords work with your listings.

In this picture we can see how the Campaign manager looks, and the different KPI’s that can be chosen and personalized to keep track of the results of your campaigns. 

On the other hand, a structured approach gives you better budget control because you get to interpret your data according to a static set of rules. This leads to faster and better optimization: You reduce wasted ad spend and double down on what works.

Even Amazon itself recommends segmenting campaigns by match type and objective to improve performance.

Key metrics

These are the key metrics to track and what they mean:

1. CTR (Click-Through Rate): Clicks divided by Impressions × 100. It measures ad appeal. A low CTR (<1%) often means your keyword or ad copy isn’t resonating with buyers.
2. ACOS (Advertising Cost of Sales): Ad Spend divided by Attributed Sales × 100. It’s a core metric for ad efficiency. Lower is generally better.
3. CVR (Conversion Rate): Orders divided by Clicks × 100. It measures relevance. High CVR means you’re attracting the right customers
4. TACOS (Total ACOS) Ad Spend divided by Total Sales × 100: It measures overall ad contribution to revenue. Useful for evaluating campaigns at the SKU level.

Amazon’s Campaign Manager shows ACOS and CTR, but not TACOS and CVR.

Platforms like Adlabs do offer a more complete view of your campaigns. In this platform, you can see ACOS, TACOS, CTR and CVR in the same overview:

Basic PPC Rules and Formulas to Start On the Right Foot

These rules are designed to help you clean up your campaigns and focus on what’s converting. Great for small to mid-size sellers. You have three main goals:

1. Improve ACOS by pausing non-converting terms and adjusting bids down when spend gets too high.
2. Focus on high-performing keywords by identifying converting terms and promoting them from Auto to Broad to Exact match.
3. Build a performance-focused campaign structure manually by using Google Sheets or Excel.

Note: Please remember that these rules are not set in stone. Coming up with an approach that’s perfectly fit to your business will always be better. However, this is a good method to start from.

Step 1: Managing Auto Campaigns

An Auto Campaign is when Amazon selects the keywords for which to show your ad. It’s easy to set up, but not very precise:

In the picture you can see the different bids the platform suggests by targeting groups (Close match, Loose match, Substitutes, Complements). 

There are also three types of bidding strategies available in Automatic campaigns:

1. Dynamic bids
2. Fixed bids 
3. Dynamic bids – down only 

The last two are a more conservative approach, though all of them can be very useful when launching your first PPC Campaigns. But they will not get you as far as a Manual Campaign in the long run.

Even the most experienced sellers still use Auto Campaigns to some extent. Why? They are great for discovering new converting search terms. And that is precisely what you will do. Once you have them, transfer them to Manual Targeting so you can focus on each keyword. 

This is how you can look for hidden search terms:

Go to your Auto Campaign > Click on Search Terms > Organize them by orders, sales or ASINs > From here, identify high-performing terms to move to a Manual campaign and poor-performing or irrelevant terms to add as negative keywords.

In the screenshot you see the different search terms that a campaign can have. The platform is detailed in the information it offers, including the impressions, clicks, spend, sales orders, and Cost per click (CPC) as measurable metrics. All this information is available for the marketers to make wise decisions with first-hand data. 

These are the rules:

• If a search term gets two or more orders, it’s a good one! Move it into a manual campaign to have more control. Then block it from showing up in Auto by adding it as a negative.
• If a term receives 10 clicks and no sales, it’s wasting money. Add it as a negative exact match so Amazon stops using it.

If a search only got one click:

• If it’s totally unrelated (like someone searching for “baby shoes” and you sell power tools), block it as negative exact.
• If it’s part of a phrase you never want (e.g., “cheap” or “used”), block it as a negative phrase so Amazon blocks anything that contains those words.

To add negative keywords you have to click on “Negative targeting”, where you will see your whole list up to that moment. Example:

Step 2: Managing Manual Campaigns

Manual campaigns mean more control because you choose the keywords and match types. The rules:

1. Start with broad match campaign (Amazon shows your ad to searches that are similar to your keyword)
2. If a search term from the broad match gets more than two sales, then move it to an exact match campaign (your ad will only show for that exact term).
3. After that, block the term from showing in the original broad campaign (to avoid overlapping your campaigns).

This process is called keyword funneling, which involves moving converting search terms into more specific, controlled campaigns. 

Manual campaigns give you much more control than Auto, as you can directly select which terms you will target very easily. Of course, you can use tools like Helium 10 to do keyword research. 

Amazon also recommends a ton of candidate keywords too. Just set your campaign to Manual and scroll to the Keyword Targeting section:

 

In the picture, we can see the keywords suggested by Amazon after creating a Manual campaign and adding the product you wish to advertise., High search terms are highlighted with green tags.

Step 3: Rules for Pausing Keywords

These apply to all kinds of campaigns. Pause any keyword if it got:

• More than ten clicks, but zero sales, and a Click-Through Rate (CTR) under 1%. 
• If impressions or clicks are super low and have no sales over two weeks.

Pausing keywords is tricky, though. You can’t pay all your attention to CTR while overlooking impressions. Why? If a term is receiving a very low number of impressions but still receives a few clicks, then maybe don’t discard it just yet. Try bidding on them before pausing. Perhaps you’ll have a highly performing keyword over time.

Step 4: Bid Adjustment

Great. So now you have your campaigns with a set of keywords that passed all earlier phases. What’s next? Bid adjustment. 

Bids determine how much you’re willing to pay for a click. You will set this depending on how well the keyword is performing. Amazon’s algorithm then decides when and where your ad will appear. Logically, the higher you bid, the more likely your ad is to appear to customers.

However, because of how PPC works, it’s surprisingly easy to let your bids eat your budget, especially in manual targeting. That’s why you having a set of rules to know when and how to adjust each bid is very, very useful. 

Each seller has their own, but here’s a basic chart to consider:

ACOS Range	Action	Formula
Above 400%	Cut bid by 50%	Current Max Bid × 0.5
200%–399%	Cut bid by 30%	Current Max Bid × 0.7
100%–199%	Cut bid by 20%	Current Max Bid × 0.8
80%–99%	Cut bid by 15%	Current Max Bid × 0.85
40%–79%	Cut bid by 10%	Current Max Bid × 0.9
Below 25%	Increase bid by 10%	Current Max Bid × 1.1

These are ACOS-Based Bid adjustments. This approach works because lowering your bids reduces CPC, which improves ACOS. In the meantime, raising the bids on low ACOS keywords will help you get more impressions and clicks while staying on your budget.

Add this chart to a Google Sheets or Excel document to keep track of your campaigns

Recommended read: How to Use Amazon Bulksheets to Manage PPC Campaigns at Scale

Warnings: 

• This system assumes your Conversion Rate (CVR) is stable. If your listing is poor, even good keywords won’t perform.
• Bids should not be changed too often. Amazon’s algorithm needs time (2–3 days minimum) to learn.
• Low bids may cause your ad to be placed in lower positions or even removed from the auction altogether.

If a keyword has a conversion rate of 30%, don’t hesitate to bid at least $2.00 from the start.

Step 5: Long-term TACOS Analysis by Product

Once the ad campaigns have been running a few months, look at the TACOS of each ASIN.

If a product is costing too much in ads compared to its total sales, it needs attention. Either reduce spend or optimize your campaign.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What’s the difference between ACOS and TACOS?

ACOS (Advertising Cost of Sales) only considers the revenue generated from your ads.
TACOS (Total ACOS) measures your ad spend against all your sales, both organic and paid. TACOS gives you a broader picture of whether your ads are helping your overall account grow and not just the ad-driven portion.

How often should I update bids or pause keywords?

You should check performance weekly, but avoid changing bids or pausing too quickly. Amazon’s algorithm needs 2–3 days minimum to stabilize performance.Are Auto Campaigns worth running long-term?

Yes, but not for scaling.
Auto campaigns are best used for discovery. Keep them running with a modest budget to collect new keyword data. Then move converting terms to manual campaigns to have more control.

What’s the ideal ACOS target?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. It depends on your product margins.
As a rule of thumb:

Target ACOS = 10–20% below your break-even ACOS
In this article, the sample rules aim for an ACOS of 25–35% as a manageable range.

What is a good CTR and CVR for Amazon ads?

CTR (Click-Through Rate): Anything above 0.3–0.5% is generally decent, but top performers exceed 1%.
CVR (Conversion Rate): Varies by category, but 10–15% is a solid benchmark. High-performing keywords can reach 30%+.

Can I use Amazon’s suggested keywords in manual campaigns?

Yes. When creating a manual campaign, Amazon suggests relevant keywords based on your listing and past data.
These are a great starting point, especially when paired with keyword research tools like Helium 10 or Jungle Scout.

What’s the benefit of moving keywords from Broad to Exact match?

It’s all about control and efficiency.. Broad match casts a wide net helpful for discovery.
Exact match ensures your ad only shows up when someone searches that exact keyword.
Moving high-converting terms into Exact campaigns helps reduce wasted spend and improve ACOS.

Do I need third-party tools to apply this method?

Not necessarily. This method is designed to work with:

• Amazon’s campaign manager
• Search term reports
• A simple Google Sheet or Excel file for tracking

Conclusion

Structuring your Amazon PPC campaigns consists of creating a reliable system that helps you make smarter decisions and reduce wasted ad spend. Amazon gives you great tools to achieve this goal, but you have to adapt your method to your business and make informed decisions.

Of course, once your campaign are up and running, heep a close eye on metrics like ACOS, CVR and TACOS to see where’s room for improvement. Stay consistent and you will grow.

Ready to Stop Wasting Ad Spend on Amazon?

Running ads on Amazon is no longer optional—it’s the key to staying competitive. But without the right structure, campaigns quickly spiral into wasted spend and missed opportunities.

That’s where we come in. At BellaVix, we help brands like yours build performance-focused Amazon ad strategies—so every dollar works harder. From dialing in Auto campaigns for keyword discovery to scaling Exact match winners, we know how to structure campaigns that cut waste and drive real sales growth.

By filling out the form below, you’ll get:

• A clear blueprint for structuring your ads around proven performance rules

• Insights into how to reduce ACOS while boosting total revenue

• Expert recommendations tailored to your catalog and margins

You don’t need to figure this out alone. Let’s map out a campaign structure that saves money, scales your best keywords, and positions your brand for long-term growth.

Fill out the form, and let’s start optimizing your Amazon ads together.