Have a Few Minutes? Find out Where You’re Making and Losing Money in Your Amazon PPC Campaigns
Running a weekly 30‑day Sponsored Products export audit can shrink ACOS from 178% to 79%, cut monthly spend from $3,200 to $2,300 and lift sales from $1,800 to $2,900. The process isolates keywords with spend > $100 and ACOS > 70% to pause or lower bids.
Overview
Amazon sellers who regularly audit their Sponsored Products campaigns can quickly differentiate the keywords that generate profit from those that drain the advertising budget. Spending just a few minutes each week on a data‑driven review enables you to shift spend toward high‑return terms and eliminate waste, which in turn lowers ACOS and lifts overall ROI.
Key Points
- Profit‑generating keywords — A term that costs $120 in ad spend and drives $600 in sales produces an ACOS of 20%, comfortably under a typical 30% target and therefore adds net profit.
- Loss‑making keywords — A keyword that requires $250 of spend but only yields $150 in sales results in an ACOS of 167%, far exceeding most sellers’ break‑even thresholds.
- Match‑type influence — Exact‑match keywords usually achieve an average ACOS around 18%, while broad‑match terms hover near 45% because the latter capture less intent‑rich traffic.
- Bid‑to‑conversion ratio — When bids are set at roughly 1.5 times the average CPC but the conversion rate stays below 2%, the spend is typically inefficient and the bid should be reduced or paused.
- Negative keyword benefit — Introducing a negative phrase that previously cost $80 and produced zero sales can instantly shave about 5% off the campaign’s overall ACOS.
- Seasonal volatility — During peak holiday periods, a keyword that normally runs at a 25% ACOS may climb to 40% as competition pushes CPC higher, signaling a temporary bid adjustment.
How to Pinpoint Money Makers and Money Losers
- Export campaign data — Pull the most recent 30‑day performance file from Amazon Advertising, ensuring it includes spend, sales, clicks, and ACOS for every keyword. Example: A seller downloads the report for an “organic tea” campaign and sees 120 individual keywords listed.
- Sort by match type and ACOS — In the spreadsheet, first group rows by match type (exact, phrase, broad) and then order each group by ACOS from lowest to highest. Highlight any rows where ACOS falls beneath your personal target, such as 30%. : The exact‑match term “organic green tea” shows a 12% ACOS, whereas the broad‑match “green tea” sits at 58% ACOS.
Analysis & Recommendations
Why This Matters
By removing 70 low‑performing keywords and adding 15 high‑profit exact matches, sellers can free roughly $900 monthly for other growth. Exact‑match terms average 18% ACOS versus 45% for broad, so bid adjustments directly improve ROI.
Key Takeaways
- Keywords costing > $100 with ACOS > 70% (e.g., "herbal tea benefits" at 467% ACOS) are primary cost leakers.
- Exact‑match keywords typically achieve ~18% ACOS, while broad‑match hover near 45%.
- Adding a negative phrase that previously cost $80 can shave ~5% off overall ACOS.
- Weekly audits reduced monthly spend from $3,200 to $2,300 and sales from $1,800 to $2,900, dropping ACOS to 79%.
Recommended Actions
- →In Seller Central, go to Advertising > Campaign Manager, export the last 30‑day Sponsored Products report, and include spend, sales, clicks, and AC...
- →Sort the spreadsheet by match type then ACOS; filter for spend > $100 and ACOS > 70% and pause or lower bids by 20‑30% in Campaign Manager.
- →Add identified non‑converting terms (e.g., "tea bags wholesale") as negative keywords via Advertising > Campaign Manager > Negative Keywords.
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