Overview

Amazon has refreshed its Seller University tutorials to explain the various bidding options available for Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands campaigns. The new guidance, released in early 2024, walks sellers through fixed bids, two dynamic‑bidding modes, and placement‑level bid adjustments. With ad costs climbing across the platform, picking the right bidding method is essential for protecting margins while meeting sales or brand‑awareness goals.

Key Points

• Fixed bids give absolute spend control — A $1.20 bid stays $1.20 for every auction, making it ideal for product launches that lack historical performance data.
• Dynamic “down‑only” bids act as a budget guardrail — Amazon can cut the bid by up to 30 % when the system predicts a low‑conversion click, helping sellers preserve ACOS on defensive campaigns.
• Dynamic “up‑and‑down” bids can double the base amount — When conversion signals are strong, the algorithm may raise the bid by as much as 100 %, boosting visibility for well‑performing SKUs.
• Placement adjustments add a percentage boost — Sellers can increase bids by 25–50 % for top‑of‑search slots, 10–20 % for product detail pages, and leave other placements unchanged.
• Testing in separate campaigns is recommended — Running parallel campaigns with different bidding modes lets sellers compare ACOS, sales velocity, and ROAS before committing the full budget.
• Weekly performance reviews are critical — Monitoring search‑term reports and placement metrics each week helps identify wasted spend and informs bid‑adjustment decisions.

How Bidding Strategies Work

1. Set a base bid — Choose a starting amount (e.g., $0.80) based on Amazon’s suggested range for the target keyword. This figure serves as the foundation for all subsequent adjustments.
2. Select a bidding mode —
   • Fixed: The base bid is used unchanged for every impression.
   • Dynamic down‑only: Amazon may lower the bid by up to 30 % when conversion likelihood is low.