How to run Amazon PPC optimization and what tool to take?

There has been a sharp increase in PPC spending for Amazon sellers mainly observed through the most recent months of this year. According to the official estimate, a general cost-per-click bid winning cost average (approx. $0.28-0.30) has been continuously climbing to be increased by about 20% so far this year (approx. $0.35-0.35). As for now, it means that the increasing number of online retailers selling over there are definitely facing a challenge. The thing is that many sellers are now pushed to using Amazon PPC – instead of some previously performing methods of marketing, such as an incentivized ban for Amazon reviews seen earlier this year. 

As a result, the lion’s share of big-time merchants is now shifting towards Amazon PPC optimization via tool or specifically tailored online services. After all, it’s probably the only reasonable way of driving the potential and setting a solid foundation for more reviews (at least for now). Put simply, a general course of Amazon’s PPC is now seen evolving into something even more competitive than ever before. 

So, let’s face it – if you are running business over there, your estimated spending for Amazon PPC optimization becomes a really critical issue. Of course, if you don’t want just to start burning your hard-earned cash, because spending resources through the areas which are actually beyond your control is hardly a well-formed decision, right? It means that every ecommerce seller is now strongly recommended to get at least the basic knowledge about optimizing Amazon PPC spending and the right tool to finally get assured against getting their money wasted due to their inappropriate targeting. Here is how you can do that. First of all, let’s learn how to tell any break-even ACoS metrics (i.e., Advertising Cost of Sale) from a well-targeted effort so that you can maintain a reasonably acceptable level of profitability (net margin). 

Tips for Optimizing Amazon PPC and Tool to Assist You

Let’s face it – the most critical takeaway is that the average PPC cost has been actually increased for nearly every product category, of course, except for a number of more special sections like sports and music memorabilia. And given that now there is an increasing number of sellers trading on Amazon marketplace, you’d better get prepared and have everything in place with optimizing your Amazon PPC using tool that fits the purpose best way possible. Here is what you’re recommended to proceed with.

Specify Your ACoS Target to Maintain Product Margin

When it comes to estimating the overall performance of your ad campaign, the first thing to be done there is to get the right metrics. You will need it, in any case, just to have an accurate measurement that would allow you track the average PPC cost carried out for each individual item you’ve got on sale. As already mentioned in the beginning, the Advertising Cost of Sale (the ACoS) is the primary metrics measuring your ads performance that indicates your common ratio of advertising expenses weighed against your sales taken at scale. In other words, the ACoS stands for ads percentage needed to push the product to a successful sales deal. For example, if your item on sale is expected to generate $100, being supported with $25 spent on ads, then you will have a 25% ACoS percentage. 

That way, a quarter of every dollar you earn as a seller would be spent namely on ads. And it means that you need to run a more accurate check procedure to make sure each cent sliced by ads is spent with its maximum effectiveness, and without cutting your expected net profit margin (the final cash amount left for you after the very basic costs, such as Amazon and FBA fees, as well as any other costs deducted from your selling price by way of shipping and freight charges, etc.). I personally recommend to think twice and pick your own “breakeven” rate of the ACoS, pending on your business conditions. For example, setting the ACoS metrics on a threshold of 15% means that your final ad spending is intended to be kept somewhere below this amount (your target ACoS). Doing so, you’ll be able to clearly understand how much profit to be reasonably expected for each separate product you’re selling – of course, things might as well appear to be better. Nevertheless, I still insist that preparing yourself for the worst-case scenario is the best way of economic survival with Amazon PPC ads.

Focus Mainly on Long-Tail Search Phrases

So, given that it’s getting increasingly expensive and difficult to rank well for the most popular single keywords with the highest search volumes, you’d better bid on more specific long-tail search terms and expressions containing at least three “primary” keywords. Ideally, to cover a much more specific search intent by the live shopper. In other words, the situation can be compared with the original concept of the Search Engine Optimization (SEO). 

The only difference is that with Amazon ads, PPC cost of a too high keyword competition means you’ll have a to pay more (the average cost-per-click), in line with a potentially weaker conversion due to a less targeted search traffic. And here we’re finally coming to the point – I mean it’s time to empower your optimization effort for Amazon PPC with tool that would fit our purposes best way possible. The thing is that we will need a really broad and extensive list of long-tail keywords. In fact, this tedious process is expected to only yield something around 20 relevant keywords. Of course, beginning with a quick run through your Search Term Reports (STR) – just to scale all those search terms having the highest rates of conversions yet still low impressions – would be the right starting point for you to use them manually. 

Nevertheless, you can’t optimize your Amazon PPC with no tool to assist your really far-reaching long-tail product keyword research. Just take it for granted. As for me, I’m using Sonar, mainly because of its very simple usage and promptly delivered results with those valuable keyword suggestions I’m looking for. 

But you’re free to consider any other relevant options – all you need is to pick a keyword tool or online framework which should be specifically designed for long-tail keyword research on Amazon. After all, it’s only up to you to decide in what way to run your Amazon PPC optimization and which tool to choose. Note, however, that for the maximum performance I recommend passing through both sides of the long-tail keyword research (i.e., you can do it manually – just betting on your STR to make a “raw” spreadsheet in Excel, and then refine it into a short checklist using a more specific keyword research tool).

Get Rid Off Negative Keywords – and You’re Done!  

Negative keywords should be identified and removed in a proactive manner. The thing is that now you might as well be spending much money on the keywords which are actually the underperforming ones. In fact, those negative keywords themselves aren’t that toxic as you can think. No, they can’t harm your product page’s ranking potential. And sometimes due to the lack of real relevance to a product/item category, these unprofitable keywords are just generating bare clicks, without bringing you any measurable gains in conversions. 

So, why should you keep wasting resources on the keywords that are just draining from you, rather than converting for you. Note, however, that having those negative keywords included in your product page content doesn’t necessarily mean that they are really that malicious – they are simply not relevant to a certain product they’re coming with. Thus, having too many negative keywords kept on purpose suggests that you probably want to get a restricted search volume for a particular item. Anyway, in terms of Amazon PPC you’ll need a tool for to check your main list of target keywords in order to identify which of them convert well for your product and are less likely just to drain your ad space/budget. That way, consider removing all remaining low-converting negative keywords that are impacting your margin of profitability without serving your business progress. 

As it was already mentioned, I recommend having a proper long-tail keyword research – again, you can simply get everything in place using Sonar, a free platform that appeared to be really benefiting in the capacity of Amazon PPC optimization tool. Doing so, don’t forget that the cost of PPC ads keeps moving the way of stable growth which seems to be justified by the incentivized review ban, as well as in part related to a moderately strong market demand still expected to be pushing PPC costs throughout 2018. So, you’d better take a prompt action – of course, if you want to give a spur to sales, accompanied with your PPC optimization efforts aimed at lowering your ACoS.

Bottom Line

After all, if you probably feel the lack of patience to manage everything about your Sponsored product campaign through Amazon Seller Central, don’t want to mess with the Search Term Reports, hate doing too much donkeywork needed to generate the whole set of PPC-relevant long-tail keywords copy-pasting a lot of extensive spreadsheet data within your STR and exporting it via Excel – no need to worry. There are a couple of pretty well-performing “all-in-one” Amazon PPC optimization tools to make everything move in a nearly self-driven manner. And some of my fellow-sellers running their ecommerce businesses on Amazon decided to have their web stores supported by those one-stop-toolkits combining everything the modern drop-shipping seller can possibly imagine. 

Among the other full-stack optimization and management services for ecommerce available on the Web, there are two undisputable leaders, such as Sellics (all-inclusive online platform) and Semalt full-stack service toolkit designed not only to serve the most advanced Amazon sellers, but to make things much easier even for novice merchants wise enough to get a considerable competitive advantage – starting just from their day one over there. 

To tell the truth, I’ve got no opportunity to try them with a hard testing on practice, at least for now. Surprisingly, but people say those two are real magic. Considering that a free trial is available for them both, maybe it’s time for me to follow suit and connect my Seller Central with all live sales data & critical metrics too. Ultimately, to finally know it for sure – how much actual profit I’m generating as Amazon seller who stays always updated and has everything in place. Of course, those guys weren’t about running any sort of Amazon software promotion, or God forbid, simply pushing their paid services backed only with their own honeyed words, rather than any guaranteed commercial results. And what if those two modern approaches to Amazon SEO and smart ecommerce management – is much like having a real full-stack team of experts always at your disposal – any time you wish to deliver, for example, an urgent adjustment to your already fully controllable journey as successful Amazon seller. After all, it’s only up to you to decide.