Why Most Sellers Fail with Amazon PPC (and How to Fix It)
Running Amazon PPC can be a game changer for your business, but many sellers end up throwing money down the drain because they’re making fundamental mistakes. In this video, I break down four key reasons why sellers struggle with Amazon ads and explain how to fix them to ensure you get a better return on your investment.
Advertising the Wrong Products
It may seem like we’re pointing out the obvious here, but one of the biggest reasons sellers fail with Amazon PPC is that they’re running ads on products that don’t convert. And it doesn’t matter how well your campaigns are structured. If your listings aren’t optimised, your ACoS will be high and your ads won’t generate sustainable profit. The first thing you need to check is your product’s conversion rate. You can find this by looking at your unit session percentage inside Business Reports in the Seller Central dashboard. Many sellers only focus on ad performance within Amazon Ads Manager, but that’s a big mistake. If your organic conversion rate is low, running ads ads won’t fix the problem. Before investing in PPC, ensure your listings have strong images, clear descriptions, and competitive pricing.
Overcomplicating Campaign Structure
Believe it or not, simplicity wins when it comes to Amazon PPC. Many sellers think they need to run dozens of campaigns with multiple ad groups and split tests, but all that does is create confusion. A well-structured campaign should have one product per ad group as to ensure clean data, clear optimisation, and better budget control. If you’re just getting started, your focus should be on automatic campaigns first as this lets Amazon gather data on what’s working before you start building out manual exact-match and phrase-match campaigns. The key is to keep things simple, monitor performance, and scale gradually rather than setting up overly complex structures from day one.
Not Giving Campaigns Enough Time
Another critical mistake sellers make is adjusting their bids or budgets too frequently. Amazon PPC data is delayed by between 48 and 72 hours, so any decisions based on daily performance are likely to be inaccurate. If you react too quickly to fluctuations, you won’t be able to identify long-term trends. Instead, measure your results over a 7, 14, or 30-day period to help make more informed changes. This approach allows you to track meaningful data and avoid making spur of the moment adjustments that could harm your campaign’s long term performance.
Measuring the Wrong Metrics
Too many sellers focus on ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sale) when they should be looking at TACoS (Total Advertising Cost of Sale). ACoS only measures how well your ads perform. It’s the TACoS which tells you how much of your total sales are influenced by PPC. Amazon ads impact organic rankings by around 60%, so you need to track your total revenue, not just ad-driven sales. For our clients, the average TACoS is 5.3%, meaning every £530 spent on ads generates £10,000 in revenue. If you’re not tracking TACoS, you’re missing the bigger picture and could be cutting ad spend too early when it’s actually helping organic growth.
Final Thoughts
Amazon PPC doesn’t need to be complicated; you just need to approach it in the right way. Make sure you’re advertising products that convert while keeping your campaign structure simple to allow enough time to analyse results and focus on the right metrics. If you do that, you’ll see a much stronger return on investment. Let me know your questions in the comments and subscribe for more Amazon seller tips and advice on the channel.
