If you don’t monitor Amazon PPC campaigns properly, you’re basically burning cash.
You launch your campaigns expecting great results, but weeks later, your ACoS is a disaster. Clicks? Plenty. Sales? Barely there.
Amazon will gladly take your money, whether you see a return or not. Without the right strategy, bad targeting, poor bidding, and ignored reports will drain your budget fast.
That’s why working with an Amazon agency can be a game-changer. PPC isn’t “set it and forget it”—you need to track performance, fix what’s broken, and optimize bids before your ad spend disappears.
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Why Monitoring Amazon PPC Campaigns Is Non-Negotiable
Amazon PPC can either skyrocket your sales or drain your budget faster than you can blink. Running ads without tracking campaign performance is like throwing money into a black hole.
What Happens When You Don’t Monitor Amazon PPC Campaigns?
- Wasted Ad Spend – Amazon will happily take your money, whether you get sales or not.
- Skyrocketing ACoS – Without tracking, your Advertising Cost of Sale (ACoS) can spiral out of control.
- Low Click-Through Rate (CTR) – Poor targeting and weak ad creatives lead to fewer clicks and wasted impressions.
- Missed Sales Opportunities – High-performing keywords and products go unnoticed, limiting your revenue potential.
- Inefficient Bidding – Overbidding drains your budget, while underbidding makes you lose out to competitors.
- Bad Keyword Strategy – Without reviewing search term reports, you’ll waste money on irrelevant or underperforming keywords.
- No Performance Insights – You won’t know what’s working or failing, making it impossible to optimize for better results.
One of the Amazon PPC best practices is monitoring and analyzing your advertising campaigns. You need to know what’s working, what’s wasting your budget, and how to fix it—fast.
By monitoring key analytics that provide insights, you can spot trends, cut unnecessary spend, and optimize your bids for better conversions.
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1. Monitor Amazon PPC Campaigns for Sales Growth
The ultimate goal of PPC is to drive long-term sales growth rather than just short-term wins.
Actionable Insight:
- Instead of obsessing over month-over-month changes (which can be skewed by seasonality), track quarterly and yearly trends.
- If your PPC sales are increasing, but total sales are stagnant, you may be over-reliant on ads instead of building organic ranking.
- If total sales decline despite strong PPC performance, check whether your products are losing organic traction or if competitors are outbidding you.
If PPC sales rise but total revenue stalls, you’re buying sales, not growth.
2. Monitor Amazon PPC Campaign Metrics for ACoS
A high ACoS(Advertising Cost of Sale) indicates that you’re spending too much on ads compared to the revenue you’re generating from those ads, which could suggest inefficiencies in your bidding or targeting strategy.
Aim for a balanced ACoS that ensures profitability while maintaining visibility. ACOS measures how much you spend on ads to generate sales—but it’s only useful in the context of profitability and growth.
High ACOS doesn’t always mean bad performance.
- If ACOS is high but TACoS is low, your organic sales are strong, which is a good sign.
- If ACOS is low but TACoS is rising, your ad sales might be cannibalizing organic sales—this needs attention.
3. Monitor Amazon PPC Campaign Performance for TACoS
ACOS measures how much you spend on ads to generate a sale. For example, if you sell a $100 product and spend $30 on ads, your ACOS is 30%. Higher ACOS can be acceptable during growth phases, while lower ACOS is ideal for profitability.
TACOS (Total Advertising Cost of Sales) factors in both organic and paid sales, showing the bigger picture of ad efficiency. A high TACOS means you’re overly dependent on ads, while a decreasing TACOS suggests organic growth.
For growth, aim for a TACOS of 20-25%. For profitability, keep it around 10-12%.
4. Monitor Amazon PPC Campaigns for CTR
A low CTR (Click-Through Rate) suggests that your ads aren’t resonating with potential customers or are not being seen in the right context. It indicates poor ad engagement and could be the result of ineffective targeting or creative issues.
What an Amazon Seller Can Do:
- Improve your product images and ad copy to make your ads more enticing and relevant to potential buyers.
- Test different headlines or product descriptions to see which one attracts more clicks.
- Review your targeting strategy and refine your keyword list to attract more qualified traffic.
A higher CTR means your Amazon ads are more engaging, which can improve ad ranking and reduce cost per click.
A good CTR for Amazon PPC varies by campaign type:
- Sponsored Products: Around 0.29% is average; 0.5%+ is exceptional.
- Video Ads: Typically 1-2% CTR.
5. Monitor Amazon PPC Data for Conversion Rate
A low conversion rate, despite a high CTR, suggests that users are clicking on your ads but not making purchases. This could indicate that your landing pages (product detail pages) need optimization.
What You Can Do:
- Improve your product listings by adding clearer images, enhanced brand content, and more persuasive copy that emphasizes benefits.
- Ensure your pricing is competitive and your reviews and ratings are strong.
- Use Amazon’s conversion data to identify potential areas for improvement on product pages, like improving bullet points or better explaining features.
A higher conversion rate signals that your ad clicks are turning into actual sales, increasing profitability.
6. Monitor Amazon Advertising Campaigns for Impressions
Impressions tell you how many times your ads are shown. A high number of impressions but a low CTR can indicate that your ads are being shown to a broad audience but not to the right customers.
What You Can Do:
- Refine your targeting by focusing on more relevant keywords, negative keywords, or audience segments that are more likely to convert.
- Review your PPC report and consider shifting your ads to more effective placements, such as top-of-search or product detail pages.
Ensure that impressions align with your campaign goals by focusing on reaching the right audience, not just increasing visibility.
Why PPC Ads Have Zero Impression
- Low Budget – Ads stop early, limiting impressions.
- Irrelevant Keywords – Poor targeting reduces visibility.
- Low Search Volume – Fewer searches mean fewer impressions.
- Underbidding – Competitors outbid you, blocking your ad.
- Not Indexed – Amazon won’t show unindexed products.
- High Competition – Stronger competitors dominate ad space.
- No Bid Data – Low demand or relevancy limits impressions.
- Bad Optimization – Poor campaign structure hurts visibility.
- Account Limits – New or restricted accounts get lower priority.
- Weak Listing – Poor SEO makes Amazon ignore your ad.
7. Monitor Amazon PPC Metrics for RoAS
RoAS (Return on Advertising Spend) is a key metric for measuring the return on investment from advertising campaigns. A high RoAS means your ad campaigns are effectively generating revenue relative to the cost of Amazon PPC, while a low RoAS means you’re not generating enough revenue to justify your ad spend.
What You Can Do:
- Adjust your bids on high-performing keywords to scale up your successful campaigns and boost your RoAS.
- Drop low-performing keywords and products from your campaigns to reduce wasted ad spend.
- Focus on optimizing campaigns for products with high-profit margins, as they can sustain a higher RoAS and generate more overall profit.
Aim for a RoAS that covers the cost of goods, Amazon fees, and ad spend, while still providing a healthy profit margin.
RoAS vs. ACoS: Which One Should You Track?
- ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sale) = How much you spend on ads to earn $1 in revenue (expressed as a percentage).
- RoAS (Return on Ad Spend) = How much revenue you generate per $1 spent on ads (expressed as a number).
Which One Should You Use?
- ACoS is Amazon-native and widely used for bid adjustments (e.g., lower bids if ACoS is too high).
- RoAS is industry standard, preferred by corporate brands for financial reporting and visual trend analysis.
Monitor Amazon PPC Key Metrics Smartly
Use a Tracking System—Software or Manual
The best Amazon PPC strategy includes monitoring and analyzing campaigns. Amazon PPC performance data can be tracked using third-party analytics tool or manually by pulling Amazon business reports and Sponsored Products reports from Amazon. Manual tracking requires time and effort, but it allows for deeper PPC analysis and customization.
Focus on Future Performance, Not Just Past Data
While historical data is useful (e.g., Black Friday trends), overanalyzing past performance of advertising efforts can be a trap because PPC is dynamic and constantly changing. The bigger focus when analyzing Amazon PPC should be on forward-looking optimization—how your ads are performing right now and what you can tweak for better results.
Prioritize Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)
PPC success isn’t just about ad performance—your listing plays a massive role. Optimize images, copy, reviews, and A+ content to boost conversion rate, leading to better PPC efficiency and lower costs.
Balance Tracking with Actionable Strategy
Tracking of key performance indicators is crucial, but don’t get lost in the data—use it to identify trends and optimize. Set clear goals, track progress, and make data-driven adjustments to bids, keywords, and listings for continuous improvement.
Stop Wasting Ad Spend—Start Scaling Your Amazon PPC Profitably
Amazon PPC isn’t just about running ads—it’s about making them work for you. If you’re not tracking the right metrics, optimizing bids, and refining your targeting, you’re leaving money on the table.
Want to take control of your PPC strategy? Grab our Amazon PPC Guide—your go-to resource for maximizing ad performance and cutting wasted spend. And if you’d rather have experts handle it for you, let the team at our Amazon PPC agency manage your ads and scale your sales!
You can also book an Amazon PPC strategy call with our experts to get personalized guidance on optimizing your campaigns for better performance.
