How to Handle and Reduce PPC Ad Waste on Amazon
Wasted ad spend in Amazon PPC occurs when you spend money on clicks that don’t convert into sales. This can lead to a high ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sales), low ROI, and budget depletion without meaningful results. To improve efficiency and profitability, sellers need to identify and eliminate unnecessary ad waste while refining their PPC strategy.
1. Identify and Eliminate Low-Performing Keywords
Many PPC campaigns waste money on irrelevant, broad, or non-converting keywords. Regularly reviewing your Search Term Report helps pinpoint keywords that:
•Have high clicks but low or no conversions.
•Are too broad, attracting unqualified traffic.
•Have high CPC (Cost Per Click) but low sales.
Solution:
•Pause or lower bids on underperforming keywords.
•Shift from broad match to exact or phrase match for better targeting.
•Use negative keywords to prevent irrelevant clicks.
2. Implement Negative Keywords to Reduce Unwanted Clicks
Negative keywords help block unqualified traffic that doesn’t convert. Common sources of wasted spend include:
•Generic search terms (e.g., “cheap,” “free,” or unrelated product names).
•Irrelevant product searches (e.g., if you sell premium shoes, exclude searches for “discount shoes”).
•Low-intent searches that suggest research rather than purchase intent (e.g., “how to use XYZ”).
Solution:
•Add negative exact match to filter specific low-performing queries.
•Use negative phrase match to exclude broader patterns of irrelevant traffic.
•Continuously update your negative keyword list from Search Term Reports.
3. Optimize Bids Based on Performance Data
Overspending often happens when bids are set too high for underperforming keywords or placements.
Solution:
•Reduce bids on keywords with high CPC but low conversions.
•Increase bids on high-converting keywords to maximize profitable traffic.
•Use Amazon’s Dynamic Bidding strategies to automatically adjust bids based on conversion likelihood.
4. Refine Product Targeting to Improve Relevance
If you’re running Sponsored Display or Sponsored Products with Product Targeting, ensure you’re targeting the right ASINs.
Solution:
•Target complementary products instead of random competitors.
•Analyze Product Targeting Reports to remove underperforming ASINs.
•Focus on ASINs with higher conversion rates rather than just traffic volume.
5. Optimize Ad Placements with Amazon’s Placement Reports
Amazon allows you to adjust bids for different placements, such as:
•Top of Search (first page) – Often has a higher conversion rate.
•Product Pages – May have lower engagement and conversions.
•Rest of Search – Typically lower intent buyers.
Solution:
•Increase bids for high-converting placements.
•Reduce or eliminate spend on low-performing placements.
•Use Placement Reports to track performance and adjust bids accordingly.
6. Improve Product Listings to Maximize Conversion Rates
Even well-targeted PPC ads won’t convert if your product listings are weak.
Solution:
•Ensure high-quality images, clear bullet points, and a compelling product description.
•Use A+ Content to improve engagement and trust.
•Encourage customer reviews to boost credibility and reduce ad skepticism.
7. Set a Realistic Budget and Adjust Based on Performance
Many sellers waste PPC budget by allocating too much money to non-profitable campaigns.
Solution:
•Start with a conservative budget, then scale based on profitable results.
•Shift budget from low-performing campaigns to high-performing ones.
•Use Amazon’s Portfolio feature to organize and control spending across campaigns.
Final Thoughts
Reducing Amazon PPC waste requires continuous monitoring, smart keyword management, and strategic bid adjustments. By eliminating low-performing keywords, refining product targeting, and optimizing placements, sellers can significantly improve ACoS, profitability, and overall campaign efficiency.