How to Monitor and Optimize Your ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sales) on Amazon
Advertising Cost of Sales (ACoS) is one of the most important metrics for Amazon PPC campaigns. It measures how much you spend on advertising to generate a dollar of revenue. The formula for ACoS is:
ACoS = (Total Ad Spend ÷ Total Sales) × 100
A lower ACoS generally means a more profitable campaign, while a higher ACoS suggests higher advertising costs relative to sales. However, the ideal ACoS varies by product category, profit margins, and business goals.
How to Monitor Your ACoS Effectively
To track ACoS performance, sellers should regularly analyze campaign data in the Amazon Advertising Console. Here’s how:
1.Go to Campaign Manager in your Amazon Advertising account.
2.Select the campaign you want to analyze.
3.Check the ACoS percentage in the campaign summary.
4.Compare ACoS across different ad groups, keywords, and placements.
5.Use Amazon’s Search Term Report to find which keywords and ASINs contribute to high or low ACoS.
Key Metrics to Watch Alongside ACoS
•Click-Through Rate (CTR): If CTR is low, your ad isn’t attracting clicks, meaning your keywords or ad copy may need improvement.
•Conversion Rate (CVR): A low CVR with a high ACoS suggests that your product listing isn’t converting well.
•Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): ROAS is the inverse of ACoS (Total Sales ÷ Ad Spend). A higher ROAS indicates better profitability.
How to Optimize ACoS for Better Profitability
1. Adjust Bids Based on ACoS Performance
•If ACoS is too high, reduce bids on underperforming keywords to lower costs.
•If ACoS is too low, slightly increase bids on high-performing keywords to scale up sales while maintaining efficiency.
2. Refine Keyword Targeting
•Identify high-ACoS keywords in the Search Term Report and either lower bids or pause them.
•Focus on long-tail keywords, which are less competitive and have higher conversion rates.
•Use exact and phrase match keywords to refine targeting and reduce wasted spend.
3. Use Negative Keywords to Eliminate Wasted Ad Spend
•Add irrelevant or low-performing search terms as negative keywords to prevent ads from appearing for unprofitable searches.
•Review negative keywords weekly to ensure they align with changing search behavior.
4. Optimize Your Product Listing for Better Conversion Rates
•Improve product titles, descriptions, bullet points, and images to enhance ad-to-purchase conversion.
•Encourage customer reviews and ratings to build trust and improve conversion rates.
5. Adjust Placement Bids for Maximum ROI
•Increase bids for Top of Search placements if they have a better conversion rate.
•Reduce bids for Product Page placements if they are driving clicks but not sales.
6. Monitor and Optimize Budget Allocation
•Allocate more budget to profitable campaigns with a low ACoS.
•Reduce spend on high-ACoS campaigns that are not performing well.
7. Use Automatic and Manual Targeting Together
•Run Automatic Campaigns to discover new profitable keywords.
•Transfer high-performing keywords to Manual Campaigns for better bid control.
8. Test and Scale Winning Strategies
•Use A/B testing to experiment with different ad creatives, headlines, and images.
•Increase budgets for campaigns that show consistent profitability and low ACoS.
Final Thoughts
Monitoring and optimizing ACoS is essential for improving the profitability of Amazon PPC campaigns. By adjusting bids, refining keyword targeting, eliminating wasted spend, and optimizing product listings, sellers can lower ACoS while maximizing sales. Regular analysis and continuous optimization are the keys to long-term advertising success.