Amazon Sponsored Ads for Beginners: How to Launch PPC the Right Way
- David Stephen
- 7 days ago
- 6 min read
Introduction
If you're launching a product on Amazon, one thing is certain:
👉 You need traffic.
(And reviews but I'll cover that in a different blog.)
And the fastest way to get that?
👉 Amazon Sponsored Ads (PPC)
But this is where most sellers, particularly new sellers, go wrong…
They:
Don’t understand how ads actually work
Set campaigns up incorrectly
Waste budget early
Or think that PPC is not required at all.
This guide will walk you through everything you need to know—in simple, practical terms.
I've over 10+ years experience with Amazon PPC. When I launched my own products back in 2015, I had to learn quickly. I didn't have the budget to waste. Getting PPC wrong could have been costly and slowed any chance of scaling my brand portfolio.
Since I successfully exited my brand in 2020, I help Amazon sellers with FBA Coaching and Consultancy in the UK,. My goal is to make the processes as easy as possible and to help you have the best chance at reducing any wasted budget.
What Are Amazon Sponsored Ads?
Simply, Amazon Sponsored Ads are pay-per-click (PPC) ads.
👉 You pay each time someone clicks your product.
These ads appear:
In search results
On product pages
Across Amazon
Just search for any product and you'll see 'Sponsored' above product titles.
Go in to the listing product page and you'll see products from other brands. These are also sponsored ads.
The 3 Main Types of Amazon Ads
1. Sponsored Products
Promote individual products
Appear in search results
Best for new sellers
2. Sponsored Brands
Show your brand
Show multiple products
Requires Brand Registry (which you should absolutely make sure you have for brand protection, if you are the brand/trademark owner)
3. Sponsored Display
Retarget shoppers
Appear on and off Amazon
👉 For beginners: focus on Sponsored Products first
Why Amazon PPC Is Essential for New Product Launches
Without PPC:
Your product won’t get visibility
You won’t generate sales
You won’t rank organically
💡 Key Insight:
👉 Amazon rewards sales velocity
The more you sell over time, the higher you rank.
Sales consistency is key to organic ranking.
👉 PPC helps you generate those initial sales
Why Getting PPC Wrong Is Expensive
Most new sellers:
Launch campaigns with no structure
Use random keywords (You should have your keywords list as you've already done your listing)
Rely only on Auto campaigns
Don't analysis key data to make informed decisions
Assigning a daily budget based on your margins and goals
If you don't know your margins, your real profit could shock you.
👉 Result:
Wasted spend
Poor data
No scalable growth
How to Set Up Amazon Ads (Step-by-Step)
Step 1: Go to Ads Console
Seller Central → Advertising → Campaign Manager
Step 2: Create Campaign
Choose Sponsored Products
Step 3: Set Budget
Start with £10–£30/day (depending on budget)
Step 4: Choose Targeting
Auto OR Manual (we’ll structure this next)
Step 5: Launch & Monitor
👉 Don’t “set and forget”—review regularly
The Correct Campaign Structure (Rank, Defend & Harvest)
Most beginners are told:
👉 “Just run Auto and Manual campaigns”
But that’s not a strategy.
The Real Structure:
👉 Rank → Defend → Harvest
This is how you build a system that:
Generates sales
Builds ranking
Scales profitably
1. RANK (Get Visibility & Generate Sales)
This is your launch phase.
👉 Your goal is to generate traffic and data.
👉 Profit during this stage will likely be less as you're investing in your launch.
💡 Insight: The quicker you start ranking organically and gaining organic sales, the quicker you will increase your profit - Organic sales cost nothing in advertising
What You’re Doing:
Running Manual Single Exact Match Keyword Campaigns
targeting several specific top keywords you want to rank for (Highest budget allocation)
Easy to track one keyword in each campaign
Easier to control and allocate budget to each high performing keyword
Running Auto Campaigns (Close Match, Loose Match)
for research and exploring search terms
understanding what keywords Amazon relates to your product
Personally I don't recommend Substitutes or Compliments at this stage
Running Manual Multi Keyword Broad & Phrase campaigns
for testing and ranking
exploring keywords and phrases
Why This Matters:
At launch:
No ranking
No data
No sales history
👉 You need Amazon to learn where you fit
Key Focus:
Clicks
Impressions
Early conversions
Which keywords convert
Where your ads appear
Remove any irrelevant keywords from Auto Campaign data (add them to negative exact)
💡 Insight:
👉 You are buying data and visibility
⚠️ Mistake to Avoid:
Trying to optimise too much too early can kill momentum.
That doesn't mean you ignore it e.g your ACOS is over high. You must monitor the reasons.
If it high because you are achieving your goals/strategy then fine.
If its high because you are gaining clicks and not converting, then that's something to address asap.
👉 Focus on learning
👉 Do - Monitor your PPC costs and profit. You don't want PPC costs going crazy. Although this phase is about ranking, you should set your budget and aim to achieve that. (You've still got to pay for that 2nd batch of inventory)
2. DEFEND (Protect Your Product & Ranking)
I would set this up early on with a small budget but certainly once your product starts gaining traction…
👉 You must protect it.
What You’re Doing:
Targeting your own brand name
Targeting your Brand keywords and search terms
More aggressive targeting top converting keywords (Exact match)
Increasing bids on top placements
Why This Matters:
Without defence:
👉 Competitors steal your traffic
👉 You lose sales on your own product
👉 Your organic rank is rising and your getting noticed by your competitors
Key Focus:
Maintain ranking
Control your traffic
Protect conversions
💡 Insight:
👉 This is one of the most overlooked stages.
So many sellers that I've worked had lost sales to competitors and wondered why. This is why....they are not protecting their traffic.
Go to any listing on Amazon and you'll immediately see other brands advertising on that listing. This is where you must compete with defence.
3. HARVEST (Scale What Works Profitably)
This is where real further growth and ACOS & TACOS control happens.
👉 You scale proven data.
What You’re Doing:
Moving discovered converting keywords from Auto campaigns into Exact Manual Campaigns
Increasing bids on winners (depending on current placement and goals)
Cutting wasted spend on losing keywords
Irrelevant keywords added in Negative exact
I would start monitoring this from day one
Scaling budgets
If your running out of daily budget on your top converting keywords then you must increase your budget, otherwise you are loosing sales and sales velocity
Add Video Campaigns.
I've found that conversion can be higher on these
Gives you a great opportunity to show your products benefits in action
Maintaining organic rank
Organic sales from non PPC sales are essential for long term growth
No PPC cost to pay = increase in profit per sale
Why This Matters:
👉 This is where PPC becomes profitable
👉 Your organic rank is rising and you are seeing an increase in organic sales
Key Focus:
Efficiency
Profitability
Scaling winners
💡 Insight:
👉 You are turning data into growth
👉 You are turning growth into brand scaling opporunties
⚠️ Mistake to Avoid:
Staying in testing mode too long
Why You Can’t Just Rely on Auto Campaigns
Auto campaigns are useful—but limited.
The Problem:
Less control
Poor scalability
Hard to optimise
The Right Approach:
👉 Use Auto for initial insights
👉 Use Manual for control
The Ideal Setup for New Sellers
When launching:
Run Auto + Manual campaigns together
Focus on data first
Accept early inefficiency
👉 Your goal is:
Find what works
Generate sales
Build ranking
What Happens After Launch?
Once data comes in:
Move keywords to Exact
Increase budgets on winners
Cut underperforming spend
👉 This is where scaling begins
Key PPC Principles to Remember
Structure beats guesswork
Data beats opinion
Consistency beats quick wins
Final Thoughts
Amazon PPC isn’t as complicated as you think.
👉 But it must be structured correctly
If you:
Set it up properly
Follow the right stages
Stay consistent
Learn the basics and keep learning
👉 You build a system that scales
Want Help Setting Up Your Amazon Ads Properly?
If you're launching or struggling with PPC…I can help.
I offer a free Amazon PPC audit where I’ll:
Review your campaigns
Identify wasted spend
Show quick wins
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