How to Structure Amazon PPC Campaign: A Step by Step Guide

Amazon PPC campaigns can be a powerful tool for driving traffic and sales to your products. However, without proper structure, they can quickly become overwhelming and difficult to manage.

In this blog post, we'll explore the best practices for structuring your Amazon PPC campaigns to maximize performance and profitability. 

We'll cover topics such as campaign organization, budget control, keyword research, and more. By the end of this post, you'll have a clear understanding of how to structure Amazon PPC campaign for optimal results.

3 Key Elements of Good Amazon PPC Campaign Structure:

1. Clear Naming Convention

A clear naming convention is like having a neat label on each box – it tells you exactly what's inside. For Amazon PPC campaigns, this means your campaigns, ad groups, keywords, and campaign goals are easily identifiable.

Why does this matter?

Simply because it saves you time.

When the campaigns are named clearly, you don't waste minutes figuring out what's what.

We recommend brands use a naming convention like this: Product Identifier – ASIN – Campaign Type – Target Match Type – Goal.

2. Separate Campaign for Different Products or Product Category

It is always recommended to create separate campaigns for distinct products or product categories. This is because each product might have unique keywords, performance metrics, and life cycle stages. 

By creating dedicated campaigns for each product or category, you gain greater control over targeting, budget allocation, and optimization efforts.

3. Campaign Segregation By Targets and Goals

Different targeting types serve distinct purposes. Automatic targeting relies on Amazon's algorithms to match your ads with relevant customer searches, while manual targeting allows you to choose specific keywords. Product targeting, on the other hand, enables you to focus on specific products or categories.

By creating separate ad campaigns, you can fine-tune your bidding strategy, budgets, and keyword selection for each targeting type, optimizing your campaigns for specific goals.

Additionally, having distinct campaigns for different match types makes it easier to transition profitable keywords from top-of-the-funnel campaigns to bottom-of-the-funnel campaigns.

How to Setup a Good Amazon PPC Campaign Structure

Discovery Campaigns

Starting with a new product? Discovery Campaigns are your secret weapon. We've got three straightforward campaigns – Auto, Broad, and Category Targeting – to help you find the winning keywords and product targets for your growth.

1. Auto Campaign

Begin with a Sponsored Products Automatic Campaign. In Automatic campaigns, Amazon's algorithms take charge, connecting your product with search terms that matter. It's like having a savvy guide navigate the crowded marketplace.

2. Broad Targeting Campaign

This manual campaign focuses on keywords uncovered in the auto campaign and through manual keyword research. A tip: be cautious with your bids. The broad match campaign can sometimes cast too wide a net, leading to wasted ad spend on irrelevant terms. Alternatively, you can stick with the modified broad match targeting for more precise keyword targeting.

3. Phrase Targeting Campaign

Phrase Match Keyword Targeting is a more focused alternative to broad targeting. It pairs your product with search terms containing your exact keyword target.

Given that it matches your product with more relevant terms, and provided you have conducted your keyword research correctly, you can expect better efficiency from this campaign as well.

4. Category Targeting Campaign

Just as we have broad and phrase targeting to discover keywords, category targeting can help you discover the right competitor targets where your product converts.

We recommend adding multiple category targets with different price and rating refinements in your campaign to uncover competitor products at various price points and review ratings. This way, you can target them strategically in your growth campaign.

Growth Campaigns

Growth campaigns are manual campaigns that involve strategically focusing on keywords with a proven track record of converting, to maximize impressions over time and boost product sales.

1. Exact Targeting Campaign

In this campaign, target highly relevant keywords exact match keywords that have been proven to convert. It is recommended to use tools like Adbrew to automatically harvest such keywords from your discovery campaign every week and move them to the exact match sponsored products and Sponsored Brands ads keyword campaign.

2. Product Targeting Campaign

In this campaign, target competitors' ASINs that have been proven to convert. Review your category targeting and auto-targeting campaign to find competitors' ASINs that are driving sales for you at a good ACOS, and then move them into this campaign.

Defensive Campaigns

As your product gains traction, it becomes crucial to safeguard your brand from competitors who may attempt to divert your hard-earned audience towards their products.

This is where strategic Amazon PPC campaigns come into play, specifically tailored to protect your brand and ensure that potential customers land on your product pages.

1. Defensive Keyword Targeting Campaign

A defensive keyword targeting campaign focuses on bidding for keywords directly associated with your brand name. This ensures that when users search for your brand online, your ads appear prominently at the top of the search engine results page (SERP).

2. Defensive Product Targeting Campaign

While a defensive keyword targeting campaign focuses on brand-specific searches, a defensive product targeting campaign ensures that your products are prominently featured when users search for them directly. A simple approach to defending your product page is to promote all the related products from your catalog on that page.

For instance, if you are selling a home air freshener in 10 different fragrances, promote each variant on the product page. This way, if a shopper doesn't like one fragrance, they can easily find a different fragrance from your brand.

However, sometimes you can also be strategic and creative about how you defend your products. For example, showing ads for higher-priced products on the pages of lower-priced products, a strategy known as upselling

Frequently Asked Questions

How many ad groups should be there in an ad campaign?

It depends on the structure you are going to follow, but it is often recommended to have one ad group per campaign for the highest level of control.

Is it good to add keywords of different match types in the same ad group?

No, it isn't considered best practice to have keywords of different match types in the same ad group, one should consider having separate ad groups or campaigns for each match type.

What are the different types of Amazon Advertising campaigns?

In Sponsored Ads, there are three types of campaigns, Sponsored product ads, Sponsored brand ads, and Sponsored display ads.

How does campaign structure impact advertising cost?

Your campaign structure plays a crucial role in managing advertising costs. A well-structured campaign with specific ad groups and targeted keywords reduces wasted spend by ensuring your ads reach relevant shoppers only. Broadly categorized campaigns lead to irrelevant impressions and clicks, driving up costs without conversions.

How many keywords should I include in each ad group?

Aim for 10-50 relevant keywords per ad group. This allows for better targeting and optimization.