PPC is hands down the most frustrating part of selling on Amazon.

It’s also the fastest way to drain your wallet if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing — and I see beginners make the same mistakes over and over again.

They jump into PPC unprepared.

They set things up incorrectly.

Then they wonder why they’re spending money with nothing to show for it.

The truth?

Amazon PPC only works when you have a strategy in place from day one.

In this guide, I’m going to walk you through my easy-to-set-up, beginner-friendly PPC strategy — the exact structure I use — so you can get your first campaigns live in minutes, even if you’ve never touched PPC before.

But first, you need to understand why PPC matters so much.

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Why Amazon PPC Is Non-Negotiable in 2026

Over 70% of all Amazon sales happen on page one.

When you launch a new product, your listing is buried.

Why?

Because Amazon ranks products primarily based on sales velocity.

• More daily sales → Higher ranking
• Higher ranking → More visibility
• More visibility → More sales

Your new product has zero sales… so organically, it doesn’t stand a chance.

But look at the top of the search results.

See the word “Sponsored”?

Those listings didn’t rank there.

They paid to be there.

That’s Amazon PPC.

And here’s where it gets powerful:

When you use PPC correctly, you can show up at the top of page one immediately — while generating the sales Amazon needs to rank you organically.

That’s how you shortcut the system.

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When Should You Start PPC?

Immediately.

The moment your product goes live and inventory is in stock.

Amazon gives new listings a short “honeymoon period” where it temporarily boosts visibility. If you delay PPC during that time, you’re wasting it.

So make sure before launch:

• Photos are complete
• Listing copy is optimized
• Inventory is in stock
• Pricing is competitive

Then turn PPC on day one.

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My 4-Step Amazon PPC Strategy

Here’s how we’re going to structure this:

1. Automatic Campaigns (Data Collection Mode)
2. Keyword Research
3. Manual Keyword Campaigns (Profit Mode)
4. Negative Keywords (Cost Control Mode)

This is a clean, repeatable system.

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Step 1 – Setting Up Automatic Campaigns (The Right Way)

Go to:

Seller Central → Advertising → Campaign Manager → Sponsored Products

We’re focusing only on Sponsored Products for now.

Campaign Type	Purpose	Beginner Friendly?
Sponsored Products	Search result ads	✅ Yes
Sponsored Brands	Banner ads	❌ Advanced
Sponsored Display	Product page ads	❌ Advanced

Click Create Campaign.

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Naming Structure (Critical)

Do NOT use generic names.

Use this format:

Product Name – Target Type – Match Type

Example:

Tent Stakes – Automatic – Close Match

Clean naming = clean data = easy optimization later.

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Automatic Targeting Setup

Choose Automatic Targeting

Amazon breaks this into 4 groups:

Target Type	What It Does
Close Match	Very similar searches
Loose Match	Broader related searches
Substitutes	Competitor product pages
Complements	Related product pages

Beginner Mistake:

Running all 4 in one campaign.

Pro Move:

Create 4 separate campaigns — one for each targeting type.

Start with:

Close Match only

Turn off:

• Loose
• Substitutes
• Complements

We separate them because:

Mixing strategies inside one campaign makes optimization impossible.

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Bidding Strategy

Choose:

Dynamic Bids – Up and Down

Why?

Amazon increases bids when it believes a shopper will convert.

This is powerful during launch.

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Placement Adjustment

Increase:

Top of Search = 20–30%

Leave:

• Rest of Search = 0
• Product Pages = 0

Top of search converts the best.

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Budget

Launch Phase Recommendation:

Campaign Type	Daily Budget
Automatic – Close	$20–$50

After launching Close Match, repeat this entire process for:

• Loose Match
• Substitutes
• Complements

You now have 4 clean automatic campaigns.

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Step 2 – Keyword Research (The Real Power Move)

Amazon is a search engine.

Shoppers type specific phrases when they’re ready to buy.

Our job is to find those phrases.

I use Helium 10 Cerebro for this. (Click Here for 35% Off Discount off Helium 10)

Enter your main keyword (example: screw in tent stakes).

Cerebro pulls thousands of related keywords.

You can learn more about Helium 10 and their other tools I recommend here.

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Narrow It Down

Use filters:

• Match Type → Organic
• Remove irrelevant phrases

You’ll organize these into four keyword lists:

List Type	Purpose
Main Keywords	High-intent core terms
Relevant Keywords	Strong supporting terms
Master List	Larger long-tail pool
Misspelled Keywords	Cheap overlooked traffic

Clean organization is everything.

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Understanding Match Types (Keep It Simple)

Match Type	What It Does	Use It?
Exact	Must match exactly	✅ Yes
Broad	Variations allowed	✅ Yes
Phrase	Middle ground	❌ Skip

Why skip Phrase?

Because Broad already captures phrase-level traffic.

Adding Phrase just complicates optimization.

We keep things simple:

Exact + Broad only.

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Step 3 – Manual Campaign Structure (Advanced Strategy)

Now we build 5 manual campaigns.

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Campaign 1 – Main Keywords – Exact Match

Name:

Tent Stakes – Main – Exact

Targeting:

• Manual
• Keyword targeting
• Exact only

Paste main keyword list.

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Aggressive Bidding Strategy

Overbid suggested high bid by $1.

Yes — aggressively.

Why?

• Highest bidder gets best placement
• You only pay when clicked
• You only pay slightly above second highest bidder

If suggested bid range is:

$1.20 – $1.60

Bid:

$2.61

Use odd cents to outbid competitors.

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Daily Budget Trick (Most Sellers Don’t Know This)

Set:

Daily Budget = $100

Even if you only want to spend $20.

Why?

Amazon paces impressions based on budget size.

Higher budget = more exposure

You only pay when clicked.

Once spend hits your comfort level:

Pause campaign for the day.

This maximizes visibility without overspending.

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Campaign 2 – Relevant Keywords – Exact

Same setup as above.

Daily Budget: $100

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Campaign 3 – Master List – Broad

Name:

Tent Stakes – Master – Broad

Daily Budget: $20

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Campaign 4 – Misspelled – Broad

Name:

Tent Stakes – Misspelled – Broad

Daily Budget: $10

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Campaign 5 – Amazon Suggested – Broad

Use Amazon’s suggested keywords.

Name:

Tent Stakes – Suggested – Broad

Daily Budget: $10

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Your Final Campaign Structure

Type	Campaign Count
Automatic (4 types)	4
Manual Exact	2
Manual Broad	3
Total	9 Campaigns

Clean. Organized. Strategic.

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Step 4 – Negative Keywords (Save Thousands)

Negative keywords tell Amazon:

“Do NOT show my ad for this.”

Example if selling camping tent stakes:

Add as negatives:

• wall anchors
• concrete bolts
• deck screws
• landscaping spikes

Anything irrelevant = add to negative list.

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Ongoing Negative Optimization

After 7–10 days:

1. Download search term report
2. Identify:
   • High spend
   • Zero sales
3. Add those as negatives

This alone can save hundreds to thousands in wasted ad spend.

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What Happens Next?

Let campaigns run 7–10 days minimum.

Do NOT:

• Make daily changes
• Panic optimize
• Adjust based on one bad day

You need data.

Clean structure → Clean data → Smart decisions.

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PPC Optimization Philosophy

PPC success comes from:

1. Separating strategies
2. Collecting clean data
3. Scaling winners
4. Cutting losers
5. Adding negatives consistently

Most sellers fail because they mix everything together.

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Final Thoughts

Amazon PPC is not gambling.

It’s structured testing.

When done correctly:

• You get page one visibility instantly
• You generate launch sales
• You build organic rank faster
• You create predictable traffic

If you felt overwhelmed before, you shouldn’t anymore.

You now have:

• The exact campaign structure
• The bid strategy
• The budgeting strategy
• The negative keyword system
• The optimization timeline

Now let the campaigns run.

And remember:

The real money is made in optimization — but that only works if your foundation is built correctly.

Build it right from day one, and PPC becomes an asset instead of a liability.