Becoming a dominant player in the Amazon marketplace involves a lot more than just launching ad campaigns. The path to getting to the top demands consistency in monitoring your campaigns and assessing key metrics. This guide will help you figure out the mistakes you have been making and how you can undo them. So, if you’re planning on starting afresh or merely getting a heads up, look no further. Delve into this guide to grasp how you can restructure Amazon ad campaigns to your advantage!

What is Campaign Restructuring?

Campaign restructuring refers to the process of making significant changes or adjustments to your advertising campaigns on Amazon. This can involve various elements such as your ad budget, targeting options, ad creatives, and bidding strategies. The primary of restructuring is to optimize your ad campaigns for better performance and ROI.

How to Restructure Amazon Ad Campaigns?

Determine your Goals

Your campaign goals will be different for different stages of your business. For instance, if you are launching a new product, your main goal would likely be to garner more impressions. You will then determine the success of your campaign based on the number of impressions and clicks you’ve got. You can gradually focus on decreasing the ACoS of your campaigns and increasing the conversion rate.

It is important to ask yourself the following questions and set your campaign goals accordingly:

• At which phase in the business cycle does your product currently stand?
• Are you introducing your product to the market, aiming for a new audience?
• Are you aiming to grow your product’s presence in the market?
• Is your goal to boost profits, or are you trying to move old stock?

These questions will help you realize what campaign goals you should opt for at that instant. For example, you realize that you need to work towards building brand loyalty and awareness. In order to achieve that, you will need to target high-volume keywords in your content and advertising to reach a broader audience. If you wish to target NTB customers, focus on generic or introductory keywords, test different variables such as audience segments, and utilize formats such as Sponsored Products or Sponsored Brands.

Analyze performance metrics

Start by auditing your current campaigns and paying close attention to metrics such as CTR, conversion rate, advertising cost of sales (ACoS), return on ad spend (ROAS), impressions, and more. If you have used automatic targeting, review your campaigns over a timeframe of at least two weeks. The insights accumulated from this interval will help you analyze whether your campaigns are on the right track and if any changes are needed. For manual targeting, you’ll need to decide on a timeframe by looking at the monthly volumes of your search terms. You also need to analyze the influence of festivals and holidays on the overall performance of your campaigns.

CTR: A low CTR suggests that your ads are not resonating with your target audience, which could be due to poor ad copy or keyword selection, the primary image ad not being appealing enough, or the pricing of the product being in line with the competition.

Conversion Rate: A low conversion rate may indicate that your product listings need improvement or that you’re targeting the wrong keywords.

ROAS: Determine the ROAS before of your campaigns. ROAS measures the revenue generated for every dollar spent on advertising. A higher ROAS indicates more effective advertising.

ACoS: The ideal ACoS will vary depending on the goals. For example, if you’re aiming for profitability, you’d want an ACoS lower than your break-even point.

Review campaign structure

While assessing your campaign structure, consider:

• What’s the campaign’s goal?
• Which products target which audiences?
• Is the campaign name easily understood by all?
• Is targeting automatic or manually set?

Firstly, have separate ‘ad campaigns’ for different products and organize them into different ‘portfolios’. Let’s say you have two different products: “Anti-Dandruff Hair Oil” and “Anti-Dandruff Shampoo.” Keep these in separate portfolios. Then you have a standard naming convention for your campaigns, such that they are self-explanatory. The campaign name should include:

• Campaign goal
• Product / Category
• Campaign type
• Campaign targeting

For example, GROWTH | Anti-Dandruff Shampoo | SP | Manual | PAT.

Each ‘Campaign’ will house different ‘Ad Groups’ for products with aligned goals. Maintain a consistent naming system for ‘Campaigns,’ and ‘Ad Groups’ adjusting as goals shift. You can have several ad groups under a campaign during its lifetime and split them when needed.

This targeted segmentation, optimized bidding strategies, and efficient budget allocation. This structure enables you to make data-driven decisions for better performance and ROI. Splitting ad groups can be necessary for various reasons, such as keyword overlap, differing performance levels among products, and the need to target various customer segments. It also facilitates A/B testing of different ad elements. The result is improved ad relevance, higher Amazon quality scores, and ultimately, a more efficient ROI.

Optimize Keyword Targeting

Analyze the performance of your keywords in the Search Term Report from your advertising account for the following metrics:

• Match Type
• Spend
• Sales
• Impressions
• Clicks
• CTR
• CPC

Monitor search terms with high impressions but low clicks, or those with many clicks but no sales, and consider marking them as negatives. You can move such search terms into other direct-targeting KW/ASIN campaigns where you will have better control over their exposure. For the same reason, shift keywords with low ACoS and high sales from broad or phrase to exact matches for better targeting.

Check for duplicate search terms in your campaigns. For a term like “red cotton dress” appearing in multiple matches, negate it from all auto/broad/phrase keywords targeting campaigns and put it as a keyword in the exact match campaign for that product. For optimal campaign performance, check for duplicate search terms across your campaigns. If a term like “red cotton dress” appears in multiple matches, negate it from all Auto targeting campaigns, as well as from Broad and Phrase match keyword targeting ones. This ensures that the search term is exclusively associated with an Exact match campaign for the specific product, enhancing targeting precision and improving ROI. Adjust bids based on keyword performance and pause the poorly performing ones after you’re sure that several bid adjustments on them aren’t bringing any results.

Bidding Management

Amazon provides four bid adjustment options at the campaign level:

1. Dynamic Bids – Down: Only This option will lower your bids in real-time for clicks that are less likely to convert to a sale. However, it won’t increase your bids for situations that are more likely to convert. It’s useful if you want to save on costs but still want some level of dynamic adjustment.
2. Dynamic Bids – Up and Down: This is a more flexible approach. Amazon will both lower and increase your bids in real-time based on the likelihood of conversion. If Amazon’s algorithm determines that a click is likely to result in a sale, it might increase the bid up to 100%. Conversely, it will lower the bid if a click is less likely to convert. This offers a balanced approach to both maximizing sales and controlling costs.
3. Fixed Bids: With this option, Amazon uses your exact bid and doesn’t adjust it based on conversion likelihood. This is ideal for advertisers who have a very clear understanding of their conversion metrics and do not wish for Amazon to make any adjustments.
4. Rule-Based Bidding: This allows you to set custom rules that dictate how bids are adjusted. For example, you might set a rule to increase bids by 10% for keywords that have generated a certain number of clicks but no conversions. It offers the highest level of customization but also requires ongoing management to ensure the rules are effective.

Each method comes with its advantages and disadvantages, and the optimal choice hinges on your goals.

While Dynamic bids– Up and Down can quickly deplete your advertising budget, they can be deployed for heightened brand exposure if that aligns with your goals.

Besides campaign-level bidding, focus on the following to restructure Amazon ad campaigns:

• Bid on alternative keywords: Once your PPC campaign gains momentum and your product ranks in the top 5 positions for a keyword, switch your focus to another high-converting keyword. Review your search term report and identify keywords with high conversion rates that you’re not yet ranking well for organically. Then bid on the identified keyword to try to secure a top position in organic search results. Continue this process for different high-converting keywords one by one to consistently increase organic sales. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket when it comes to PPC advertising. While it’s tempting to focus solely on a keyword that’s getting you a top five position, it’s essential to diversify and experiment.
• Bid for the top of the search placement and branded keywords: Combine in-search placement with branded keywords for optimal performance. For brand awareness, bid aggressively on non-branded keywords. For higher conversions, target branded keywords with low CPC and high RoAS. While top-of-search placement and branded keywords offer optimal performance, don’t overlook other tactics. For boosting brand awareness, bid aggressively on non-branded keywords. If you’re targeting higher conversions, focus on branded keywords that offer low CPC and high RoAS.
• Product Targeting Expansion and Defense Campaigns: Expanding your strategy to include Product Targeting can make your campaigns more competitive. By targeting competitors’ products, you stand a chance to capture some of their audience. In addition, defending your own products is crucial. Implement Defense campaigns where you cross-target products within your own product family or potentially your entire catalog,depending on the situation. This ensures that your brand’s products appear on your own listings, rather than those of competitors, further solidifying your market presence.

READ MORE: Here’s a helpful guide for budgeting your Amazon PPC campaigns

Restructure Amazon Ad Campaigns By Avoiding These Common Pitfalls

Keyword Dumping

Keyword dumping refers to the cramming of various match types into a single ad group or campaign without much thought. Adding too many keywords to one campaign will lead to 90% of them not getting impressions. Besides that, well-performing keywords might be distorted due to one or two keywords taking up all the budget.

Lack of Clear Goals

Starting without a clear idea of what you’re trying to achieve can lead to inefficiencies. Whether it’s boosting visibility, improving ACoS, or driving sales, having a clear objective helps guide the restructuring process.

Over-Complication

While it’s essential to segment campaigns for clarity, overly complex structures can make campaigns hard to manage and optimize. For example, mixing multiple product variations in one campaign complicates optimization. When hundreds of keywords share a single ad group, every bid and placement tweak affects them all.

Keyword Overlap

If the same keywords appear in multiple campaigns or ad groups, they can compete against each other, leading to an increase in costs.

Neglecting Negative Keywords

Not having a negative keyword strategy in place can lead to your ad showing up for irrelevant searches, burning cash, and hurting conversion rates. For example, let’s say you sell trendy eyewear and you are bidding for the keyword “glasses”. If you do not use negative keywords, a customer searching for “champagne glasses” will see your ad because their search query includes the word “glasses.” This isn’t just about waste; it’s a hit to your product rankings and a risk of keyword cannibalization too. On Amazon, PPC success and negative keywords are a package deal. Your click-through rate (CTR) plays into Amazon’s product ranking algorithm. If competitors fine-tune their CTR and you don’t, your product slides down the ranks.

Not Considering Seasonality

If you restructure Amazon ad campaigns without considering peak seasons or sales trends, you might not allocate budgets efficiently.

Restructure Amazon ad Campaigns With These Tools

Third-Party Software

1. Helium 10 is a comprehensive software suite designed to assist e-commerce sellers, particularly those on Amazon, in various aspects of their business. It helps with keyword research, inventory management, listing optimization, and more.
2. DataDive is a powerful analytics tool that helps Amazon advertisers optimize their campaigns by providing deep insights into customer behavior, purchase trends, and advertising ROI. By aggregating and analyzing data across multiple dimensions, DataDive enables advertisers to identify high-performing keywords, assess the effectiveness of ad placements, and fine-tune targeting strategies. This leads to more efficient ad spend and increased ROI, making it an invaluable resource for anyone advertising on Amazon.

Browser Extensions

1. AMZScout provides quick insights into keyword competitiveness and helps optimize your ad spending.
2. ZonGuru is a valuable tool for Amazon advertisers seeking to optimize their campaigns. It offers real-time data analytics directly on Amazon listings, such as sales estimates, revenue projections, and keyword insights. This makes it easier for advertisers to assess the competitive landscape, identify high-performing keywords, and fine-tune their advertising strategies without leaving the Amazon platform. By integrating these insights into their campaigns, advertisers can make data-driven decisions to increase ROI.

LEARN AND LISTEN: Core Community Podcast Episode: 4 Powerful Time-Saving Amazon Advertising Techniques for 2023

Conclusion

Making seasonal tweaks aligns your strategy with consumer trends, and grasping the key characteristics of a closely watched campaign can give you an edge over rivals. Yet, it’s essential to remember that the process doesn’t stop there. Neglecting consistent evaluations could result in lost opportunities and reduced exposure.

All of the strategies listed above can be too much to take in at once. Fine-tuning your campaigns to your goals demands time and effort, and that’s where they come in! Give your campaigns the boost that they need by getting on a call with us to audit and manage your PPC for you!

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