You may already have a great product, high-quality images, and a well-written listing. You’ve optimized everything as much as possible — yet you’re still not getting many sales.
Why?
Because your product is buried on page 50+ of the search results.
Listing optimization alone is not enough.
If you want your product to be seen, you need Amazon PPC — the most powerful advertising tool available for Amazon sellers today.
In this article, we’ll break down how Amazon PPC works, the most common campaign types, and practical strategies to optimize your ads — so you don’t waste money, but still get the best possible results.
Reality: Why Amazon PPC Matters
From a customer’s perspective, most people don’t want to waste time. When they open Amazon, the first thing they often see is a video ad right in front of them:
That’s the power of advertising.
When you have a well-optimized video placed directly in front of shoppers—right at the moment they’re searching for a product—your conversion rate can increase significantly.
Amazon PPC Dominates the Search Results
Let’s say you’re selling a protein product, and a customer searches for something like “protein bars for weight loss.”
The first four results they see are often all ads:
If you’re experienced, you might notice the small “Sponsored” label under the product image.
But most everyday shoppers don’t pay attention to that.
If they see a product with 4+ stars and solid reviews, they’ll click.
Even when you scroll further down, you’ll still find ads — seamlessly blended into the search results.
The Role of Advertising During Product Launch
When you first launch a product on Amazon, it takes time to push it to the top of the search results.
In general, to rank higher, you need two key things:
Consistent sales.
Products that sell well are more likely to be pushed up by Amazon.
A strong conversion rate.
Customers land on your listing, read the reviews, and decide to buy.
In the early stage, running Amazon PPC is essential. It helps you accelerate this process and get your product onto the first page much faster.
As you can see in the example above, the top four products are all ads. They are placed above all organic results — which means they naturally attract the highest number of clicks.
Types of Amazon Ads
On Amazon, there are three main types of ads that every seller should understand. Each one plays a different role and serves specific goals in building your brand and driving sales.
1. Sponsored Product Ads
This is the most popular ad type on Amazon — and it typically generates the majority of advertising revenue for sellers.
- Placement:
These ads can appear at the top of search results, in the middle or bottom of the page, and even inside widgets like “Customers also viewed…” - How they look:
They appear almost identical to a normal product listing, with only a small “Sponsored” label — which makes them highly clickable. - Performance:
Sponsored Product Ads usually deliver the highest click-through rate and conversion rate because they feel natural and familiar to shoppers.
In fact, this ad type often accounts for around 70–80% of total Amazon ad revenue.
2. Sponsored Brand Ads
This ad type is designed to highlight your brand — not just a single product.
- Placement:
These ads typically appear at the top or bottom of search results, and they can also include video formats. - Key features:
You can use lifestyle images along with a short headline (up to 50 characters) to communicate your message. - Advantages:
Sponsored Brand Ads help customers remember your brand and create a stronger impression. When using video, they become especially powerful — often stopping users mid-scroll and capturing attention immediately.
Requirements:
You must be enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry to use this ad type.
Sponsored Brand Ads usually contribute around 10–20% of total ad revenue and are highly effective for building brand awareness.
3. Sponsored Display Ads
This ad type is designed to follow your customers — even after they leave your product page.
- Placement:
These ads can appear below bullet points, next to the review section, or even outside Amazon on partner websites. - Key features:
They support remarketing (reaching people who previously viewed your product) and audience targeting (based on behavior and demographics). - Important note:
If not set up properly, your ads may show in irrelevant contexts. For example, someone searching for “whey protein” might see an ad for… shoe insoles.
Requirements:
You’ll need Brand Registry and a solid understanding of targeting to use this effectively and control costs.
Sponsored Display Ads usually account for around 5–10% of ad revenue, but they play a crucial role in brand awareness and retargeting strategies.
Each ad type has its own strengths.
If you want fast visibility when launching a product, go with Sponsored Product Ads. If your goal is to build brand recognition in a crowded market, leverage Sponsored Brand Ads.
And if you want to stay in front of potential customers — even when they’re browsing competitors — Sponsored Display Ads are the right choice.
Why Ads Help Improve Organic Ranking
One of the most common misconceptions beginners have is this:
“If I create a great listing and optimize it well, it will naturally rank on its own.”
In reality, Amazon rankings are largely driven by two factors: sales volume and conversion rate.
And to achieve both, you need traffic.
In other words, if you want to rank, people need to see your product — and buy it.
Amazon works like a growth loop:
- You run ads → people see your product
- People buy → you generate sales
- Customers leave reviews → your product gains trust
- Amazon ranks your product higher in search results
- Higher rankings → more organic traffic
- More organic traffic → more sales
And the cycle continues.
This is known as the Amazon Flywheel — a continuous growth loop.
Advertising is the lever that gets that wheel spinning.
That’s why running ads from day one is essential (unless you already have an existing audience or traffic source).
The Difference Between Keywords and Search Terms
When running Amazon ads, you’ll often hear two terms: keywords and search terms. Many beginners assume they mean the same thing — but they don’t.
Keyword:
These are the terms you manually add to your ad campaigns.
For example, if you’re selling cat toys, you might add the keyword “cat toy” to your campaign. Amazon uses this keyword to decide where your ads can appear.
Search term:
These are the actual words customers type into the Amazon search bar.
For example, a shopper might search for “best cat toy for indoor cats” — even if you’re only bidding on “cat toy.”
If you’re using broad match or phrase match, your keyword can trigger ads for many different search terms.
And this is where real data comes in — you start seeing which search terms actually generate clicks, conversions, and sales.
Example:
Your keyword: dog toy
Customer search term: dog toy for aggressive chewers
→ Your ad still shows. If the customer buys, you’ve just discovered a high-value search term.
Understanding the difference between keywords and search terms allows you to:
- Optimize your campaigns — keep what works, eliminate what doesn’t
- Discover new keyword opportunities — many valuable search terms may not be in your original list
- Increase profitability — by targeting buyers who are searching with clear intent
One important note:
Amazon ads operate on an auction-based system.
That means most sellers compete for obvious, high-volume keywords like “dog toy” or “protein powder.”
But fewer people go after long-tail, specific search terms — such as “dog toy for Rottweiler” or “organic protein powder for women.”
And those specific search terms are often where you can outperform competitors — with lower competition and higher conversion rates.
What Are Match Types?
How Amazon Uses Keywords to Show Your Ads
When you run ads using manual targeting, Amazon will ask you an important question: When do you want your ads to appear?
That’s where Match Types come in — they define how Amazon matches your chosen keywords with what customers actually search for.
Instead of overcomplicating it, think of Match Types as different levels of control. They determine how strict or flexible Amazon is when matching your keywords to search queries.
Understanding this concept clearly is essential — because it directly affects your traffic quality, ad spend, and overall performance.
1. Exact Match
Your ad only shows when the customer searches for the exact keyword you selected.
For example, if you bid on “cat toy,” your ad may appear for “cat toy” or “cat toys” (plural variations are included).
This is the most precise match type — and it usually delivers the highest conversion rate, because the customer is searching for exactly what you’re selling.
2. Phrase Match
Amazon will show your ad when your keyword appears within a longer search phrase.
For example, if you bid on “cat toy,” your ad may appear for searches like “best cat toy for kittens” or “cat toy indoor.”
Pros:
You can reach a wider audience and expand your visibility.
Cons:
Your ads may show for searches that are not perfectly relevant, which can lower your conversion rate.
3. Broad Match
This is the most flexible match type.
If you bid on “cat toy,” your ad might appear for searches like “dog toy,” “pet accessories,” or even “toys for small pets.”
It may seem unrelated, but Amazon allows this because there can be overlap in shopping behavior.
Pros:
Maximum reach and potential for high traffic.
Cons:
Lower conversion rates, since not everyone who clicks is a qualified buyer.
So, which Match Type should you choose?
It depends on your goal.
If you want high conversion and efficiency, focus on Exact Match.
If you want to expand reach and discover new opportunities, use Phrase or Broad Match.
In practice, many high-performing campaigns combine all three — balancing profitability while continuously expanding reach.
You can further optimize your campaigns by excluding irrelevant terms (called negative keywords), which we’ll cover in the next section.
Final Thoughts
This article is already quite long — but it only covers the basics.
There’s still a lot more I want to share with you, such as:
- How to set up each type of campaign in detail
- Advanced strategies for running profitable ads
- How to use PPC to achieve and maintain long-term rankings
Feel free to explore other articles on this website, especially the Amazon FBA guide section, where I go deeper into these topics.
Wishing your business continued growth and success.