Most Amazon sellers know their PPC could be tighter, but who has time to dig through search term reports every day? You end up letting bad terms bleed money for weeks, missing obvious bid adjustments, and watching budgets drain on campaigns that haven't converted in months.
These 12 rules catch that stuff automatically. They flag the waste, surface the winners, and keep your budgets where they actually belong—on terms that convert. Nothing happens without your approval (or you can set thresholds and let them run).
It's built for lean teams who need their accounts running clean without living in spreadsheets, especially heading into peak season when every wasted dollar hurts twice as much.
The 2025 Reality (And Why Lightweight Automations Matter)
CPCs keep climbing, shoppers are quicker to bounce, and telling yourself "I'll fix the bids on Friday" is how profitable products quietly bleed out. The point isn't to set everything on autopilot and walk away. It's about setting things up so the software catches the problems and flags them; then you decide what actually gets changed.
Here are the basic guardrails you can start with:
- Negative candidates: Any term that's spent $30 or gotten 20+ clicks with zero conversions in the last 7–14 days.
- Bid down: When 7-day ACoS is running 20% or more over your target and you've got at least 10 clicks to confirm the pattern.
- Bid up: When 7-day ACoS is at or under target and you've seen at least 2 conversions.
- Low-CTR pause: Click-through rate under 0.2% with 1,000+ impressions over 7 days.
And here's the quick math you can use: ACoS = Ad Spend ÷ Ad Sales. If your landed margin is around 35%, a reasonable starting target for growth is somewhere between 25–30% ACoS. Once you're getting consistent volume, you can tighten it from there.
12 PPC Rules Every Seller Should Run (Triggers, Actions & Don't-Get-Burned Tips)
Most PPC advice sounds good in theory but falls apart when your budget's on the line. These 12 rules are built from what actually moves the needle in seller accounts:
1. Auto/Research → Exact Harvest
When you see a search term in Auto or Broad campaigns hit at least 2 conversions with an ACoS at or below your target, it's time to graduate it. Move that exact term into its own ad group with Exact match, then add it as a negative in the original campaign so you're not competing with yourself.
This stops you from overpaying for loose matches and lets you control your bid precisely where it matters.
Just watch out for seasonal quirks: If you're selling something like pumpkin dog treats, compare the last 14 days to the last 60 before you commit. You don't want to bet big on a term that only worked during October.
2. Brand vs. Non-Brand Isolation
If your brand terms and generic keywords are living in the same campaign, split them. Keep your brand defense campaign running all the time with its own budget.
Brand searches convert well and make your overall numbers look great, but when everything's mixed together, you can't tell where your generic terms are actually bleeding money. Separating them shows you the real story.
3. Exact Negative for “Silent Bleeders”
Any search term that's burned through $30 or racked up 20+ clicks without a single conversion needs to go. Add it as an Exact Negative right away.
The fastest way to see impact is to sort your search term report by spend, then kill the top 5 worst offenders first. You'll feel the difference in your account the same day.
4. N-gram Phrase Negatives (Pattern Killers)
Sometimes it's not one bad term—it's a pattern. If you keep seeing words like "cheap" or "refill" show up across multiple searches and they've collectively spent $30+ with zero conversions, add that word as a Phrase Negative at the campaign level.
One phrase can hide in dozens of different search terms, so cutting the whole branch saves more than picking off individual leaves.
Need a refresher on match types/negatives?
- Match types and targeting groups: Amazon Ads Support Center
- Add negative keywords or negative products: Amazon Ads Support Center
5. Bid Down Overspenders (Without Tanking Volume)
When a keyword's ACoS is running 20% or more above your target and it's had at least 10 clicks in the last 7 days, dial the bid down by 10–15%. Set a minimum bid floor so you don't accidentally go dark.
If your CPCs are all over the place, use smaller steps—like 8–10%—but adjust twice a week instead of once.
6. Bid Up Efficient Winners
If a keyword is hitting your ACoS target or better and has at least 2 conversions in the last week, raise the bid by 10–12%. Just cap it near what you'd expect to pay for the top of the search.
If your average position already jumped last week, cut that increase in half. You don't want to overshoot and waste the momentum.
7. Pause Low-CTR Keywords
When a keyword gets 1,000+ impressions over 7 days but the click-through rate is under 0.2%, either pause it or drop the bid by 15% if you think it's strategic.
Low CTR usually means your ad doesn't match what people are actually searching for—or your main image isn't working. Fix the listing before you turn it back on.
8. Fund Your Winners
If a campaign's been tagged "limited by budget" on 2 out of the last 3 days and the ACoS is at or below target, raise the daily budget by 10–20%.
Profitable demand that you're not funding is the most expensive kind of caution. You're literally turning away sales that would have made you money.
9. Tame the Bleeders
When 80% of your budget disappears by early afternoon and your ACoS is over target, drop bids by 10–12%—or cut the budget by 10% if the traffic quality stays bad. Morning burn with no evening sales is a classic problem.
This rule spreads your spending more evenly throughout the day.
10. Pause Non-Converting ASIN Targets
If you're targeting a competitor ASIN and it's given you 15+ clicks with zero conversions, pause it. Keep the ones that are actually converting or delivering solid ROAS.
A quick way to decide: Sort by price and rating gaps. Stick with targets where your product genuinely looks better on paper.
11. Smart Conquesting
Look for competitor ASINs with similar pricing and ratings where you have a clear advantage—maybe you offer a bundle, better warranty, or faster shipping. Target those. Skip the ones where you keep losing.
Conquesting everything is just flexing. Conquesting selectively is profitable.Search term report for Sponsored Products: Amazon Ads Support Center
12. New-Launch Boost (Controlled Learning)
For any SKU that's been live less than 30 days, loosen your ACoS target by 10–15% temporarily. Let it run until you hit at least 3 conversions, then tighten back up. This buys you signal fast without leaving the door open for endless spend. You're paying for data, not just hoping it works out.
How to Get Started With Amazon PPC Automations
Look, you don't need to flip on all 12 rules at once. Start with the four that'll make the biggest difference without blowing anything up:
- Exact Harvest: Move your proven search terms to Exact match
- Exact Negative: Kill the terms burning the most money
- Bid Down: Dial back the overspenders
- Fund Winners: Give more budget to campaigns that are actually profitable
Once these are running, the system starts catching issues and flagging them for you. Your job is just to review and approve what makes sense. Here's how to do that without it eating up your whole afternoon.
How to Review the Suggestions
Open your queue and sort by spend first. Those top spending terms with zero conversions? Approve the negatives. These are your biggest leaks—plug them first.
Next, sort by conversions. Approve the terms that are ready to graduate to Exact match, and green-light any bid increases that look reasonable based on performance.
Check your budget alerts. If a campaign keeps hitting "limited by budget" and the ACoS is good, fund it. But don't just raise every budget blindly—only the ones earning it.
Finally, scan for anything with terrible CTR. If a keyword's getting tons of impressions but nobody's clicking, either pause it or drop the bid way down.
The Weekly Routine (30 Minutes Max)
- Monday morning: Kill your worst bleeders and add phrase negatives. Get rid of the junk so it doesn't drain you all week.
- Wednesday: Graduate your winners to Exact and bump bids on what's working. This is when you double down on momentum.
- Friday afternoon: Quick budget check. Make sure nothing's going to run out of money over the weekend when you're not watching.
Once a month: Take 15 minutes to look at your thresholds. CPCs change, seasons shift, and what worked in February might be too loose by April. Adjust accordingly.
Common PPC Problems (And How to Fix Them)
These are the situations sellers run into most often. If something feels off in your account but you're not sure which rule to apply, start here:
- Your ACoS is high, but people are converting fine when they do buy. You're probably just overpaying for clicks. Use #5 Bid-Down before you panic and slash the whole budget.
- You're getting tons of clicks but no sales, and it's happening across a bunch of similar search terms. This isn't bad luck; it's a pattern. Use #4 N-gram negatives to block the whole phrase instead of playing whack-a-mole with individual terms.
- One campaign has amazing ROAS, another looks terrible, but you're selling the same product. You've probably got brand and generic terms mixed together. The brand searches are making everything look better than it is. Split them with #2 Brand vs. Non-Brand isolation so you can see what's really happening.
- Your best keyword is stuck in the middle of the page, even though it's profitable. It's efficient but under-positioned. Use #6 Bid-Up to climb higher, just cap it near what the top-of-search actually costs, so you don't overshoot.
Put Your PPC on Autopilot The Smart Way
Automation won't make decisions for you; it just surfaces the ones that matter so you're not buried in spreadsheets every day. These 12 rules help you cut waste, grow the traffic that actually converts, and protect your margin while you scale.
👉 Start a free 30-day trial + 30% off your first month (coupon applied at signup).
