Amazon PPC Optimization and Break-Even ACoS: A Complete Training Guide for Virtual Assistants
Introduction: Why PPC Optimization is Critical
If you’re an Amazon Virtual Assistant (VA), helping clients launch and grow
their business means understanding how to manage Amazon’s Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
advertising campaigns. It's not enough to just launch ads — optimization is
where the real skill lies. In this guide, we will cover every aspect of PPC
optimization, focusing on how to analyze performance, control advertising
costs, and scale campaigns for profitability.
This lecture is designed for:
• Virtual Assistants offering
PPC services to Amazon sellers
• Freelancers managing
multiple client accounts
• New Amazon sellers trying
to learn how PPC works
We will also cover the concept of Break-Even ACoS a fundamental financial
metric that tells you when your ads are making or losing money and how to
calculate and apply it.
Chapter 1: What Is Amazon PPC
Amazon PPC (Pay-Per-Click) is Amazon’s in-house advertising system that
allows sellers to promote their products, paying only when a shopper clicks on
an ad. It includes three main types of campaigns:
1. Sponsored Products
These are the most common ad types. These advertisements appear within
Amazon’s search results as well as on product detail pages." You can run
auto or manual campaigns for Sponsored Products.
2. Sponsored Brands
These allow you to promote your brand logo and highlight up to three
individual products within a single ad.". They are typically used by
registered brands with Brand Registry access.
3. Sponsored Display
These ads show on and off Amazon and help with remarketing.
For Virtual Assistants focusing on beginner or mid-level clients, the
Sponsored Products campaigns are where you will do most of your work. They are
also the core of this guide.
Understanding ACoS and Break-Even ACoS
What is ACoS?
ACoS stands for Advertising Cost of Sales. It is calculated as:
ACoS = (Ad Spend / Sales Revenue from Ads) × 100
Example:
For example, if you spend $20 on advertising and generate $100 in sales,
your ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sales) is calculated as:
(20 ÷ 100) × 100 = 20%.
It indicates that 20% of your revenue is used to cover advertising
costs."
What is Break-Even ACoS
Break-Even ACoS is the maximum ACoS you can afford before losing money. It
is based on your profit margin.
o calculate your break-even ACoS, divide the profit you make on each unit by
the product’s selling price, then multiply by 100
Let’s go step-by-step through the calculation.
Real-Life Example:
• Selling Price on Amazon:
$50
• Product Cost (including
shipping): $25
• Amazon Fees: $10
• Net Profit (Before Ads):
$15
Break-Even ACoS = (15 ÷ 50) × 100 = 30%
So, if your ACoS stays below 30%, you're making profit. If it goes above
that, you're losing money on each sale.
This calculation is a must-know for every VA and seller running PPC
campaigns. It allows you to set your ACoS targets and budget.
PPC Campaign Lifecycle
Understanding the lifecycle of a PPC campaign helps you know what to expect
and when to optimize. Here are the 5 stages:
1. Launch Stage
• Start with Auto Campaigns
• Goal: Data collection
• Budget: Moderate (e.g.,
$10–$30/day)
2. Data Analysis Stage
• Review keywords generating
sales
• Remove underperformers
• Shift good keywords to
Manual Campaigns
3. Optimization Stage
• Fine-tune bids
• Adjust placements
• Add negative keywords
4. Scaling Stage
• Increase budget on
profitable campaigns
• Add more keywords
• Test new match types
5. Maintenance Stage
• Weekly monitoring
• Continuous improvements
Auto vs Manual Campaigns Explained
Auto Campaigns
In an auto campaign, Amazon chooses keywords for you based on your product
title, description, and backend terms.
Pros:
• Quick and easy to launch
• Helps discover new keywords
• Ideal for beginners
Cons:
• Less control
• May waste money on
irrelevant clicks
When to Use:
• During product launch
• For keyword harvesting
• When you're unsure which
keywords will convert
Manual Campaigns
Here, you choose your own keywords. You can choose match types:
• Broad: Keyword in any order
(less control)
• Phrase: Keyword phrase in
correct order (medium control)
• Exact: Keyword in exact
form (full control)
When to Use:
• After initial data from
Auto campaigns
• To target proven converting
keywords
Keyword Research for Manual Campaigns
To make manual campaigns work, you need the right keywords. This is where
Helium 10 comes in.
Using Helium 10 Cerebro (Reverse ASIN Tool)
1. Take a competitor’s ASIN
from Amazon
2. Enter it into Cerebro
3. View all the keywords they
are ranking for
4. Export and filter for:
o Search volume
o Organic rank
o Relevance score
Using Helium 10 Magnet (Seed Keyword Tool)
1. Enter a main keyword (e.g.,
“sink organizer”)
2. Magnet suggests hundreds of
related keywords
3. Filter for high volume, low
competition terms
Finalize a Keyword List
• 10–15 Exact Match keywords
• 10–20 Phrase Match keywords
Paste these into your manual campaign setup.
Bid Strategy and Placement Adjustment
Amazon lets you adjust your bids depending on where your ads appear on the
platform
• Top of Search (first page):
High-converting but expensive
• Product Pages:
Mid-converting
• Rest of Search: Lower
converting
Bid Types:
• Dynamic – Down Only: Amazon
lowers your bid if the chance of conversion is low
• Dynamic – Up and Down: Bid
adjusts based on conversion likelihood
• Fixed Bids: No change, full
control
For Launch: Start with Down Only
For Optimization: Test all strategies
Placement Adjustments:
If a keyword converts well at Top of Search, increase the bid multiplier by
100% to dominate that space.
Negative Keywords
Negative keywords are search terms you intentionally exclude from your ad
targeting
Why Use Negative Keywords?
• Reduce wasted spend
• Block irrelevant searches
• Improve ACoS
How to Add:
• Go to Campaign Manager
• Edit your campaign or ad
group
• Click “Negative Keywords”
• Add underperforming or
irrelevant terms
Add as:
• Negative Exact: Blocks only
the exact phrase
• Negative Phrase: Blocks any
phrase containing that term
Campaign Optimization Checklist
1. Monitor spend, impressions,
clicks, orders
2. Compare sales to ACoS and
ROAS
3. Pause keywords with high
spend and no sales
4. Increase bids on converting
keywords
5. Test different match types
6. Use Negative Keywords weekly
7. Adjust placements monthly
8. Recalculate break-even ACoS
every time your cost changes
Scaling PPC for Growth
Once your campaigns are stable and profitable:
• Raise daily budget on best
campaigns
• Increase bids on keywords
with low ACoS
• Add more relevant ASINs to
product targeting
• Start Sponsored Brand
campaigns (if eligible)
• Launch new products using
the same system
Weekly Reporting for Virtual Assistants
As a VA, your client expects updates. Key elements to cover in your weekly
report include:
• Campaign Name
• Impressions
• Clicks
• Spend
• Sales
• Orders
• CTR
• CPC
• ACoS
• ROAS
• Suggestions for improvement
Use Excel or Google Sheets for formatting.
Master the System, Don’t Just Set and Forget
PPC is not a set-it-and-forget-it system. It’s an engine that requires
constant attention, analysis, and tuning. Once you master PPC optimization,
your clients will see a measurable improvement in sales, margins, and
advertising efficiency — and you’ll become an invaluable part of their Amazon
business.
In the next lecture, we’ll dive into how to run sponsored brand campaigns,
video ads, and retargeting using Amazon DSP.
