Average ACoS sits around 30%. Top performers hit 22-25%. The difference isn’t budget, it’s structure.
Sponsored Products account for 68% of Amazon’s ad revenue and drive 20-70% of sales for most sellers. Get structure wrong and you’re paying Amazon to waste your money.
This guide covers match types, ad group organisation, and a 7-campaign framework you can implement today.
Match Types Explained
Match types control how closely a shopper’s search must align with your keyword for your ad to show.
Broad Match: Widest net. Shows for variations, synonyms, related terms in any order. Use low bids, this is discovery traffic.
Phrase Match: Your keyword phrase must appear in order, but allows words before/after. Medium bids, balanced reach and relevance.
Exact Match: Only triggers on that specific keyword or close variants (plurals). Highest bids, these are your money keywords. Improves conversion rates 15-25% vs broader types.
Best starting combo: Exact + Auto. These consistently perform across most accounts.
Auto Campaign Targeting Types
Auto campaigns have four internal targeting types:
- Close Match: Keywords closely related to your product. Highest ROAS of all auto types ($4.35 in benchmarks).
- Loose Match: Keywords loosely related. Broader discovery.
- Substitutes: Shows on competitor product pages. Automatic competitor targeting.
- Complements: Shows on complementary product pages. Cross-selling opportunities.
You can segment autos by enabling only keyword types (Close + Loose) or only product types (Substitutes + Complements) for cleaner data.
Auto vs Manual: Use Both
Auto campaigns: Quick setup, discovers keywords you’d never find, great for launches. Less control over spend.
Manual campaigns: Full control over keywords and bids, essential for scaling winners. Requires research upfront.
Run autos 100% of the time for discovery. Layer manual campaigns on top for control. Any account without both is leaving money on the table.
Ad Group Structure Rules
- One ad group per campaign. Multiple ad groups = no control over budget allocation.
- Max 5 keywords per campaign. More keywords? Split into separate campaigns.
- Single product per campaign where possible. Keeps data clean.
- Separate high-volume keywords. A 10k/month keyword will eat budget before a 100/month keyword gets impressions.
The 7-Campaign Launch Framework
This works for most products. Aim for £10-20/day per campaign.
- Regular Auto — All four targeting types, medium bids. Discovery + performance baseline. Non-negotiable.
- Catch-All Auto — Very low bids (10-25p). Often hits 20-40x ROAS on long-tail terms.
- Root Keywords (Broad) — 2-5 core product terms. Low-medium bids. Visibility across related searches.
- Top Keywords (Exact) — Your top 3-5 converting keywords. Highest bids. Precision targeting.
- Branded Terms (Exact) — Your brand name + misspellings. Defensive — own your brand searches.
- Competitor ASIN Targeting — Product targeting on competitor listings. Max 5 ASINs per campaign.
- Category Targeting — Your subcategory filtered by price above yours + ratings below yours.
Budget tight? Start with just campaigns 1 and 2. Add others as revenue allows.
Keyword Harvesting
Run autos 7-14 days → Download Search Term Report → Find terms with conversions → Add to manual campaigns across all match types.
Warning: Don’t negate keywords from autos where they’re still working. Some sellers see better results keeping winners in both.
Cutting Wasted Spend
Warning signs:
- CTR below 0.3% = targeting is off
- ROAS under 2x = poor efficiency
- ACoS over 40% with low sales = check the listing, not just ads
- High clicks, zero conversions = add as negative keyword immediately
Review Search Term Reports weekly. Negate any term that’s spent more than your AOV without converting.
Quick Reference
Bid strategy: Broad (low) → Phrase (medium) → Exact (highest) → Auto (conservative)
Structure: 1 ad group per campaign, max 5 keywords, single product where possible
Priority order: Regular Auto → Catch-All Auto → Top Keywords → Root Keywords → Branded → Competitor → Category
Campaign structure isn’t glamorous, but it’s the difference between profitable advertising and burning cash. Start with this framework, run it for 30 days, harvest winners, cut losers, iterate.
The sellers winning on Amazon aren’t spending the most. They’re spending smart.