Hello,
I have been running advertising campaigns for months and I have noticed the ACoS on AMZ IT is always higher compared to other marketplaces campaigns, seems there’s no way to lower it even though I optimize all campaigns once per week / once every two weeks. Is anyone experiencing the same problem?
I would appreciate opinions on this.
Many thanks in advance!
My suggestion would be to review your Negative Keywords. Doing so will help you optimize the campaign, as you won’t be wasting money on clicks for irrelevant searches.
Yes, we are experiencing the same problem even though i optimize all the time
thank you, for your reply!
Many Amazon sellers think high ACOS means they need to cut their ad budget. But in most cases, the real problem is poor campaign structure.
Recently, I audited an Amazon account where the ACOS was sitting at 33%. The seller was spending money to get clicks, but profitability was almost impossible.
Instead of increasing the budget or launching more campaigns, we focused on three simple PPC optimizations:
• Search Term Mining
We analyzed the search term report and identified the keywords that were converting. Winning keywords were then moved into exact match campaigns for better control.
• Negative Keyword Optimization
Several irrelevant search terms were wasting ad spend. Adding negative keywords immediately reduced unnecessary clicks.
• Campaign Structure Fix
The account had mixed match types within one campaign. We separated the campaigns into Auto, Broad, Phrase, and Exact to improve bid control and performance.
Results after optimization:
• ACOS dropped from 33% to 8%
• Higher conversion rate
• Better control over keyword performance
The biggest lesson is that sometimes you do not need more ads. You simply need a better PPC strategy.
If your Amazon PPC ACOS is too high, it may be time for a quick account audit.
A good ACOS does not always mean a listing is safe. One issue many sellers miss is relevance decay, where the product still gets impressions and some sales, but click share or conversion share starts to decline. When that happens, Amazon may begin to see the listing as less relevant for that search term and gradually reduce its organic position, even before the sales drop becomes obvious. A good way to address this is to strengthen the listing’s relevance by making sure the main image clearly matches the keyword, the title stays focused on the primary search intent, and PPC spend is directed toward the clicks that are most likely to convert, especially through stronger exact-match targeting.
If one of your products has a high ACOS, avoid guesswork and follow this structured optimization process.
Step 1: Check Active Campaigns (Most Important)
First, identify which Sponsored Products campaigns are running for the product:
Sponsored Products
Keyword Targeting
Broad
Phrase
Exact
Product Targeting (ASIN targeting)
Category Targeting
Defensive Targeting (your own ASINs)
Competitor Targeting (other sellers’ ASINs)
You must clearly understand where your ad spend is coming from.
Step 2: Verify Keyword Isolation
Once you confirm the product is active in discovery and exact campaigns, verify this critical point:
Are the keywords you are targeting in Exact campaigns added as Negative Exact in Broad, Phrase, and Auto campaigns?
If not, keyword overlap will cause wasted spend and higher ACOS.
Important: Do Not Negate Without Checking Performance
Before negating any keyword from discovery campaigns, always check:
Is this keyword performing better in Exact (or SKC) than in Broad, Phrase, or Auto?
If yes, add it as Negative Exact in discovery campaigns.
If no, do not negate it yet.
Best Practice: Use SKC Strategy
If a keyword is not performing better in Exact:
This reduces wasted spend, improves control, and helps lower ACOS consistently.
Step 3: Control Bleeders and High-ACOS Targets
Pause bleeder keywords.
Reduce bids on high-ACOS keywords.
Example:
30+ clicks
1 order
150–200% ACOS
Pause immediately.
Apply the same rule to product targeting ASINs, category targets, and competitor targets.
Step 4: Search Term and Target Optimization
Add negative keywords from search term reports.
Pause poor-performing, tested terms in discovery campaigns.
Pause or optimize search terms, ASIN targets, and category targets.
Step 5: Budget and Bid Optimization
Reduce budgets on poor-performing campaigns.
Increase budgets only on profitable campaigns.
Slightly increase bids for keywords or targets with good ACOS.
Reduce bids or pause those with bad ACOS.
Final Result
If you follow this process correctly, you should start seeing ACOS improvement within 7 days.
Pro Tip
Always run exact keywords inside SKC campaigns.
Use discovery campaigns strictly for research. Scale product and category targeting only after keyword performance is stable.