How to Set Up & Run Amazon Ads Campaigns (Seller Central)

Boost your Amazon sales! This easy guide walks you through setting up & managing successful Sponsored Products campaigns inside Seller Central.

Amazon Seller Central is the main web interface or online portal used by third-party sellers (businesses or individuals) to manage their selling activities directly on Amazon marketplaces (like Amazon.in or Amazon.com).

Think of it as the command center for your Amazon business. Through Seller Central, you can:

• List products for sale.
• Manage your inventory.
• Fulfill customer orders (or manage Fulfillment by Amazon – FBA).
• Run advertising campaigns (Amazon Ads).
• Track your sales, payments, and performance metrics.
• Communicate with Amazon support.

Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up and Running Amazon Ads Campaigns (within Amazon Seller Central)

Amazon’s advertising platform allows sellers to promote their products directly within Amazon’s search results and product pages. The most common starting point is “Sponsored Products”.

Phase 1: Preparation & Access

1. Ensure Eligibility:
   • You need an active Professional Amazon Seller Central account.
   • Your products must be eligible for advertising (e.g., in eligible categories, eligible for the Buy Box).
   • Have your payment method set up in Seller Central.
2. Access the Advertising Console:
   • Log in to your Amazon Seller Central account.
   • Hover over the “Advertising” tab in the main navigation menu.
   • Click on “Campaign Manager”. This is your central hub for all Amazon advertising activities.

Phase 2: Creating Your First Campaign (Example: Sponsored Products)

Sponsored Products ads appear in search results and on product detail pages, driving traffic directly to your specific product listings. They are usually the best place for beginners to start.

1. Click “Create campaign”: Inside the Campaign Manager, find and click the button to start a new campaign (often yellow/orange).
2. Choose Your Campaign Type: You’ll see several options. Select “Sponsored Products”. (Other options like Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display serve different purposes).
3. Campaign Settings:
   • Campaign Name: Give your campaign a clear, descriptive name. Include the product type, targeting strategy, and date if helpful (e.g., “YogaMat_SP_Auto_Apr2025” or “GarlicPress_SP_Manual_Keywords_Apr2025”).
   • Portfolio (Optional): If you have many campaigns, you can group them into portfolios for easier budget management and reporting. You can skip this initially.
   • Start and End Dates: Set a start date (usually today). You can leave the end date open for an ongoing campaign or set a specific end date for promotions.
   • Daily Budget: Set the maximum amount you’re willing to spend per day on this campaign. Start conservatively (e.g., $10-$25 USD or equivalent) until you see performance. You can always increase it later. Note: Amazon might sometimes spend slightly over your daily budget but will typically balance it out over the month.
4. Choose Targeting Strategy: This is crucial.
   • Automatic Targeting: Amazon automatically targets keywords and products similar to your advertised product based on its algorithm.
     • Pros: Easy setup, great for discovering effective customer search terms you might not have thought of.
     • Cons: Less control, potential for irrelevant clicks.
     • Recommendation: Excellent for beginners or for researching effective keywords.
   • Manual Targeting: You choose specific keywords or products/categories to target.
     • Pros: More control over where your ads appear and how much you bid.
     • Cons: Requires research and ongoing management.
     • Types within Manual:
       • Keyword Targeting: Bid on specific customer search terms (e.g., “red yoga mat”). You’ll choose match types (Broad, Phrase, Exact).
       • Product Targeting: Target specific ASINs (Amazon Standard Identification Numbers) of competitor or complementary products, or entire product categories.
     • Recommendation: Use this once you have data (often from an Automatic campaign) on which keywords/targets convert well.
5. Campaign Bidding Strategy: Choose how Amazon adjusts your bids.
   • Dynamic bids – down only: Amazon lowers your bid in real-time for clicks less likely to convert. (Safest starting point).
   • Dynamic bids – up and down: Amazon may increase bids (up to 100%) for placements likely to convert and decrease them for others. (More aggressive).
   • Fixed bids: Amazon uses your exact bid without dynamic adjustments. (Maximum control, but less optimization by Amazon).
   • Recommendation: Start with “Dynamic bids – down only”.
6. Create an Ad Group: Campaigns are made up of Ad Groups. An ad group contains similar products and the targeting/bids for them.
   • Ad Group Name: Name it clearly (e.g., “Red Yoga Mats” or “Automatic Targeting Group”).
7. Select Products to Advertise: Browse or search your inventory and add the specific product(s) you want to advertise within this ad group. Group similar products together.
8. Set Targeting (Based on Step 4 Choice):
   • If Automatic: Amazon might give options to adjust default bids for different automatic targeting groups (Close Match, Loose Match, Substitutes, Complements). You can set a single default bid for all automatic targets initially.
   • If Manual (Keyword Targeting):
     • Enter your chosen keywords. Amazon will suggest some, or you can upload a list.
     • Choose a Match Type for each keyword (Broad, Phrase, Exact). Start with Phrase or Broad to gather data, then refine with Exact.
     • Set a specific Bid for each keyword (or use the default bid). Amazon often suggests a bid range – start within or slightly below that range.
   • If Manual (Product Targeting):
     • Search for specific ASINs or Categories to target.
     • Set a Bid for each target.
9. Negative Targeting (Optional but Recommended):
   • Negative Keyword Targeting: Add terms you don’t want your ads to show for (e.g., if selling premium yoga mats, add “cheap”, “used” as negative keywords). This prevents wasted spend on irrelevant clicks. You can add these later based on performance reports. Use “Negative Exact” and “Negative Phrase”.
   • Negative Product Targeting: Exclude specific brands or ASINs where you don’t want your ads to appear.
10. Review and Launch: Double-check all settings: campaign name, budget, targeting, bids, products. If everything looks correct, click “Launch campaign”.

Phase 3: Monitoring and Optimization (Crucial for Success)

Launching is just the beginning. Consistent monitoring and adjustment are key.

1. Wait for Data: Allow your campaign to run for at least a week (or longer, depending on traffic) to gather enough data before making major decisions.
2. Check Key Metrics Regularly (Daily/Weekly): In Campaign Manager, focus on:
   • Spend: How much you’ve spent.
   • Impressions: How many times your ad was shown.
   • Clicks: How many times your ad was clicked.
   • CTR (Click-Through Rate): Clicks ÷ Impressions. Indicates ad relevance.
   • Sales: Value of sales generated from clicks on your ads (within Amazon’s attribution window).
   • ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sale): Spend ÷ Sales x 100%. A key metric showing how much you spend on ads for every dollar of sales generated by those ads. A lower ACoS is generally better, but your target ACoS depends on your profit margins and goals (e.g., launching a new product vs. maximizing profit).
   • RoAS (Return on Ad Spend): Sales ÷ Spend. The inverse of ACoS.
3. Analyze the Search Term Report (Especially for Auto Campaigns):
   • Go to “Advertising Reports” (sometimes under “Measurement & Reporting”).
   • Run a “Search Term Report” for your campaign.
   • This shows the actual customer search terms that triggered your ads.
   • Identify:
     • High-performing terms: Add these as keywords in a Manual campaign (with Exact/Phrase match) for better control and bidding.
     • Irrelevant terms: Add these as Negative Keywords in the original campaign (Auto or Manual) to stop wasting money.
     • Poorly performing terms: Consider lowering bids or adding as negative keywords if they spend money with no sales.
4. Adjust Bids:
   • Increase bids slightly on keywords/targets that are generating sales profitably (below your target ACoS).
   • Decrease bids on keywords/targets that are spending too much with low or no sales (high ACoS).
   • Pause keywords/targets that consistently perform poorly after giving them enough time/data.
5. Refine Targeting:
   • Continuously add negative keywords.
   • If using Automatic, eventually move well-performing search terms into Manual campaigns for better control.
   • Experiment with Product Targeting (targeting competitors or complementary items).
6. Optimize Product Listings: Remember that ads drive traffic, but your product detail page (images, title, bullet points, description, reviews) converts that traffic into sales. Ensure your listing is fully optimized.
7. Experiment: Don’t be afraid to test different campaign types (Sponsored Brands for brand awareness, Sponsored Display for retargeting), bidding strategies, and targeting methods once you’re comfortable with Sponsored Products.

In Summary:

Running successful Amazon Ads involves setting up campaigns methodically, monitoring performance closely using metrics like ACoS, analyzing search term reports to refine targeting and add negative keywords, and continuously adjusting bids based on data. Start simple (Sponsored Products Automatic), learn from the data, and gradually expand your strategies. Remember, it’s an ongoing process of testing and optimization.

Related Reading: What is Amazon DSP and how does it differ from Sponsored Ads?