The Ultimate Guide to Amazon PPC Campaign Naming Conventions

Amazon accounts often generate multiple campaigns each month, and having a clear naming convention is not just a good practice—it’s a necessity. A well-organized naming system reduces confusion and simplifies collaboration. It also helps advertisers focus on what matters most: achieving their advertising goals rather than spending hours collating results to analyze data.

An Amazon PPC Campaign Naming Convention is a structured approach to naming your ad campaigns, designed to bring clarity and consistency to your account. It ensures that each campaign name provides essential information at a glance, such as ASINs, objective, ad type, target type, and bid adjustments. This structure allows advertisers to manage campaigns effectively, track performance, and easily scale their advertising strategies.

Let us understand in detail how an organized Amazon PPC campaign naming structure should be. This blog will cover:

• Why is Amazon PPC campaign naming important?

• What a good campaign naming convention does not impact?

• Key components to include in an Amazon PPC campaign naming structure

• How to update campaign names for multiple campaigns in bulk?

• Efficient ways to manage Amazon PPC campaigns without changing old campaign naming conventions

Why is Amazon PPC Campaign Naming Important?

Managing Amazon PPC campaigns effectively means keeping track of numerous moving parts like different products, objectives, ad types, and strategies. Without a well-structured naming convention, navigating these marketing campaigns can become overwhelming and time-consuming, especially as your campaigns grow in number. A consistent campaign naming structure brings order to this complexity, allowing for more precise navigation, faster analysis, and easier collaboration among team members.

Efficient Management

A well-structured campaign name provides a transparent and seamless way to organize your digital marketing initiatives. For example, if you include campaign objectives in your campaign name, you can monitor the results better. This is specifically important when brands have more than 50 campaigns in a single account as well as for agencies managing multiple accounts simultaneously.

Quick Identification

A uniform and systematic naming convention eliminates inconsistencies, allowing marketers to quickly identify an advertising campaign's purpose, contents, and attributes. This can help you make prompt decisions and adjustments based on campaign performance. For example, if your ASIN advertised is a part of a campaign name, you can quickly filter out campaigns of a specific ASIN and take action.

Data Analysis

When campaigns are appropriately named, extracting meaningful insights from performance reports using analytics becomes easier. For example, a simple export can let you pivot and analyze campaigns with different attributes. You can identify trends, optimize strategies, and make informed decisions.

Streamlined Communication

Campaign naming is one of the best practices for large brands and agencies. This is because these organizations work at such a large scale that people management becomes a crucial part of their everyday operations. A standardized format in campaign naming makes it easy to deal with new joiners and shortens their onboarding time.

Scalability

A well-thought-out campaign naming convention ensures scalability as your business grows and diversifies. New products, services, or objectives can be seamlessly integrated into your existing campaign framework without disrupting the overall organizational structure.

What a Good Campaign Naming Convention Does Not Impact? 

It is important to realize that a campaign naming convention is a productivity strategy, not an optimization strategy. A good (or bad, for that matter) campaign naming convention will not impact your: 

1. Reach 

2. ACOS

3. Conversion

4. Spend

5. Customer Acquisition Cost

However, a good campaign naming convention will definitely help you reach your targets better. It’s because a well managed advertising account can reduce operational inefficiencies and chances of missing out on actions to be taken. 

What Are the Key Components to Include in a Good Amazon PPC Campaign Name?

A good Amazon PPC campaign name includes specific components that make the campaigns searchable, consistent, and relevant. Here are the essential components:

1. ASIN or Sub-Category Name

Including the ASIN for single-ASIN campaigns or a sub-category name for multi-ASIN campaigns helps identify the targeted products. This makes it easier to take action, such as pausing campaigns for low-stock products, unpausing when it’s back in stock, or analyzing spend and performance trends by product or product category.

Example 1: For Single-ASIN Campaigns

Format: "ASIN number" | SP | Target Type | "Campaign Objective"

Example: B0XXXXXX | SP | Keywords Exact | Ranking

Example 2: For Multi-ASIN Campaigns

Format: "Sub-Category" | SP | Target Type | "Campaign Objective"

Example: FitnessGear | SP | Keywords Broad | Awareness

2. Campaign Objective

Adding the campaign’s objective, such as Ranking, Brand Defense, or Profitability, helps set ACoS targets specific to each campaign, which gives insights into campaign goals. For instance, new product launch campaigns may have a high target ACOS, whereas profitability-focused campaigns aim for a lower ACOS.

Example Use Case: A “Ranking” objective signals the campaign is focused on boosting organic rankings for a product.

Example 3: Sponsored Brand Campaign with Ranking Objective

Format: "Product Range" | SB | Target Type | "Campaign Objective"

Example: YogaMats | SB | Keywords Broad | Awareness

3. Advertised Product Type

Specifying the ad type, such as Sponsored Products (SP), Sponsored Brands (SB), Sponsored Display (SD), ensures clear identification of the format used. This makes budget allocation and performance analysis across different ad types easier.

Example 4: Sponsored Display Campaigns

Format: "ASIN number" | SD | Target Type | "Campaign Objective"

Example: B0XXXXXX | SD | Retargeting | Brand Awareness

4. Targeting Type

Defining the targeting type, such as Keywords (Exact or Broad Match) or Competitor Targeting, provides insight into the campaign’s strategy. This granular level detail helps advertisers adjust bids and strategies more effectively.

Example 5: Sponsored Product Campaign

Format: "ASIN number" | SP | Target Type | "Campaign Objective"

Example: B0XXXXXX | SP | Competitor Targeting | Brand Defence

5. Bid Strategy Adjustments

Including bid adjustments like “Top of Search +50%” clarifies which campaigns are optimized for high-visibility placements. This component helps prioritize campaigns designed for specific performance goals and ensures alignment with your ad strategy.

Example 6: RunningShoes | SP | Keywords Exact | Profitability | TOS+50

This structured naming convention ensures campaigns are easy to identify, track, and optimize. By incorporating these components, advertisers can streamline management, minimize errors, and improve overall campaign performance.

How to Update Campaign Name for Multiple Campaigns in Bulk?

So, you decided to update your campaign names in bulk. The simplest way to do it is by using Bulk Files. Here is the step-by-step process: 

Step 1: Download the latest bulk file

Step 2: Build out new campaign names

This is the heart of the process. In this step, you create a pivot table on Sponsored Product Campaigns.

Q: How to create the pivot?

A: Filters = Entity (Product Ad)

Rows = Campaign Name, ASINs

Now, you know all the campaign names and the number of SKUs in each campaign. 

Use that and other parameters like targeting and objective to concatenate the new campaign name (See #6). 

Once this is done, add other parameters like Campaign ID, Start Date, Campaign Status, and Bidding Strategy (#5, #7, #8, #9) in different columns, as you will need this information in the final step. 

Step 3: Download the bulk file upload sheet

Step 4: Fill in the blanks in the Bulk Sheet template and upload file

Add all the information highlighted in blue. 

This way, you can change your campaign names in bulk in one go. 

Efficient Ways to Manage Amazon PPC Campaigns Without Changing Old Campaign Naming Conventions

Changing the naming convention for old campaigns can be challenging, especially for large ad accounts or agencies managing multiple clients. It requires significant time, planning, and effort, often taking weeks to execute. However, even if your current campaigns aren’t perfectly named, there are ways to organize the campaign names. Here’s how you can manage campaign names effectively without changing old naming conventions:

1. Adopt Better Naming Practices for New Campaigns

It’s never too late to start. Even if your older campaigns remain unchanged, focus on implementing a proper naming convention for all future campaigns. On average, accounts create 3–6 new campaigns monthly, so correcting naming conventions for new campaigns can have a significant impact over time.

2. Framework for Managing Old Campaigns

Even if you don’t have the bandwidth to make bulk changes to your campaigns, you can still manage your ad campaigns effectively. Use the following framework in case changing conventions is not possible.

Did you forget to add Product Names to your campaign names? 

No worries. Create sub-category or product level portfolios and group your campaigns into these portfolios. These ad groups help you better organize the campaigns and take actions quickly. For example, if you’re advertising multiple water bottles, create a “Water Bottles” portfolio where you can add campaigns related to different water bottle types. This streamlines organization and simplifies decision-making.

Did you forget to add the Product Type to your campaign names?

No worries; you don’t need product type information daily. For fortnightly or monthly analysis, use the Product Tab on Amazon Advertising Console or you can use the Product Dashboard on Atom11 to export data. A simple pivot table can reveal the product types associated with each campaign.

Did you forget to add Campaign Objectives to your campaign names? 

No worries. Skip unnecessary details like adding “ACOS campaign” to every campaign—it’s given that most campaigns focus on ACOS. Identify and rename campaigns whose objectives are not ACOS driven. For example, ranking campaigns, new product launch campaigns, etc. 

3. Pivot or Add Campaign Labels for Better Management

With atom11, you may not need to rename old campaigns with descriptive campaign names as you can pivot campaigns by Portfolios and Campaign Types. You can also create campaign labels to identify campaigns by objective, placement %, product advertised, or any other parameters. This is helpful as you do not have to go through the tedious process mentioned above. You can add campaign labels in bulk and/or pivot data to examine it in groups. 

Conclusion

A good naming convention for your Amazon PPC campaigns makes managing and optimizing your account effortless. It helps you stay organized, save time, and work efficiently as your campaigns grow. Even if updating old campaigns takes time, starting with new ones can bring noticeable improvements.

If you’re looking for a software solution to streamline your Amazon PPC management, book a demo with the Atom11 today. Discover how our platform can simplify campaign organization and help you drive better results. 

FAQs

How do you name your campaign?

Effective campaign naming should consider certain factors to ensure easy tracking, reporting, and management of campaigns.

• Maintain a Consistent Hierarchy: Use campaign themes for the starters and narrow down to more specific elements like product category, marketing platforms, creative type, etc.

• Use UTM Parameters: Integrate UTM parameters to track campaign effectiveness when running campaigns across various platforms.

• Incorporate Essential Details: Include important campaign details for proper data management without creating excessively long campaign names.  

What is a campaign naming convention, and why is it important?

A campaign naming convention is a structured method of naming your Amazon PPC campaigns using a consistent set of rules. It includes details such as product name, campaign objective, ad type, targeting type, and bid strategy. This structured approach ensures clarity and organization, making it easier to manage campaigns, track performance, and collaborate effectively across teams.

What elements should be included in the Amazon PPC campaign naming convention?

An Amazon PPC campaign naming convention should include essential elements such as the ASIN or sub-category name to identify the product being advertised, the campaign objective to define its purpose (e.g., ranking or profitability), the ad type to specify formats like Sponsored Products or Sponsored Brands, the targeting type to outline strategies like exact or broad match, and bid adjustments for specific placements like “Top of Search +30%.” These components ensure campaigns are well-structured and easy to manage.

How does a simple naming convention improve ad management?

A straightforward naming convention improves campaign management by simplifying how campaigns are identified and tracked. It reduces errors, enables faster reporting, and helps advertisers analyze performance and optimize strategies more effectively. A standardized naming system enhances collaboration for teams managing multiple campaigns and ensures consistency across accounts.

Can you provide an example of an effective campaign naming convention?

An effective campaign name might look like this:

[Product Name] | [Ad Type] | [Targeting Type] | [Campaign Objective] | [Bid Adjustment]

For example: “B0XXXXXX | SP | Keywords Exact | Ranking | TOS+30” clearly indicates the product, ad type, targeting approach, campaign goal, and bidding strategy.