Introduction

Amazon Advertising is a powerful tool for businesses to showcase their products and reach millions of potential customers. Even today, the majority of Amazon advertising is lower funnel, and yields substantial returns for customers. Choosing the right Amazon PPC software is critical for managing your ad campaigns effectively and scaling your Amazon business. Amazon Advertising provides businesses with a powerful platform to showcase their products and reach millions of potential customers. However, as the complexity of managing ad campaigns increases, relying solely on manual methods becomes inefficient.

The right Amazon PPC software can automate routine tasks, optimize your campaigns for better performance, and save you valuable time. With a wide range of tools available, from rule-based platforms to AI-powered solutions, selecting the one that aligns with your needs can feel overwhelming.

In this post, we will evaluate automation of Amazon ads, explore the intricacies of automating Amazon ads, available automation techniques, tools and best practices to harness the full potential of this advertising platform.   

Understanding Amazon Advertising: 

Before getting into automation strategies, it's crucial to understand the basics of Amazon Advertising. Amazon offers several ad formats, including Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display ads, each serving different objectives and targeting options. 

1. Sponsored Products

Sponsored ads appear in search results and on product detail pages, driving traffic to individual product listings. Drives traffic to individual product listings.

How it works: Advertisers bid on relevant keywords, and ads appear in search results and on product detail pages.

2. Sponsored Brands

Sponsored brands help Boosts brand visibility with a custom headline, logo, and multiple products.

How It Works: Ads appear at the top of search results and direct traffic to an Amazon Store or product pages.

3. Sponsored Display

Sponsored display ads targets audiences on and off Amazon.

How it works: Ads use browsing and purchase behavior to display relevant products to potential customers.

Understanding the Need for Automation 

Managing Amazon ad campaigns involves multiple tasks, from bid adjustments to keyword management. While smaller sellers may start with manual operations, this approach becomes increasingly difficult as ad spend and campaign complexity grow. Let’s explore different approaches to Amazon PPC management and their suitability for various needs.

1. Manually Operating Through Amazon Ad Console

The Amazon Ad Console is a straightforward and cost-free way to manage campaigns, making it a common choice for sellers with smaller ad budgets (<$5,000/month). Many advertisers who are new to PPC advertising rely on the platform’s user-friendly interface to set up and adjust their campaigns.

However, manual operations come with several limitations:

• Time-Intensive: Managing bids, budgets, and keywords for multiple campaigns can be overwhelming.

• Risk of Errors: Manual adjustments are prone to mistakes, leading to wasted ad spend or missed opportunities.

• Limited Scalability: As campaigns grow in size or complexity, manual management becomes unsustainable.

This is why automation is essential for scaling effectively.

2. Rule-Based/ Formula-Based Tools

Rule-based tools automate tasks based on predefined conditions, giving advertisers greater control over their campaigns. For example, Advertisers set rules like increasing bids if ACOS < 20% or pause ads when conversions drop.

• Best For: Intermediate to advanced advertisers who want granular control over campaign adjustments.

• Advantages: Allows for precise optimization, ensuring campaigns meet performance goals.

• Limitations: Requires expertise to set up and manage rules effectively.

Formula-based tools take this a step further by using complex if-then logic to handle bid changes, keyword harvesting, and budget allocation dynamically. But they miss out on the dynamic nature of bid-based ads, in which impressions depend on competitors bids also. 

3. AI-Based Tools

AI-based automation tools use machine learning algorithms to analyze data and make real-time adjustments. These tools can predict trends and adjust campaigns dynamically without requiring user intervention.

• Best For: Sellers managing large accounts with diverse SKUs or those seeking minimal manual involvement.

• Advantages: Highly adaptive, efficient, and suitable for scaling.

• Limitations: Limited control over algorithmic decision-making, which may not suit advertisers who prefer hands-on management.

  
  

4. Retail-Aware Ad Automation Tools

Retail-aware ad automation tools combine Seller Central or Vendor Central data with advertising campaigns to help you run more effective ads. These tools integrate retail data such as inventory levels, pricing, and organic rankings with your advertising efforts.

How They Work:

• Inventory Integration: Automatically pause ads when inventory is low to prevent overselling or negative customer experiences.

• Avoid PPC Cannibalization: Prevent your ads from competing with your organic listings, ensuring efficient use of ad spend.

• Data Integration: Utilize real-time data from Seller Central/Vendor Central to make informed decisions about ad campaigns.

Best For: Sellers who want to align their advertising efforts closely with their retail operations for holistic optimization.

Example: Atom11 is one of the only tools in the market that offers retail-aware ad automation, providing features like pausing ads when inventory is low or adjusting bids based on organic rankings.

By understanding the strengths and limitations of each approach—manual operations, rule-based tools, AI-based tools, and retail-aware automation—sellers can determine the right level of automation for their needs and move toward tools that streamline campaign management.

Best Automation Strategies for Amazon PPC Campaigns

Automating your Amazon PPC campaigns is essential for improving performance, saving time, and maximizing your advertising ROI. By implementing the right automation strategies, you can streamline campaign management and focus on scaling your business. Below are some key automation strategies to consider:

1. Bid Management Automation

Effective bidding is crucial for the success of your Amazon ad campaigns, as it directly impacts ad placement and visibility. Automation in bid management helps you adjust bids efficiently based on real-time data.

1. Automated Bidding: Automated bidding leverages machine learning algorithms to adjust bids in real-time based on various factors such as keyword performance, competition, and cost-per-click. The system analyzes historical data and market trends to make bid adjustments without manual intervention.
   
   

2. Rule based bidding: Rule-based bidding involves setting specific parameters or rules that automatically adjust bids when certain conditions are met. For example, you can set a rule to increase bids by 10% if ACOS is below 20% or decrease bids if the click-through rate drops below a certain threshold.

Choosing Between Automated and Rule-Based Bidding

• Automated Bidding is ideal if you prefer a hands-off approach and want the system to make data-driven decisions on your behalf. It’s suitable for advertisers who manage large campaigns and want to save time on manual adjustments.

• Rule-Based Bidding is better if you desire more control over your bidding strategies and have specific performance goals. It’s suitable for advertisers who are experienced with PPC management and can dedicate time to monitor and adjust rules.

2. Keyword and Search Term Optimization

Optimizing keyword targeting is essential for driving relevant traffic to your product listings. Automation can streamline the process of identifying high-performing keywords and eliminating underperforming ones.

• Keyword Harvesting: Automated tools analyze search term reports to discover new keywords based on actual user queries. This expands your keyword portfolio and uncovers new opportunities for your campaigns.
  
  

• Negative Keyword Management: Automatically add irrelevant or low-converting search terms as negative keywords. This prevents your ads from appearing in irrelevant searches, saving ad spend and improving ROI.

3. Budget Allocation and Campaign Management

Managing your advertising budget effectively ensures that your ad spend is optimized for the best possible return.

• Rule-Based Budget Management: Establish predefined rules to automatically adjust your budgets based on performance metrics like ROAS (Return on Advertising Spend), sales volume, or ACOS. For instance, you might increase the budget for campaigns with high conversion rates.
  
  

• Campaign Structure Optimization: Automatically organize your campaigns by grouping products with similar performance metrics. This makes it easier to manage bids, budgets, and targeting settings, leading to more efficient campaigns.

  
  

4. Creative Optimisation

While a significant portion of ad spend goes to Sponsored Products, which don’t require custom creatives, optimizing ad content remains important for Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display ads.

• A/B Testing: Automate the rotation of different ad creatives to determine which combinations of headlines, images, and ad copy perform best with your target audience. This helps in refining your ads for better engagement.

  
  

• Creative Insights: Use tools that analyze ad performance data to provide actionable insights for improving your creatives. Recommendations might include changes to copy, imagery, or call-to-action buttons to enhance ad effectiveness.

Note: Most ad tools do not heavily focus on creative optimization because approximately 70% of ad dollars are invested in Sponsored Product ads, which do not require custom creatives.

By implementing these automation strategies, you can enhance your Amazon PPC campaigns’ efficiency and effectiveness. Automation not only saves time but also helps in making data-driven decisions that can lead to better ad performance and higher sales.

What are the best tools for Automation?

Several tools and platforms are available to streamline the process of automating Amazon ad campaigns. If you want to understand in detail the 7 best Amazon PPC software for Sellers and Agenices in 2025, read the full blog here. 

1. atom11: atom11 is the only retail aware amazon PPC software in the market today. Along with table stakes ad automation features like keyword harvesting, negation and bid automation, atom11 brings together retail data and analytics.   With the increasing cost of advertising, it is essential that ad spend is managed effectively. With atom11, you can combine inventory, organic rank and pricing data with ads. This not only helps in improving spend efficiency, but also total sales.   

   If you are looking to onboard to a PPC automation tool, feel free to check out atom11 demo.

   
   

   

2. Pacvue: Pacvue is one of the priciest tools in the market for ad automation. It’s rule based ad automation software enables you to set up any kind of rules that you want. It also employs machine learning algorithm for bidding optimization. We have written about top 10 pacvue alternatives in 2024 that you can consider.

3. Perpetua: Perpetua is an automated tool to manage ads using target ACOS. It uses a different approach to manage ads – i.e goal-based approach. Instead of campaigns, you build goals on Perpetua. Goals are created on ASINs, and they automatically change bids on keywords, to match target ACOS provided by ad manager. However, their approach ends up overriding any changes that you make on Amazon ad console. Hence you are always at the mercy of the software to take action on advertising.   

4. Teikametrics: Teikametrics is an AI-powered platform that helps sellers and brands optimize their Amazon advertising campaigns. It offers features like automated keyword bidding, campaign optimization and competitive insights to maximize ROI and drive growth.  

5. Scale Insights: Built by 8 figure sellers themselves, scale insights is an effective rule-based software. You can set up any kind of rules on scale insights. However, there is a steep learning curve associated with it and little support available. Also scale insights limits its data availability to ads only.   How to select the right tool for your ad automation.

6 Criteria to consider when Selecting the Right Amazon PPC Software

Since there is no one-size-fits-all solution when selecting the right Amazon PPC software, it’s important to consider various factors that align with your specific needs. Here are some key criteria to help you select the best tool:

1. Assess Your Business Needs

Skill Level:

• Beginners: Look for software with a user-friendly interface, guided setups, and easy navigation. Tools that offer tutorials and support can help you get started smoothly.
  
  

• Advanced Users: If you have more experience, consider software that provides advanced features like custom rule creation, detailed analytics, and greater control over campaign parameters.

Advertising Goals:

• Efficiency Improvement: If you’re looking to save time on routine tasks, AI-based tools might be suitable.
  
  

• Granular Control: For precise optimization, rule-based or formula-based tools allow you to set specific parameters.

  
  

2. Level of Control Vs. Automation

   
   

Desire for Control:

• Rule-Based Tools: Offer granular control over bidding strategies, keyword management, and budget allocation. Ideal for advertisers who want to customize their campaigns extensively.

Preference for Automation:

• AI-Based Tools: Provide automated campaign management with minimal manual intervention. Suitable for those who prefer a hands-off approach.

  
  

• Retail-Aware Tools: Integrate retail data (like inventory levels and pricing) with advertising efforts for smarter decision-making. Tools like Atom11 offer this feature.

3. Integration Capabilities

Retail Data Integration:

• Inventory Management: Choose software Like Atom11 that can automatically pause ads when inventory is low to prevent overselling and negative customer experiences.

  
  

• Avoiding PPC Cannibalization: Tools that adjust bids based on organic rankings help prevent your ads from competing with your organic listings, ensuring efficient use of ad spend.

Platform Compatibility:

• Amazon Integration: Ensure the software seamlessly integrates with Amazon Seller Central or Vendor Central.

  
  

• Third-Party Tools: Check compatibility with other tools you use, such as inventory management systems or analytics platforms.

4. Pricing Model

1. Percentage of Ad Spend:
   Overview: The cost is a percentage (typically 1.5–4%) of your total ad spend.
   Considerations: Can become expensive as your ad budget increases
   Examples: Pacvue, Perpetua, Teikametrics.
   
   

2. Fixed or Tiered Fees:
   Overview: Predictable costs that don’t fluctuate with your ad spend
   Considerations: Suitable for larger sellers or agencies.
   Example: Atom11 offers fixed and tiered pricing for enterprise clients and agencies.
   
   

3. Based on Number of ASINs Managed:
   Overview: Pricing depends on how many product listings you manage.
   Considerations: Cost-effective for sellers with a smaller catalog.
   Examples: PPC Ninja, Scale Insights.
   
   

4. Free Trials and Demos:

   Benefit: Allows you to test the tool’s features and usability before making a commitment.

5. Scalability

• Feature Expansion: Ensure the software can handle an increasing number of SKUs, campaigns, and complexity as your business grows

  
  

• Performance Consistency: The tool should maintain efficiency even as your ad spend scales up

  
  

Conclusion

Automating your Amazon ad campaigns offers numerous benefits—from saving time and improving efficiency to enhancing accuracy and overall performance. By effectively leveraging the right Amazon PPC software and automation strategies, advertisers can optimize their campaigns, drive sales, and maximize ROI on the Amazon Advertising platform.

However, automation is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It’s crucial to tailor your approach to your specific goals, target audience, and market dynamics. Experiment with different automation techniques, monitor results closely, and iterate based on insights gained from data analysis.

Atom11 specializes in making your life as a seller or agency easier! For the first time ever, you can combine retail data with advertising to run more efficient ads. From comprehensive data analytics providing quick insights into the root causes of sales fluctuations and competitor analysis to helping you deploy the most effective ads, Atom11 has got you covered.

Ready to elevate your Amazon PPC campaigns? Get in touch with us or book a demo today to see how Atom11 can transform your advertising strategy.