Don't Make This Mistake With Automatic Targeting

Hey,

Using Automatic Targeting campaigns with your Amazon Ads is an absolute must in my eyes, because they:

– Are quick to setup

– Take very little maintenance (aside from bid optimization and negative targeting)

– Can be very easily scaled

– Discover new Keywords and ASINs (that you may never have thought of)

– Keep up with the latest book releases and search trends in your genre

– Can run for months, if not years, if optimized correctly

I could go on and on about the benefits of these Campaigns!

However, there's one BIG mistake I have seen many authors (and myself) make with Automatic Targeting Campaigns...

Setting a Default Bid

You can see in the screenshot below that when it comes to bidding, there are 2 options to choose from when launching an Automatic Targeting Campaign:

– Set Default Bid

– Set Bids By Targeting Group

The quickest and easiest option here is to choose Set Default Bid (this is also the default option set by Amazon for bidding with Automatic Targeting Campaigns).

The issue with this bidding option is that it fails to accommodate for, one, the different Placements where your Amazon Ads will appear:

– Search Results Pages

– Product Pages

And two, how closely matched the Search Terms or ASINs that are triggering your Ads to show are to your advertised book(s).

This is why I ALWAYS recommend choosing the second option for bidding with Automatic Targeting Campaigns, Set Bids By Targeting Group.

As you can see in the screenshot below, when you select Set Bids By Targeting Group, you will be able to set the bids for each of the following independently:

– Close Match

– Loose Match

– Substitutes

– Complements

You will also be able to see the specific metrics of each Targeting Group individually, such as:

– Clicks

– Spend

– CPC (Cost-Per-Click)

– CTR (Click-Through Rate)

– Orders

– KENP Read

– Estimated KENP Royalties

– Sales

And if you find that one or more of the Targeting Groups aren't performing, you can turn them off and focus your budget on the Targeting Groups that are performing.

Here's a rundown of how each Targeting Group works:

– Close Match: Shows your Ads on search results pages (mainly) for search terms that are closely related to your advertised book(s)

– Loose Match: Shows your Ads on search results pages (mainly) for search terms that are loosely related to your advertised book(s)

– Substitutes: Shows your Ads on the Product Pages (mainly) of books that are similar to your advertised book(s)

– Complements: Shows your Ads on the Product Pages (mainly) of books that are somewhat related to your advertised book(s)

Personally, I have seen that, in the main, Close Match and Loose Match deliver the highest conversion rates, but the lowest impressions and clicks.

Complements generates the most impressions and clicks, with a lower conversion rate. Substitutes receives little in the way of impressions and clicks.

The above scenarios are by no means seen across the board; this is just the average of what I have experienced across many different Amazon Ads Accounts that I've worked on.

So, your action step for today...

Always make sure you choose Set Bids By Targeting Group and gain 100x more control over your Automatic Targeting Campaigns.

To Your Success

– Matt