Selling on Amazon: How to Make Ads Work for Your Store

Business owner reviewing Amazon asvertising performance on a laptop dashboard, analysing ad spend and sales data.

If you’re already selling on Amazon, you’ve probably tried running ads. Maybe you’ve invested a chunk of money into Amazon advertising only to feel like your profit is slipping away with nothing to show for it. You’re not alone. Many sellers find themselves spending heavily on Amazon pay per click ads, but struggling to see sales that justify the cost.

The good news? PPC on Amazon can work. The problem isn’t the platform itself but how campaigns are set up, managed, and optimised. In this blog, we’ll look at why ads often fail to deliver, the common mistakes sellers make, and practical steps to turn your campaigns into a profitable part of your store’s growth.

Why Your Amazon Ads Might Not Be Working

When you’re already selling and still not seeing results from ads, it’s rarely because Amazon PPC “doesn’t work.” More often it comes down to these issues:

  • Wrong keyword targeting: Ads are showing for terms that don’t match shopper intent. For example, your listing for “organic green tea bags” might be appearing for “green tea mugs.” You get clicks, but no sales.

  • Overly broad campaigns: Dumping all keywords into a single campaign with one budget makes it impossible to see what’s actually driving revenue.

  • High cost, low return: Competitive keywords can push costs sky-high. If you’re not tracking margins, you might actually be losing money even when sales are happening.

  • Unoptimised product listings: Even if ads bring traffic, poor images, unclear bullet points, or weak descriptions can kill conversions.

  • Set and forget mindset: Amazon PPC isn’t something you can run once and leave. Costs rise fast without active monitoring and adjustments.

If any of these sound familiar, your ads are likely eating into your profit rather than adding to it.

Shifting the Focus: From Spend to Profit

The biggest mistake sellers make is chasing clicks or impressions instead of focusing on profit. It doesn’t matter how many people click your ad if the sale price doesn’t cover your ad spend plus Amazon fees and product costs.

Start asking yourself different questions:

  • What’s my break-even ACOS (Advertising Cost of Sale)?

  • Which products give me the healthiest margin after ad costs?

  • Are my ads winning new-to-brand customers, or just competing for people who might have bought anyway?

By shifting your mindset from “spend more to get more sales” to “spend smarter to protect profit,” you set yourself up for campaigns that actually work for your store.

How to Stop Wasting Money on Amazon PPC

Here’s a structured approach to regain control of your ad spend and start seeing meaningful results:

1. Audit Your Current Campaigns

Before you spend another penny, look closely at what you’re already running. Identify which campaigns are eating the most budget and check whether they’re producing profitable sales. Pause anything that consistently fails to convert.

2. Refine Keyword Targeting

Broad targeting is often the culprit behind wasted spend. Use Amazon’s keyword targeting features to uncover the exact terms that lead to sales. Negative keywords are just as important — they stop your ads from appearing for irrelevant searches.

3. Segment by Product and Goal

Don’t put every SKU into the same campaign. Separate campaigns by product type and business goal. For example, keep brand-protection ads (where you bid on your own brand name) separate from competitor-conquest campaigns. This clarity makes it easier to see what’s really driving returns.

4. Monitor ACOS and ROAS

ACOS tells you the percentage of sales spent on ads, while ROAS shows the revenue you get for every pound or dollar spent. Track these metrics at a product level. A campaign that looks good overall might actually be hiding products that are losing you money.

(You can learn more about tracking ROI in our Marketing Metrics Hub).

5. Improve Your Product Pages

Think of your product listing as the landing page for your ads. If traffic doesn’t convert, the issue may be the listing, not the ad. Invest in high-quality images, SEO-friendly titles, and bullet points that highlight benefits clearly.

6. Test and Optimise Constantly

Amazon PPC isn’t static. Costs, competition, and shopper behaviour shift all the time. Weekly or bi-weekly checks can prevent small issues from becoming expensive problems.

When to Consider an Amazon Ad Agency

Sometimes sellers reach the point where managing ads in-house just isn’t practical. An Amazon ad agency can step in to cut wasted spend, build campaigns that protect margins, and free up your time.

Working with an agency can make sense if:

  • You’re spending more than you’re earning from ads

  • You don’t have time to monitor campaigns regularly

  • You want expert support to scale profitably, not just grow sales at any cost

The key is finding an agency that values transparency. You should always know where your budget is going and how it impacts your bottom line.

Practical Example: Turning Loss into Profit

Imagine you’re spending £2,000 per month on Amazon PPC and generating £10,000 in sales. That might sound positive at first. But once you subtract Amazon’s referral fees, fulfilment costs, and product expenses, your profit margin might only be 15%. That’s £1,500.

With ad spend at £2,000, you’re actually in the red.

Now imagine trimming wasted keywords, tightening bids, and focusing on the top 20% of terms that actually convert. If ad spend drops to £1,200 but sales stay at £10,000, your profit margin now works in your favour. You keep more of what you earn instead of giving it back to Amazon.

Amazon ads don’t have to drain your profit. When managed strategically, they can drive sustainable sales, improve organic rankings, and create long-term growth. The challenge isn’t whether Amazon pay per click ads work; it’s whether they’re being run with the right structure, goals, and checks in place.

Take the time to analyse, refine, and focus on profitability. If your current campaigns feel like money down the drain, it’s not the end of the story. With the right adjustments, your ads can stop being a cost centre and start becoming one of the most valuable tools in your Amazon business.

Key Points to Think About

  • If your profit feels eaten by ad spend, it’s usually a sign of poor campaign structure, weak targeting, or unoptimised listings.

  • Focus on profit, not clicks. ACOS and ROAS are your best indicators of whether ads are working.

  • Keep campaigns clean, segmented, and reviewed regularly.

  • Don’t ignore product pages. Ads only bring the traffic; listings close the sale.

  • If managing PPC is eating into your time or margins, an experienced Amazon ad agency can help turn things around.

Author

Hope Varnes is a Chartere Marketer with over 15 years experience in digital marketing. She is specialises in Google Ads, PPC, content marketing, and marketing strategy. She has a Master’s in Digital Marketing and eCommerce and is Google Certified. She is an expert in leveraging digital platforms to drive brand awareness, lead generation, and revenue growth.