Amazon advertising
Amazon PPC reporting
Amazon PPC reporting should answer a small number of questions: is advertising spend producing sales at a cost the margin can carry, where is money being wasted, and what should change next? The Amazon Ads console provides campaign figures and reports such as the search term report, which lists the searches that triggered your ads. Those figures are a starting point. A useful report adds context from outside the console, especially total sales and margin, and ends with decisions rather than a page of numbers. Attributed sales, the sales Amazon credits to ads, deserve some caution because some of those shoppers might have bought anyway.
Below we look at the measures worth tracking, how often to report, how to read attributed figures, how to lay out a report and how to make sure it leads to action. Check Amazon Ads' current documentation for available reports. LetGetGrow manages Amazon advertising as ongoing management or one-off projects, working in your own advertising account, with the scope and fee set out in a custom quotation.
Illustrative diagram
- Gather
- Add context
- Find
- Decide
- Record
Measures worth tracking
| Measure | What it tells you | Caution |
|---|---|---|
| Ad spend | What advertising cost | Compare with total sales, not only ad sales |
| Attributed sales | Sales Amazon credits to ads | Some would have happened anyway |
| ACOS (spend ÷ attributed sales) | Cost of each pound of ad-credited sales | Only meaningful against your margin |
| Total sales | All sales of the product | Affected by more than ads |
| Search term spend without sales | Likely waste | Needs enough data to judge |
Reading figures against your margin
An ACOS figure means little on its own. A product with a wide margin can carry a higher advertising cost than one with a thin margin. Work out the break-even point for each product, the advertising cost at which a sale earns nothing after product, Amazon fees and shipping costs, and judge campaign figures against that line rather than against a figure from elsewhere.
Some products are advertised deliberately above break-even, for example during a launch to build reviews and ranking. If so, the report should say so, state the intended period and track whether the plan is working.
A note on attributed sales
Amazon credits a sale to an ad when a shopper who interacted with it goes on to buy within Amazon's attribution window. That does not prove the ad caused the sale. Shoppers searching your brand name, for example, may have bought anyway. Looking at total sales alongside ad sales, and noticing what happens when spend changes, gives a more honest picture.
A reporting rhythm
Weekly check
Spend pacing and obvious problems.
Output: Short note
Fortnightly or monthly review
Search terms, targets, bids.
Output: Changes made
Monthly report
Spend, sales, margin view, decisions.
Output: Written report
Quarterly look back
Trends and strategy.
Output: Plan for next quarter
Example: a one-page monthly report
Illustrative example — not a client case study
Situation: A seller of camping lanterns wants a report they can read in five minutes.
- The top of the page shows total spend, total sales, ad-credited sales and the break-even ACOS for each lantern.
- A short section lists the three largest wasteful searches found and the negatives added.
- The last section lists decisions for next month: one bid reduction, one new exact keyword and one listing image to improve.
What this shows: The seller could see what changed and why without reading raw exports. This example is illustrative.
What a useful report includes
Context
- Total sales next to ad sales
- Break-even line per product
Findings
- Waste found and removed
- Targets that are working
Actions
- Changes made since last report
- Decisions proposed for next period
Laying out a report
Put the answer first: whether advertising is working against your targets this period. Then the evidence, then the actions. Raw exports can be attached for anyone who wants detail, but the report itself should be readable without them. Keep the same layout each month so changes stand out.
Choosing the period
Very short periods exaggerate noise, especially for products with few daily sales. Comparing the same length of period, and noting seasonal events such as sales days, avoids drawing conclusions from ordinary fluctuations.
Define every measure
Different tools and people calculate figures differently. A short definitions box in each report, saying how each measure is worked out and which date range is used, prevents arguments later about why two numbers do not match.
Separating brand searches
Report searches for your own brand name separately from category searches. Brand searches tend to show low advertising cost because the shopper already wanted you, and mixing them in can make the whole account look healthier than the category campaigns really are.
Questions about Amazon PPC reporting
What should an Amazon PPC report show?
Spend, sales against margin, waste found and decisions.
How is ACOS calculated in a report?
Ad spend divided by attributed sales.
Is a low ACOS always good?
Judge it against your break-even, not a general figure.
Can attributed sales be trusted?
Use them with total sales; some would have happened anyway.
How often should we report?
Weekly checks, with a fuller monthly report.
Why define each measure?
Tools calculate figures differently.
Sources referenced
Platform features, guidance and rules change. We check the current versions before committing to an approach. This page is general information, not legal advice.
- Amazon Ads: Targeting with Sponsored Products (opens in a new tab) — reviewed 2026-10-30
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