Amazon PPC management services

How a PPC management engagement runs

1. 01

   Audit

   Current structure, spend, waste.

   Output: Findings

2. 02

   Targets

   Break-even ACOS and goals per product.

   Output: Agreed targets

3. 03

   Restructure

   Campaigns by purpose and match type.

   Output: Campaign map

4. 04

   Routine

   Weekly reviews and changes.

   Output: Change log

5. 05

   Reporting

   Monthly results and next steps.

   Output: Monthly report

Targets from your numbers

A manager should ask for your product costs, Amazon fees and margins, then agree target ACOS per product or group, along with goals such as launching a product or defending brand searches. Targets copied from industry averages ignore what your products can afford.

Common fee models

Warning signs

• Guaranteed ACOS or sales

  Results depend on factors no manager controls.

• Asks for your main login

  Use Amazon's user permissions instead.

• No change log

  You cannot see what is being done.

• Reports only ad-attributed sales

  Hides whether ads grow the business.

Account access

Grant access through Amazon's advertising user permissions, limited to what management needs. Keep ownership of the advertising account and payment method, and remove access when the arrangement ends.

Example: comparing two PPC managers

What you should receive

Reporting to expect

Monthly reports should show spend, ad-attributed sales, ACOS and ROAS by product or group, total sales, total advertising cost as a share of total sales, what was changed and what is planned. Ask for plain explanations of any big movements. Ask for the change log to sit alongside the figures.

Fee incentives

Percentage-of-spend fees reward higher spend, which may not suit you. Fixed or hybrid fees can align better with profitability. Whatever the model, agree what success looks like in writing. Ask how the fee changes if spend falls.

Listing advice

A good manager will tell you when listings, prices or stock are holding back ads, rather than spending more to compensate. Ask whether listing feedback is part of the service. Price and stock changes should be shared with the manager promptly.

What to agree

Agree scope, targets, fee model, reporting, response times, minimum term and notice period, account ownership and how access is removed. Get the targets written into the agreement.

Restructuring an existing account

Most managers start by auditing and often restructuring the account. Ask what the restructure involves, how long it takes and how performance will be protected during the change, since pausing or rebuilding campaigns can disrupt sales for a while. A careful manager changes things in stages and explains the reasoning, rather than rebuilding everything in the first week.

How often they work on the account

Ask how often the manager reviews search terms, adjusts bids and checks budgets. Weekly attention suits most active accounts; large accounts may need more. Fewer reviews can be fine for small, stable accounts, but should be agreed openly rather than implied.

Communication

Agree how and how often you will hear from the manager, who your contact is and how quickly they respond to questions or urgent issues, such as a product going out of stock or a price change.