Before You Start: Pull the Data
Export the following reports from Amazon Advertising Console:
Search Term Report: Last 60 days. Download as CSV. This is the most important data source — it shows every search term that triggered your ads, the spend, clicks, and conversions for each.
Campaign Performance Report: Last 60 days. Shows campaign-level metrics: spend, sales, ACoS, impressions, clicks.
Targeting Report: Last 60 days. Shows keyword-level and ASIN-targeting performance.
Placement Report: Last 60 days. Shows performance by placement: Top of Search, Rest of Search, Product Pages.
Advertised Product Report: Last 60 days. Shows which products are being advertised and their individual performance.
Step 1: Campaign Structure Audit
What to Check
Open the Campaign Performance Report and evaluate how campaigns are organized.
Healthy structure: Campaigns are segmented by: product (each product or product group has its own campaigns), keyword type (brand defense, category, competitor, discovery), and match type (exact, phrase, broad separated).
Unhealthy structure: All products in one campaign. All keyword types mixed together. No match type separation. Auto campaigns running with no manual counterparts.
Scoring
| Structure Quality | Score | Signs |
|---|---|---|
| Excellent | 5/5 | SPAG or near-SPAG structure, clear naming, segmented by product + keyword type + match type |
| Good | 4/5 | Product segmentation exists, some keyword type separation, could be cleaner |
| Average | 3/5 | Basic segmentation but mixed keyword types, inconsistent naming |
| Poor | 2/5 | Few campaigns, mixed products and keywords, no clear logic |
| Critical | 1/5 | 1-3 catch-all campaigns, everything mixed together |
Action Items
If score ≤ 3: Plan a campaign restructuring. Don’t restructure everything at once — start with your top 3-5 products. Create dedicated campaigns by keyword type (brand, category, competitor, discovery) with match type separation. Migrate performing keywords from old campaigns to new structure. Pause old campaigns once new ones are running.
Step 2: Search Term Waste Analysis
What to Check
This is the highest-impact audit step. Open the Search Term Report (60 days) and filter for search terms with: 15+ clicks AND zero orders.
How to Analyze
Sort by spend (highest first). The search terms wasting the most money should be addressed first.
For each zero-conversion term, decide:
| Decision | Criteria | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Negative exact match | Clearly irrelevant to your product | Add as negative exact in the campaign where it appeared |
| Watch list | Potentially relevant but hasn’t converted yet (5-14 clicks) | Monitor for 2 more weeks before negating |
| Keep | Brand term, new keyword with too little data (under 5 clicks) | Continue running, don’t negate yet |
Expected Findings
In an unoptimized account, 40-70% of ad spend typically goes to non-converting search terms. A thorough search term audit often identifies $1,000-$5,000+/month in wasted spend for accounts spending $5,000-$15,000/month.
Metrics to Record
| Metric | How to Calculate | Benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Wasted spend (zero-conversion terms, 15+ clicks) | Sum spend on all zero-conversion terms with 15+ clicks | Should be under 20% of total spend |
| Number of zero-conversion terms | Count of terms with 15+ clicks, 0 orders | Each is a potential negative match |
| Potential monthly savings | Wasted spend ÷ 2 (not all should be negated) | Target: 15-30% of wasted spend recoverable |
Step 3: Keyword Performance Analysis
What to Check
From the Targeting Report, evaluate keyword-level performance for your manual campaigns.
High Performers (Keep and Scale)
Filter for keywords with: 5+ orders AND ACoS below your target. These are your money-makers. For each, check: Is the bid optimal? (Could you increase bid to capture more volume?) Is the keyword in an exact-match campaign? (If it’s only in broad/phrase, create an exact-match campaign for precision.) Is the budget limiting this keyword? (Check if the campaign exhausts daily budget.)
Underperformers (Reduce or Pause)
Filter for keywords with: 10+ clicks AND ACoS more than 50% above target (or zero conversions). For each, decide: reduce bid by 20-30% and recheck in 2 weeks, or pause if it’s been consistently unprofitable for 30+ days.
Missing Opportunities
Compare your keyword list against: competitor reverse-ASIN data (keywords they rank for that you don’t target), Amazon auto-suggest (search queries you haven’t considered), and Brand Analytics top search terms (high-volume queries in your category). Any high-relevance, high-volume keyword you’re not targeting is a missed opportunity.
Step 4: ASIN-Level Performance Review
What to Check
From the Advertised Product Report, evaluate which products are being advertised and how they perform.
Profitable Products
Identify ASINs with: strong ACoS (below target), consistent sales volume, and positive trend (ACoS improving or stable over time). These are your advertising workhorses — ensure they have adequate budget and comprehensive keyword coverage.
Unprofitable Products
Identify ASINs with: ACoS consistently above break-even, low conversion rates, or declining performance trends. For each, diagnose: Is the listing quality the problem? (Poor images, weak bullets, no A+ Content → fix the listing before blaming PPC.) Is the product price uncompetitive? Is the product getting clicks but not converting? (Might indicate the product doesn’t match shopper expectations for those keywords.)
Decision: Fix the listing and re-evaluate in 30 days. If still unprofitable after listing optimization, reduce ad spend or pause advertising on that ASIN and reallocate budget to profitable products.
Step 5: Bid and Placement Analysis
What to Check
From the Placement Report, evaluate performance by ad placement: Top of Search, Rest of Search, and Product Pages.
Typical Patterns
Top of Search usually converts at the highest rate (2-3x other placements) but also has the highest CPC. If Top of Search ACoS is below target, increase your Top of Search bid adjustment (up to +50%) to capture more of this premium placement.
Product Pages typically have the lowest CPC but also lower conversion. If Product Page ACoS is significantly above target, consider reducing Product Page bid adjustments or excluding low-performing product page placements.
Rest of Search is the baseline — moderate CPC, moderate conversion.
Bid Level Check
For each keyword, compare actual CPC against your target:
Actual CPC much below bid: You’re winning auctions easily — the keyword may not be competitive enough to justify a high bid. Consider reducing bid to save money without losing position.
Actual CPC near bid: You’re bidding at market rate. Performance should match expectations.
Actual CPC at bid but low impression share: You’re being outbid. If the keyword converts profitably, increase bid by 15-20% to win more auctions.
Step 6: Budget Allocation Review
What to Check
Evaluate how your total ad budget is distributed across: campaign types (brand, category, competitor, discovery), products (are your best products getting the most budget?), and ad types (Sponsored Products, Brands, Display).
The 70/20/10 Framework
| Budget Category | Target Allocation | What to Fund |
|---|---|---|
| Proven converters | 70% | Exact-match campaigns on keywords with demonstrated profitability |
| Scaling winners | 20% | Keywords and products with promising but not yet optimized performance |
| Discovery | 10% | Auto campaigns, broad match testing, new keyword exploration |
Common Budget Problems
Discovery eating too much budget. If auto campaigns and broad match consume 30%+ of total spend, the harvesting process isn’t working — converting terms should be migrated to exact match, and discovery budget should be capped.
Budget limited on top performers. If your best campaigns exhaust daily budget by midday, they’re missing half the shopping day. Increase budget on campaigns with below-target ACoS — they’ve earned more investment.
Unprofitable products consuming budget. If 30% of your ad spend goes to products that consistently produce above-target ACoS, reallocate to profitable products. Don’t subsidize losers at the expense of winners.
Step 7: Competitive Position Assessment
What to Check
Search Amazon for your top 5 target keywords. Note:
Your position: Are you appearing on page 1? In the top 4 Sponsored Products placements? In Sponsored Brands (top of search)?
Competitor presence: Which competitors appear consistently in ad placements? Are they running Sponsored Brands video? Are they running Sponsored Display on your product pages?
Gaps: Are there keywords where competitors advertise but you don’t? Are there placements (Sponsored Brands, Display) you’re not using?
Competitive Assessment Score
| Dimension | Score 1-5 | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Keyword coverage vs top 3 competitors | /5 | Are you targeting the same keywords they are? |
| Ad type breadth | /5 | SP + SB + SD, or SP only? |
| Defensive advertising (brand terms) | /5 | Are you protecting your brand name in search? |
| Offensive advertising (competitor terms) | /5 | Are you appearing on competitor listings? |
| Share of voice (impression share estimate) | /5 | Are you visible for enough of the available impressions? |
The Audit Summary Template
After completing all 7 steps, compile your findings:
AMAZON PPC AUDIT SUMMARY
========================
Account: [Brand Name]
Period Analyzed: [Date Range]
Total Ad Spend (Period): $[X]
Total Ad Revenue (Period): $[X]
Overall ACoS: [X]%
Overall TACoS: [X]%
CAMPAIGN STRUCTURE: [Score /5]
Key Finding: [1-2 sentences]
Action: [Specific next step]
SEARCH TERM WASTE: $[X]/month identified
Top 5 Wasting Terms: [List]
Action: Negative match [X] terms, projected savings: $[X]/month
KEYWORD PERFORMANCE:
Top 5 Performers: [List with ACoS]
Top 5 Underperformers: [List with ACoS]
Missed Opportunities: [X] keywords identified from competitive analysis
Action: [Specific steps]
ASIN PERFORMANCE:
Profitable ASINs: [X] products
Unprofitable ASINs: [X] products
Action: [Listing optimization for underperformers / budget reallocation]
BID & PLACEMENT:
Top of Search performance: ACoS [X]% — [increase/decrease/maintain] bid adjustment
Product Pages performance: ACoS [X]% — [adjust accordingly]
Action: [Specific bid changes]
BUDGET ALLOCATION:
Current split: Proven [X]% / Scaling [X]% / Discovery [X]%
Recommended split: 70% / 20% / 10%
Action: [Specific reallocation]
COMPETITIVE POSITION: [Score /25]
Key Gap: [Most significant competitive disadvantage]
Action: [Specific step to address]
ESTIMATED MONTHLY IMPACT OF AUDIT ACTIONS:
Wasted spend recovered: $[X]
Projected revenue increase: $[X]
Projected ACoS improvement: [X] percentage points
How Often to Audit
| Audit Type | Frequency | Time Required | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search term review | Weekly | 30-60 minutes | Negative matching, keyword harvesting |
| Bid adjustments | Bi-weekly | 30 minutes | Performance-based bid changes |
| Full campaign audit (all 7 steps) | Quarterly | 3-5 hours | Complete structural review |
| Strategic competitive review | Quarterly | 1-2 hours | Competitive positioning and gap analysis |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I audit my own PPC account?
Yes — this guide provides the complete framework. The key requirement: access to your Advertising Console reports and 3-5 hours of focused time. If you’re comfortable with Excel and data analysis, self-auditing is feasible. If you prefer professional analysis, our free audit → covers all 7 steps with specific, actionable recommendations.
What’s the single most impactful audit step?
Step 2: Search Term Waste Analysis. In most accounts, this single step identifies 20-40% of total spend going to non-converting terms. Negating these terms immediately improves ACoS and frees budget for profitable keywords.
How long does it take to see results after implementing audit findings?
Search term negation shows results within 1-2 weeks (wasted spend stops immediately). Bid adjustments show results within 2-4 weeks (time for new bids to produce statistically meaningful data). Campaign restructuring shows full results within 4-8 weeks (time for new campaigns to build history and optimize).
Should I pause everything and start over if my account is poorly structured?
No. Pausing everything loses the historical data and ranking momentum your existing campaigns have built. Instead, restructure gradually: create new campaigns alongside existing ones, migrate keywords and budget from old to new over 2-4 weeks, and pause old campaigns only after new ones are performing.
Is there a free tool for PPC auditing?
Amazon’s Advertising Console provides all the data you need — the reports described in this guide are available to every advertiser at no additional cost. Third-party tools (Helium 10, Jungle Scout, Pacvue) add convenience features (visual dashboards, automated alerts, competitive benchmarking) but aren’t required for a thorough manual audit.
Next Steps
Want a professional PPC audit? Our free audit includes all 7 steps with specific recommendations for your account. We’ll identify wasted spend, missed opportunities, and the highest-impact optimizations. Get your free audit →
Keep reading:
- Amazon PPC Strategy 2026: How to Cut ACoS by 40% →
- Amazon ACoS vs TACoS: Which Metric Matters? →
- Amazon Ad Types: SP vs SB vs SD →
Last Updated: March 2026