Five Patterns We See in Every Amazon Ad Audit

Every week, we audit Amazon advertising accounts, and we see many brands making the same sorts of mistakes. And of course they do: their specialty is in understanding their products and markets, not understanding how to navigate an arcane, fast-changing, and demanding advertising platform. Here are some of the most common mistakes we see:

Many brands have a set-it-and-forget attitude about their campaign portfolios. And many agencies will charge you for active management and still give you this treatment. But Amazon's marketplace is highly dynamic: your competitors, who are constantly changing, are constantly adjusting their bids and introducing new products. Meanwhile, the platform itself evolves continuously, as reliably as the seasons. Regular rebalancing isn't optional; it's critical for maintaining good performance.

Another common temptation for brands is to target too generically. And we get it: you want to reach as many potential customers as possible. But bidding on overly broad, generic keywords can lead to wasted ad spend and poor conversion rates. So instead of targeting something like "kitchen gadgets," focus on more specific keywords like "avocado slicer" that show better buyer intent and come at one-third of the cost per click.

Many brands also struggle with proper bid management. They either set bids too high out of a fear of leaving sales on the table, or they set the bids too low, in an attempt to hit their ACoS targets. Unfortunately, there's no alternative to finding the sweet spot, where you're competitive but profitable. That requires regular, data-driven adjustments.

Ignoring negative targets might be the most expensive common mistake we see. If you're selling hand-sewn exotic leather boots, do you really want to pay for clicks from searches for 'cheap boots' or compete with drop-shipped rain boots? Build out your negative keyword list aggressively, taking note of targets that appear often in your auto campaigns but waste money or don't bring the right buyers to your products. You might have gotten this far by trusting your intuitions, but this is one place where it sometimes pays to follow the data rather than your gut.

Finally, even the best-targeted ads won't convert if they lead to weak product pages. Before scaling your ad spend, make sure your listings have compelling images that show your products in their best light, clear titles that are seeded with the best keywords, bullet points that address common questions, and engaging A+ content that tells your brand's unique story. Ads can bring promising shoppers to your door, but your listing has to close the sale.

The good news is that all of these mistakes are fixable. With proper attention and the right strategy, you can turn wasted ad spend into profitable growth. Your products deserve it.