Free Resource \u00B7 ETAILREADY
Amazon PPC
Audit Checklist
The 7-step audit we run on every account before touching a single bid. Covers structure, keywords, bids, TACoS, negatives, search term mining, and reporting benchmarks.
7 audit areas
47 checkpoints
Free to use
1
Campaign Structure
Separate auto and manual campaigns for every ASIN -- never mix them
Run all 3 match types (exact, phrase, broad) in separate ad groups -- not combined
One ASIN per campaign wherever possible -- keeps data clean and bids precise
Sponsored Products (SP) is your base. Sponsored Brands (SB) + Display (SD) are amplifiers -- don't skip SP
Campaign naming convention: [ASIN/Product] - [Match Type] - [Target Type] - [Date]
Check: are any campaigns paused unintentionally? Missing budget? Suppressed ASINs?
2
Keyword Coverage
Pull Search Term Report -- find converting search terms not yet in manual campaigns -> add them
Find non-converting terms (impressions, no sales after 15+ clicks) -> add as negatives immediately
Check exact match campaigns: are your top 10 revenue keywords all exact-matched?
Broad match campaigns: these are your discovery layer -- make sure they're running with a low bid
Competitor targeting: are you bidding on top 3 competitor ASINs via Product Targeting?
Category targeting: broad ASIN targeting in SD campaigns for top-of-funnel reach
Check for keyword cannibalization -- same keyword in multiple match types with no separation
3
Bid Management
Set bids based on your target ACoS: CPC = (Target ACoS × Price × CVR)
Raise bids on keywords with ACoS below target by 10-15% weekly
Lower bids on keywords with ACoS above target by 10-15% -- don't pause yet, just lower
Pause keywords with 30+ clicks and zero sales -- they are provably not converting
Check placement modifiers: Top of Search often converts 2-3× better -- bid up 50-100%
Use dynamic bids (Down Only) for new campaigns, switch to Fixed after data accumulates
Never set bids below $0.20 -- Amazon deprioritizes very low bids in the auction
4
TACoS & Budget
Target TACoS by category: Consumables 8-12%, Durables 12-18%, Apparel 15-25%
TACoS above target: pause low performers, lower bids, reduce auto budgets
TACoS below target with strong organic rank: scale -- increase budgets and expand keywords
Check: are any campaigns hitting budget cap before 4 PM? -> Increase budget or use rules
Budget cap during peak hours (11am-3pm) = lost impressions at highest-CVR windows
Run campaigns 24/7 -- Amazon's algorithm needs consistent data, not on/off cycling
Total ad spend: keep below 30% of total revenue in most categories for healthy growth
5
Negative Keywords
Add negatives at the campaign level for terms that waste spend across all ad groups
Add negatives at the ad group level for terms only irrelevant to that specific product
Common negatives to start with: "free", "DIY", "how to", "tutorial", "recipe" (category dependent)
Review search term report monthly minimum -- negatives compound savings over time
Use Negative Exact for high-volume waste terms, Negative Phrase for patterns ("cheap [product]")
Build a shared negative keyword list -- apply to all campaigns to save setup time
Never add negatives for low-volume terms -- focus on the top wasted spend first
6
Search Term Mining
Pull Search Term Report every 7 days -- this is the highest-ROI PPC task you can do
Filter by: Orders > 0, then sort by spend DESC -- find converting terms not yet exact-matched
Filter by: Spend > $20, Orders = 0 -> immediate negative keyword candidates
Move converting terms from auto -> manual exact match within the same week
Track which auto ad groups generate the best search terms -- increase their budgets
Cross-reference new terms with backend keyword field -- add them there too if not already present
Use DataDive or Helium 10 to compare your terms to what top competitors rank for
7
Reporting & Benchmarks
Pull Business Report (Unit Session Percentage) monthly -- track CVR trend by ASIN
Benchmark CTR: <0.3% = main image or title problem. Fix the listing, not the bids.
Benchmark CVR: <8% on PPC traffic = listing problem (bullets, images, reviews, price)
Track ACoS weekly, TACoS monthly -- they move on different timescales
Compare performance week-over-week, not day-over-day -- PPC has natural volatility
Look at impression share trends -- dropping impressions = losing Buy Box or budget cap
Document every major change with a date -- makes it easier to attribute performance swings
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