Michael Parker

From Retro Sweets to Algorithmic Analysis

In 2003, I founded AQuarterOf.co.uk. It grew rapidly to become the UK’s leading retro sweets website, featuring in The Times, Sky News, and even the book How To Make a Million Before Lunch.

When we expanded to Amazon in 2013, the volume was immense. We hit 1 million+ GBP in sales during December peaks, shipping 3,650 units of a single item in one day and achieving #1 Best Seller Rank in the entire Grocery department.

The Flaw in Amazon’s Data

By 2014, my focus shifted to Amazon PPC. I quickly realised the native tools were insufficient for a high-volume business. The 60-day data limit made seasonal analysis impossible–a critical failure for a gift-focused business.

Worse, I discovered a flaw in how most people understand that Amazon’s “Exact Match” logic works (including many gurus!). Through manual analysis of thousands of search term reports, I proved that Amazon treats plurals and “stop words” (like of, for, the) as exact matches. This meant “Negative Exact” wasn’t actually blocking what we thought it was, leading to wasted spend and, far worse, occasionally blocking highly profitable search terms.

At a Glance

Building AdRazor

I couldn’t find software that handled “Consolidated Search Terms” correctly, so I built my own. I developed AdRazor.net (and subsequently Amalyzer and AskPPC) to:

• Remove the 60-day limit: Storing data permanently for year-over-year analysis.
• Expose the Truth: Using traffic-light visuals to show true keyword performance without “black box” algorithms.
• Fix the Match Logic: Automating the calculation of consolidated search terms to stop wasted ad spend.

In 2024, I sold A Quarter Of to focus entirely on software development and our specialist agency, ParkerAgency.pt. My goal is simple: to use AI and data to aid human thinking, never to replace it.