How Long Does It Take for Amazon PPC to Work?

How long does it take for Amazon PPC to work? It’s a question often asked by new Amazon advertisers. But as is so often the case, the answer is: it depends.
Here’s why.

The time it takes for Amazon PPC to show results differs according to on several factors including:

• the type of advertising
• optimisation efforts
• budget,
• how much competition there is
• product reviews
• seasonality
• listing quality

If you’re starting out and you’re itching to see results quickly then Sponsored Products will get you the fastest results. And they are the best type of ads to run when you’re new to Amazon PPC anyway because tthey’re the easiest to setup and understand… and they can be insanely profitable.

Sponsored Products can drive immediate traffic. But it will take time and effort to understand how to optimise them if you want to runt ehm as profitably as possible, which I assume you do!

The Amazon PPC Life Cycle

1. Immediate Impressions

As soon as your PPC campaign goes live, your ads can start receiving impressions. This means:

• Users can see your ads when they run searches or visit categries.
• You may get clicks through to your product page and you may convert those clicks into sales, but neither is guaranteed. Don’t forget… you pay per click, regardless of whether that turns into a sale.

2. Initial Data Collection (1-7 days)

The first week is all about gathering data:

• Impressions : How often your ad is shown and what triggers it.
• Clicks : How many users are clicking on your ads (essential to get the sale but the part that costs you)
• Sales : Are clicks are translating into sales? (depends on teh quality of your offer and your listing)

You need the basic data before you can optimise. But you still want to be watching like a hawk so that you can quickly identify any obviously wasted spend and stop it.

How long this phase takes depends to a large degree on how much you’re willing to invest. The faster you accumulate the data the quicker you can move onto the next stage.

3. Optimisation Phase (initially 1-4 weeks but ongoing)

After the initial data collection, it’s time to refine and optimise:

• Negate Keywords : TOP PRIORITY: Identify and exclude irrelevant search terms that are costing you money but not leading to sales. Add them as negative exact matches, being carefult hat you don’t inadvertently block any profitable keywords.
• Adjust Bids : Based on the performance of specific keywords, you may need to increase or decrease your bids. No impressions either means your ad is completely wrong or you’re bidding too low. Iff you get sales but they’re unprofitable then you need to look at how well your product page is converting and, once you’ve doner that., consider reducing your bid.
• Ad Creatives : Test different images or ad copy to see what resonates most with your audience. Think you can’t change creative of Sponsored Products ads? Think again. You can control the part of the title that’s visible, the image, the price, any promotions… and other aspects too.

You need to do this most actively now but, in truth, it never stops if you want to run your ads to achieve the best possible profit.

Amazon PPC Life Cycle

4. Stabilization (1-2 months)

Your campaign should now start to stabilize:

• Consistent Metrics : You’ll start to see more consistent long-term data in terms of CPC, conversion rate, and ACoS. Daily data will still fluctuate (which is why you should never make knee-jerk, short term decisions) and external factors will also affect results, but you should now be able to spot the trends and optimise useing those.
• Refinement : While the major changes might be behind you, you can never “set it and forget it”.

5. Maturity (2+ months)

After a couple of months, your PPC campaign should be more mature:

• Efficient Running : With the right optimisations, your campaign should be running smoothly and efficiently.
• Ongoing Monitoring : Even mature campaigns need regular checks to ensure continued success.

By this point, the foundation of your campaign is solid, but review weekly and take action as necessary.

But don’t sit back on your laurels. Or your PPC will die. Maybe not soon but it will die. You need to be restarting the process, constantly looking for new search terms to keep your PPC healthy.

Factors Influencing The Time It Takes For Amazon PPC To Work

Amazon PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising can start showing results almost immediately in terms of impressions and clicks, but the time it takes to achieve desired outcomes, such as sales or a specific return on ad spend (RoAS), can vary based on several factors. Here’s a breakdown:

1. Type of Advertising :

Different Amazon advertising types serve different purposes and are suitable for different advertisers:

• Sponsored Products : the most common ads. They can start driving traffic immediately.
• Sponsored Brands : more about brand visibility. While they can also drive sales, their main aim is to increase brand awareness. It might take longer (weeks to months) to see a significant impact in terms of brand recognition and trust. Harder to directly attribute to sales.
• Sponsored Display : target users off Amazon’s platform, so they might have a longer lead time to convert. It can take weeks to months to see optimal results. Harder to directly attribute to sales.
• Product Display Ads : more niche, targeting specific competitor products or categories. Effectiveness can be immediate or take a few weeks, depending on the competition and relevance.

2. Optimisation :

Nothing is guaranteed when it comes to Amazon PPC. And it’s exceptionally rare that a brand new ad, offf any type, is profitable from day 1. Optimisation requires time, learning and an iterative process of testing, measuring & adjusting.

3. Budget and Bids :

A higher budget and aggressive bids can get you faster results, but also higher costs. It’s a balance between getting visibility and maintaining profitability. Generally only be aggressive when you know what you are doing and you can afford it. Otherwise take a more measured approach.

4. Competition :

If you’re in a highly competitive niche, it is likely to take longer to see results as you’ll be competing against established brands with potentially larger budgets. In that case you’re better off starting with less competitive keywords and build from those.

5. Product Reviews and Ratings :

Products with more stars (average rating) generally have a better conversion rate. Number of reviews is also important but nowhere near as much as the average rating. The difference between 4 and 4.5 stars is far higher than teh difference between 100 and 200 ratings.

So, even if your ads are getting clicks, the sales might be lower if your product rating is too low. Ensure that you have a high quality product and handle any issues customers have before they become a low rating.

6. Seasonality :

Some products might have seasonal demand. For instance, winter gear might not sell as well in the summer, regardless of how much you spend on ads.

7. Listing Quality :

A high-quality listing with clear images, detailed descriptions, and relevant keywords will convert better than a poorly designed listing.

In conclusion, while Amazon PPC can start driving traffic immediately, the time it takes to achieve your specific goals will vary based on the type of advertising, competition, product quality, and several other factors. It’s essential to monitor, Analyse, and optimise your campaigns regularly for the best results.