A well-executed and properly configured PPC campaign can truly make you an Amazon bestseller. However, like any tool, in the hands of an inexperienced person, it can become useless (or even harmful to the business), while in the hands of a skilled specialist, it becomes a highly effective solution.
In this article, we will explain how to determine if the specialist you have chosen to promote your products is indeed the right professional.
Why It’s Crucial to Choose the Right Specialist or Agency for Managing PPC Campaigns
Let’s start with the main secret: a top-notch PPC specialist doesn’t just mechanically run ads. A true professional will help you build a company structure where your brand will continually develop and profits will grow both in the short and long term.
The specificity of the Amazon platform is that high sales are not just immediate revenue. The more you sell, the more reviews you get. The more reviews you have, the more Amazon promotes you as a seller, and the more buyers choose you.
As a result, your sales will increase regularly.
An expert in launching PPC campaigns knows how to:
- Achieve the advertising campaign goals for a specific seller, rather than working with a one-size-fits-all approach.
- Identify unnecessary expenses and increase profits by reducing these costs.
- Direct spending in the right direction, taking into account market specifics.
Most importantly, with the right specialist, you will undoubtedly spend less than you earn. Although the cost of hiring a specialist may initially seem high, it will definitely pay off, unlike campaigns that regularly “run” without yielding results.
Key Terms and Concepts Every Amazon Seller Should Know
As an Amazon seller, you might prefer to focus less on the specifics of each specialist’s work and simply enjoy the successful results.
However, a truly experienced professional will always provide you with a comprehensive and high-quality report on their work. This means you need to “speak the same language” to some extent.
Here are the key terms every Amazon seller should know to understand that their advertising is working:
- ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sales): The ratio of your advertising spend to the sales revenue generated from the campaigns.
- CPC (Cost Per Click): The cost per click on an advertisement.
- CTR (Click-Through Rate): The ratio of the number of users who clicked on the ad to the number of users who saw the ad.
- CR (Conversion Rate): The percentage of users who performed a desired action, such as making a purchase after clicking on the ad.
- Keywords: Relevant words related to your product that help drive customers to your store.
How PPC Campaigns Impact Visibility and Sales on Amazon
On average, 30-50% of sales on Amazon come from PPC campaigns. Sounds great, right? But there’s a flip side to such successful advertising.
If the percentage of sales through PPC campaigns is very high and the percentage of organic sales is significantly lower, you might find that your advertising costs exceed your actual profits at some point.
This is where a good specialist can really shine. Their task is to create a balance between organic and advertising sales. They need to accurately assess each keyword—deciding which ones to allocate more budget to and which ones to exclude altogether.
Moreover, if organic sales are low, a skilled specialist will not only analyze the results of their advertising campaigns but also evaluate the overall performance of your store.
Just like an experienced doctor doesn’t just treat symptoms but finds the root cause of the problem, a true PPC expert won’t just run campaigns but will also investigate the overall effectiveness of the business.
Criteria for Choosing the Right PPC Specialist or Agency
As previously mentioned, a beneficial specialist is someone who can see the bigger picture and not just operate with numbers and terms.
Your ideal choice is someone who goes beyond a single profession, capable of analyzing from the perspective of a marketer, a seller, and even a customer.
The real reason for low sales might be an uncompetitive offer, issues with the listing, or product pricing. A professional will offer different hypotheses about why people aren’t clicking on the ads or aren’t making purchases (or perhaps they click but don’t buy) and provide solutions to these problems.
Also, remember that Amazon is a unique platform with specific algorithms and requirements. You need a professional who understands how customers make purchasing decisions on this platform. They should be able to explain how to set up an advertising campaign or describe a product in a way that pleases Amazon’s algorithms.
About Organic Sales and How Not to Kill Them
Organic sales are those that occur naturally without active advertising. As we mentioned before, maintaining a balance between ad-driven sales and organic sales is crucial. A sudden price increase, a drop in ratings, poor PPC budget allocation, targeting irrelevant audiences, or a weak offer can all negatively impact organic sales on Amazon.
A knowledgeable specialist understands how to differentiate between ad positions and organic sales to stabilize the situation. If a PPC specialist realizes that pouring money into ads is not beneficial and it’s harming organic sales, they will look for alternative solutions rather than constantly increasing ad spend.
We recommend checking out a real case from our practice. This will help you understand how to avoid cannibalizing your organic sales.
Setting Goals and KPIs Before Starting Work
Quality collaboration is impossible without defining the end goal you wish to achieve.
Before starting work with a PPC specialist, it is important to:
- Conduct an audit of point A, which is the current state of your business.
- Make an approximate forecast of what needs to be changed.
- Set the desired point B and identify the tools needed to achieve the results.
Only by setting specific goals can you move on to determining KPIs and the tools that will be used.
As a seller, you need to define your goal for a certain period. What is your priority—increasing sales, increasing both sales and profit, or perhaps just increasing profit? Is gradual brand growth important to you even if it means profits might temporarily decrease? For example, some clients wanted to increase sales only to sell their business later.
A professional will help you develop a strategy to move toward your point B. They will create a step-by-step plan and test hypotheses.
Important: A good specialist knows that even the most well-thought-out plan might not work. The sales world can change rapidly. Amazon might adjust its algorithms, competitors might implement a new strategy, and even news that your potential customers read can change the market situation.
At this moment, a professional will do everything within their power and won’t shrug their shoulders. They will be able to explain why something didn’t work, providing a quality analysis of the situation.
The Importance of Regular Communication and Data Sharing for Tracking Progress and Adjusting Strategies
Remember that the seller and PPC specialist are an inseparable mechanism. Regular consultations with your specialist are essential, and you must keep them informed of any changes you plan for your business.
Keep in mind that PPC brings potential customers to you. Your task is to ensure they make a purchase, leave satisfied, and provide positive feedback.
Creating Reporting and Analytics Mechanisms for Transparency of Results
Proper reporting is like the gauges that monitor the performance of an engine. The more gauges on the dashboard, the clearer it becomes how the mechanisms inside are working and whether there are any issues.
A professional will regularly provide the seller with accurate reports to correctly adjust strategies if necessary.
Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Specialist or Agency
How to Analyze Provided Data and Performance Indicators
In marketing, there are specific metrics used to evaluate the performance of a PPC specialist or agency. Here are some examples:
- ROI (Return on Investment): The return on investment ratio is a financial metric used to evaluate the efficiency of invested funds. There is a specific formula that allows you to determine whether you have wisely invested money in, for example, an advertising campaign.
- ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): ROAS measures the profitability of your advertising spend.
- LTV (Lifetime Value): LTV is the total profit you earn from a customer who makes regular purchases from you over time.
However, of course, the main obvious indicator is your progress towards set goals. Even if this progress is in small steps, pay attention to the dynamics. Is the profit slowly but steadily growing? Has the specialist proposed to effectively cut unnecessary costs? Excellent, you’re on the right track.
When Is It Time to Part Ways with Your Specialist?
The main reason: the results are not meeting your expectations.
If there is no positive business growth, expenses exceed income, and, most importantly, the specialist cannot provide a coherent explanation for the lack of progress, it is likely time to find a new expert.
Conclusion
A professional PPC specialist should be able to see beyond their specific field, understand overall marketing strategies, offer sound business development advice for Amazon, and analyze why certain hypotheses do not work.
On the other hand, a seller who aims to successfully grow their business should always stay in touch with the specialist, have at least basic knowledge of PPC and strive to deepen it, and, of course, analyze the results of launched campaigns.
By the way, to save time on analysis, simply order an audit of your advertising campaigns from objective specialists. At Selleriti, we know exactly how to determine if you are working with the right PPC specialist and are ready to conduct a free audit for you.