A new product on Amazon starts without sales history, reviews or ranking. Advertising is what gets the first sales moving, and those sales help the product rank organically. A good launch campaign is structured, measured and adjusted every week.
Why PPC matters so much at launch
Amazon's algorithm ranks products that sell. When a product gets sales for a specific keyword, it gradually starts ranking organically for that keyword. PPC is the fastest way to create these sales. The goal in the launch phase is not maximum profit, but visibility, data and ranking.
Before you advertise: make the listing ready
Advertising a weak listing wastes budget. Before launching campaigns, make sure you have:
- A title and bullet points built around the main keywords in the local language.
- High quality images and, if you have Brand Registry, A+ content.
- A competitive price and enough inventory in FBA.
- If possible, the first reviews through Amazon's own programmes.
Campaign structure for the first 90 days
Automatic campaigns
Automatic Sponsored Products campaigns let Amazon find relevant search terms. They are a key source of keyword data in the first weeks.
Manual exact match campaigns
Put your most important keywords in exact match campaigns with higher bids. These are the keywords you want to rank for organically.
Phrase and broad match campaigns
Use these to find new search terms. Move the best performing terms to exact match and add irrelevant terms as negative keywords.
Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display
Once the product has some sales, Sponsored Brands helps build brand visibility and Sponsored Display reaches shoppers on competitor product pages.
Budgets and bids
Plan a separate launch budget and accept a higher advertising cost of sale (ACoS) in the first weeks. The biggest mistake is stopping campaigns too early. Review the data weekly and adjust bids based on conversion, not only clicks.
Metrics to follow
- ACoS and TACoS: advertising cost relative to ad sales and to total sales. A falling TACoS shows that organic sales are growing.
- Conversion rate: tells you whether the listing and price work.
- Organic ranking for your main keywords.
- Impression share and CPC on key terms.
From launch to growth
After the launch phase the focus moves to profitability: lower bids on keywords where you rank well organically, stronger focus on the best converting terms and scaling to new markets. Read more about our Amazon advertising services, or see how we launch products for brands in the Amazon Europe guide.
FAQ
How much budget do I need to launch a product on Amazon?
It depends on the category and competition. Plan a separate launch budget for the first 60 to 90 days and expect a higher ACoS at the start.
How long does it take for PPC to improve organic ranking?
Usually several weeks. Consistent sales for the same keywords over time is what improves ranking.
What is a good ACoS for a new product?
In the launch phase a higher ACoS is normal. More important is that TACoS goes down over time as organic sales grow.
Should I use automatic or manual campaigns?
Both. Automatic campaigns find search terms, and manual campaigns let you control bids for the most important keywords.
Talk to Retime
Tell us about your brand and markets and we will suggest the fastest route to sales on Amazon.