Amazon is now one of the largest product search engines in India. When someone is ready to buy, they often skip Google entirely and search directly on Amazon. The catch? The first results they see are ads. If you sell on Amazon and you are not advertising, your competitors are quietly taking the customers who were looking for a product exactly like yours.
This guide breaks down Amazon advertising and Amazon PPC in plain language — what it is, how it works, and how to launch your first campaign without burning money.
What is Amazon PPC?
PPC stands for "pay per click" — you only pay when someone actually clicks your ad. On Amazon, these ads appear right inside the search results and on product pages, blended in with the organic listings. Because the shopper is already on Amazon with their card ready, the intent to buy is extremely high, which is exactly what makes Amazon PPC so powerful when it is set up well.
The Three Main Amazon Ad Types
Sponsored Products promote a single product inside search results and on competitor listings. This is where almost every seller should start — it is the workhorse of Amazon advertising.
Sponsored Brands show your logo, a custom headline and a row of products across the top of search. They build brand awareness and work well once you have a few products and a registered brand.
Sponsored Display follows shoppers around Amazon and across the web to bring back people who viewed your product but did not buy. Think of it as your retargeting layer.
Understand ACoS and ROAS
Two numbers decide whether your ads are profitable. ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sale) is the percentage of your sales spent on ads — lower is better. ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) is how much you earn for every rupee spent — higher is better. A healthy ACoS depends on your margins, but the goal is always the same: spend less to make more.
How to Launch Your First Campaign
Start simple. Pick your best-selling, best-reviewed product and create one Sponsored Products campaign using "automatic" targeting, so Amazon shows your ad for relevant searches and gathers data. After a week or two, look at the search terms that actually converted and move those winners into a second "manual" campaign where you control the bids. This automatic-to-manual flow is the foundation every Amazon ads account manager relies on.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
The usual culprits: sending ads to a weak product page (fix your images, title and reviews first), judging results after only a few days, bidding on hundreds of keywords at once, and never adding negative keywords. Negative keywords stop your ad from showing on irrelevant searches — they are the single fastest way to cut wasted spend and lower your ACoS.
When to Bring in Help
Running a couple of campaigns is manageable. But as you scale — more products, more keywords, Sponsored Brands and Display, and Flipkart on top — it becomes a daily job of bid adjustments, reporting and optimisation. That is the point where a dedicated Amazon ads account manager pays for itself, protecting your margins while scaling profitable sales.
Want Amazon Ads handled for you?
Phur Media manages Amazon advertising and PPC for brands across India — Sponsored Products, Brands and Display, plus Flipkart and full ecommerce account management. We lower ACoS and scale profitable sales, with clear weekly reporting.
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