Amazon's PPC algorithm has flipped, favoring broader targeting and creative volume

Amazon sellers are noticing their pay-per-click campaigns performing very differently this year: campaigns that wasted spend last year are now printing money, and vice versa. The reason, according to practitioners, is a significant shift in the ads algorithm.

Among the changes: Amazon now wants more leeway in campaigns. Precise targeting types are being punished while expanded, broader targeting is rewarded, and a high flow of creative variations performs better. Veterans of digital marketing note the shift mirrors what Google and Meta's ad platforms did a few years earlier.

Much of the seller community is struggling to adapt campaign structures to the new rules. The guidance from operators managing millions in monthly ad spend: rework targeting, ad types and bidding strategies for the new ecosystem rather than running 2024 playbooks that drain margins.