Amazon PPC Advertising Guide for Indian Sellers

Amazon India is one of the largest e-commerce platforms in the country, and for sellers competing on the marketplace, Amazon PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising is the fastest way to increase product visibility and drive sales. Understanding how Amazon Ads work and how to optimise them can mean the difference between a bestselling product and one that languishes on page ten.

Types of Amazon Ads

Amazon offers several ad types: Sponsored Products (appear in search results and product detail pages — the most commonly used type), Sponsored Brands (appear at the top of search results with your brand logo and multiple products), and Sponsored Display (retarget shoppers who viewed your product or similar products on and off Amazon).

For most new Amazon sellers in India, Sponsored Products are the starting point. They are the easiest to set up, the most direct in driving product page visits, and provide the clearest path from click to sale.

Automatic vs Manual Campaigns

Amazon PPC offers two targeting modes. Automatic campaigns let Amazon's algorithm decide which search terms to show your ad for based on your product listing. Manual campaigns give you complete control over which keywords you bid on.

The best approach for new products is to start with an automatic campaign to discover which search terms actually convert, then use that data to build a manual campaign with precise bidding on your best-performing keywords. Run both simultaneously once you have sufficient data.

Keyword Research for Amazon

Amazon keyword research differs from Google keyword research. You want keywords that buying-intent shoppers use, not researchers. Tools like Helium 10, Jungle Scout, and Amazon's own Brand Analytics show you what terms drive the most searches and what your competitors rank for.

Focus on three tiers: exact match keywords (precise product searches with highest purchase intent), phrase match keywords (terms containing your core keyword), and broad match keywords (wider variations for discovery). Each tier requires different bidding strategies.

Optimise Your Listing First

Paid traffic sent to a poorly optimised listing wastes your budget. Before spending on ads, ensure your product title contains your primary keyword, your bullet points highlight key benefits clearly, your description addresses common buyer questions, your images meet Amazon's standards with multiple high-quality shots, and your price is competitive for your category.

Amazon's algorithm rewards listings with high conversion rates. An ad that generates clicks but poor conversions will see its cost increase over time as Amazon deprioritises poorly converting campaigns.

Bidding Strategy

Start with a modest daily budget (?500-?1,000 per campaign) and conservative bids. Monitor ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sale) — the percentage of sale revenue spent on advertising. A sustainable ACoS depends on your profit margin, but generally anything below 25% for competitive categories is healthy.

Identify your best-performing keywords and increase bids incrementally to capture more of those searches. Identify keywords with high spend and low conversions and either lower bids or add them as negative keywords.

Negative Keywords Are Essential

Adding negative keywords to exclude irrelevant searches is one of the highest-value actions in Amazon PPC management. If you sell premium leather wallets and your ads are showing for "cheap wallets" or "wallet repair", you are wasting budget on people who will not buy your product. Regularly review your search term reports and add irrelevant terms to your negative keyword list.