As much as we love the AdLabs bidding algorithm and its exceptional performance, we firmly believe that no bidding system—no matter how advanced—should be set to “autopilot” and forgotten.
Although AdLabs offers automation capabilities, we do not recommend using them as a primary method of optimization.
Below are some use cases for when you should or shouldn’t use automations:
Custom Tags in AdLabs: Tag different entities based on simple patterns you define. For example, automatically tag any search term containing your brand name as "Branded," or tag known competitor names as "Competitor."
Enabling/Pausing Ads Due to Inventory Changes: Pause campaigns when a product goes out of stock so you're not spending on something that can't convert. Re-enable when it's back in stock so you don’t miss out on sales.
“Red Alert” Emergencies: Put in a safety guardrail so you can stop the bleeding until you get a chance to review. For example, auto-pause a campaign that hits $2K in spend at a 500% ACOS, or one with a runaway budget and zero conversions.
Bid Management: Stick to the AdLabs Bid Optimizer for best results. Why? Bids require context that automations don't have, like seasonality, competitor activity, and inventory changes. What worked last month might hurt performance this month.
Placement Optimizations: Same thing here. Placement performance shifts constantly. Automating these changes without reviewing them can lead to overbidding on temporarily strong placements or underbidding on ones that just need more data.
Harvesting Search Terms: Automated harvesting can lead to bloated campaigns full of low-volume keywords that will just leak spend.
Negating Keywords: Auto-negation can accidentally cut off profitable keywords. A term might look like waste over 7 days but convert well over 30. It’s much better to have human oversight to determine relevancy.
Want to hear our full discussion on why automations don’t work?
Keep reading below, and check our episode on That Amazon Ads Podcast:
Amazon is a dynamic marketplace where conditions shift rapidly. Some factors that require ongoing attention include:
• Seasonality: Different times of the year bring varying conversion rates and demand patterns.
• Stock Changes: Products go in and out of stock (either your own, or competitors) can have massive impacts to CVR, CPCs, and ACOS.
• Competitor Activity: Competitors run deals, raise bids, or drop out of the auction entirely, creating constant flux.
• Search Volumes: Every single week of the year has different queries rising and falling in volume; these waves need to be ridden with precision to maximize sales growth.
All of these changes demand thoughtful, critical adjustments. A static, automated system cannot adapt to these evolving conditions as effectively as hands-on monitoring and strategy adjustments.
Using a one-size-fits-all approach to date ranges (e.g., always using "last 30 days") can distort your optimizations.
• Anomalies: Events like Prime Day, holidays, or other sales periods skew data with elevated conversion rates or different customer behavior. Optimizations based on these outliers can harm performance when the event ends.
• Upcoming Trends: If you’re preparing for or recovering from a deal period, back-to-school season, or holidays, you’ll need to adjust date ranges accordingly.
• Long vs. Short Date Ranges: Shorter date ranges help you react quickly to emerging trends, while longer ranges are better for stability during steady periods. For additional guidance on selecting the best date range, check out this article:
Selecting the Correct Date Range for Campaign Optimizations
Getting the best results from the bid optimizer
Your target ACOS shouldn't be static. It should evolve with your overall business objectives:
• Organic Sales: If these are strong, you can afford a higher Target ACOS with ads to hit your target Total ACOS (TACOS). See more details here:
Determining Your Target ACOS
How to calculate breakeven ACOS and determine ACOS goals
• Inventory Management: Your inventory levels and specific product priorities can dictate whether to push ads aggressively or pull back.
• Market Context: PPC data is historical and isolated from the rest of the business. However, you know real-time factors like inventory status, upcoming deals, or competitor strategies.
For example, optimizations in December during the gift-giving season are vastly different from those in early November. Staying attuned to these changes ensures your ads remain competitive.
Automating bidding entirely can lead to neglect and suboptimal performance. Here’s why:
• Performance Monitoring: If performance declines over weeks or months, it becomes harder to pinpoint the cause without regular manual intervention.
• Quick Problem Solving: Hands-on control allows you to link specific results to specific changes, simplifying troubleshooting.
• Staying Connected: Reviewing optimizations weekly keeps you grounded in the nuances of your account—such as the balance of bid increases vs. decreases and the overall trends shaping your campaigns.
AdLabs provides tools like the Time Machine to track your optimization history, but proactive involvement is irreplaceable for maximizing results.
While scheduled automated bidding might seem convenient, it’s not the path to peak performance. Amazon’s ever-changing marketplace requires critical thinking, frequent adjustments, and a hands-on approach to deliver the best results.
By dedicating just a few minutes each week to thoughtful optimizations, you’ll stay connected to your account and achieve greater success.
