Amazon PPC (Pay-Per-Click) ads are like little digital salespeople. They work hard behind the scenes to bring shoppers to your products. But how do you know if they’re doing a good job? That’s where tracking ROI (Return on Investment) comes in.
Don’t worry—it’s not as complicated as it sounds. Let’s break it down together and make it easy… maybe even fun!
What is ROI, anyway?
ROI tells you how much money you make for every dollar you spend. In other words, it shows if your ad investment is paying off.
Here’s a simple formula:
ROI = (Profit from Ads – Ad Spend) ÷ Ad Spend
For example, if you spend $100 and make $300 in profit, your ROI is:
(300 – 100) ÷ 100 = 2 → That’s 200% ROI! Nice job!
Step-by-step: How to track Amazon PPC ROI
- Log into your Amazon Seller Central account.
- Go to the ‘Advertising’ tab and click on ‘Campaign Manager.’
- Select the date range you want to analyze.
- Look at key metrics:
- Spend: How much you’ve spent on ads.
- Sales: Revenue generated from ads.
- ACOS (Advertising Cost of Sale): What percent of the revenue was spent on ads.
- ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): How many dollars you earned back for every dollar spent.
Follow the money
To track ROI, you need to connect ad data to profit. Sales are great, but profit is king.
Here’s how to get to the real number:
- Start with your ad-attributed sales.
- Subtract your cost of goods sold (COGS).
- Take out other fees (like FBA, shipping, etc.).
- Then subtract your ad spend.
The final number is your profit. Compare that to ad spend and you’ve got your ROI!
Use tools to help you
Manually crunching numbers isn’t everyone’s jam. Good news—there are tools that can do the heavy lifting.
- Amazon Reports – Download reports from Seller Central for detailed insights.
- Third-party tools like Helium 10, Jungle Scout, or Sellics – These give dashboards, graphs, and alerts!
- Google Sheets or Excel – Great for creating simple ROI calculators.
Don’t forget conversion rate!
ROI isn’t just about profit. Watch your conversion rate too. This tells you how many clicks turn into buyers.
Formula: Orders ÷ Clicks × 100
If you have lots of clicks but no sales, something’s wrong. Maybe your price is too high or your images are misleading.
Tweak and test
The best part? You’re in control. You can optimize to boost ROI.
Here are easy things you can try:
- Pause poor-performing keywords.
- Raise bids for high converters.
- Test new ad types like Sponsored Brands or Sponsored Display.
- Improve your listings so clicks actually lead to sales!
Little tweaks can add up to big profits.
Final thoughts
Tracking ROI might sound like a chore, but it’s actually your superpower. It tells you what’s working and what’s wasting your money.
Make checking your ads part of your weekly routine. Brew some coffee, open Seller Central, and play detective.
Your wallet will thank you.
Ready to boost your ROI?
Start small, stay consistent, and keep learning. Amazon PPC rewards those who track the numbers and fine-tune the details.
Remember: it’s not about clicks. It’s about earning more than you spend.
Happy selling!
