Amazon PPC Glossary

Master Amazon advertising terminology with 48+ definitions covering every metric, strategy, and concept.

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A

AACoS (Advertising Cost of Sales): ACoS measures your ad spend as a percentage of attributed sales revenue. Calculated as (Ad Spend ÷ Ad Revenue) × 100. A lower ACoS indicates more efficient advertising. For example, if you spend $20 on ads and generate $100 in sales, your ACoS is 20%. Industry benchmarks vary, but most sellers aim for 15-30% ACoS depending on margins and goals.
AAd Attribution: Ad attribution refers to how Amazon credits sales to specific ad clicks. Amazon uses a 14-day attribution window for Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands, meaning sales occurring within 14 days of an ad click are attributed to that ad. Sponsored Display uses a 14-day click and 1-day view attribution window.
AASIN: Amazon Standard Identification Number is a unique 10-character alphanumeric identifier assigned by Amazon to products in their catalog. Every product sold on Amazon has an ASIN. In advertising, you can target specific ASINs to show your ads on competitor product pages or create ASIN-targeted campaigns.
AASIN Targeting: A targeting strategy that allows you to display your ads on specific product detail pages by selecting individual ASINs. This is useful for targeting competitor products, complementary products, or products frequently bought together with yours.
AAuto Campaign: An automated campaign type where Amazon uses its algorithm to match your ads to relevant search terms and products. Auto campaigns use four targeting groups: Close Match, Loose Match, Substitutes, and Complements. They're excellent for keyword discovery but offer less control than manual campaigns.

B

BBid: The maximum amount you're willing to pay when a shopper clicks on your ad. Amazon PPC operates on a second-price auction system, meaning you typically pay slightly more than the second-highest bidder, up to your maximum bid.
BBid Optimization: The process of adjusting bids to achieve optimal performance based on goals like target ACoS, ROAS, or sales volume. AI-powered bid optimization uses machine learning to analyze historical data and automatically adjust bids in real-time to maximize results.
BBreak-even ACoS: The ACoS at which your advertising neither makes nor loses money. Calculated as your profit margin percentage. If your product has a 30% profit margin, your break-even ACoS is 30%. Anything below this is profitable advertising; anything above means you're losing money on ad sales.
BBroad Match: A keyword match type that shows your ad for searches containing all the words in your keyword, in any order, plus variations, synonyms, and related terms. Broad match provides the widest reach but least control. Example: "running shoes" could match "best shoes for running" or "blue running sneakers."
BBudget: The maximum amount you're willing to spend on a campaign per day. Daily budgets reset at midnight in your marketplace's time zone. When your budget is depleted, your ads stop showing until the next day. Amazon may exceed your daily budget by up to 25% on high-traffic days but will average out over the month.

C

CCampaign: The highest level of organization in Amazon PPC structure. A campaign contains ad groups and defines the campaign type (Sponsored Products, Brands, or Display), daily budget, targeting type (auto or manual), and bidding strategy.
CCategory Targeting: A product targeting strategy that shows your ads across an entire product category or refined segments within it. You can refine by brand, price range, star rating, and Prime eligibility. Useful for reaching shoppers browsing related products.
CClick-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of ad impressions that result in clicks. Calculated as (Clicks ÷ Impressions) × 100. A higher CTR indicates your ad creative and targeting are resonating with shoppers. Amazon's average CTR varies by category but typically ranges from 0.3% to 0.5%.
CConversion Rate (CVR): The percentage of ad clicks that result in a purchase. Calculated as (Orders ÷ Clicks) × 100. A higher CVR indicates your product detail page is effectively converting shoppers. Average conversion rates on Amazon are typically 10-15%.
CConversion Window: The time period after an ad click during which a sale is attributed to that click. Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands use a 14-day conversion window. If someone clicks your ad today and buys in 10 days, that sale counts toward your ad metrics.
CCPC (Cost Per Click): The actual amount you pay when someone clicks on your ad. This is usually lower than your bid due to Amazon's second-price auction system. Monitoring your average CPC helps optimize bids and forecast spend.

D

DDay-Parting: The practice of adjusting ad bids or budgets based on time of day and day of week. Day-parting helps maximize efficiency by increasing bids during high-converting hours and reducing them when conversions are unlikely. AdFixer automates day-parting using AI to identify your optimal selling windows.
DDynamic Bidding: Amazon's automated bid adjustment feature that raises or lowers your bids in real-time based on the likelihood of conversion. Options include: Down Only (Amazon only lowers bids), Up and Down (Amazon can raise bids up to 100% or lower them), and Fixed Bids (no adjustments).

E

EExact Match: The most restrictive keyword match type that only shows your ad when the search query exactly matches your keyword or very close variations. Exact match provides the highest control and typically the best conversion rates but lowest reach. Example: "running shoes" only matches "running shoes" or "running shoe."

H

HHeadline Search Ads: The former name for Sponsored Brands. These ads appear at the top of search results and feature your brand logo, a custom headline, and up to three products. Now officially called Sponsored Brands.

I

IImpressions: The number of times your ad is displayed to shoppers. An impression is counted each time your ad appears on a search result page or product detail page, regardless of whether it's clicked.

K

KKeyword: A word or phrase that triggers your ad to appear when shoppers search for it. Keywords are the foundation of manual Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands campaigns. Effective keyword research and management are critical for PPC success.
KKeyword Harvesting: The process of identifying high-performing search terms from auto campaigns or broad match keywords and adding them as exact or phrase match keywords in manual campaigns. This improves targeting precision and allows bid optimization on proven performers.
KKeyword Funnel: A systematic approach to keyword management where keywords progress through stages based on performance: Discovery (auto/broad) → Testing (phrase) → Optimization (exact). This creates a self-optimizing system where winners graduate and losers become negative keywords.

M

MManual Campaign: A campaign type where you manually select the keywords or products you want to target. Manual campaigns provide more control than auto campaigns, allowing you to set specific bids for individual keywords and choose match types.
MMatch Type: The setting that determines how closely a shopper's search query must match your keyword for your ad to appear. Amazon offers three match types: Broad (widest reach), Phrase (moderate reach), and Exact (most precise). Using multiple match types in your strategy helps balance reach and relevance.

N

NNegative Keyword: A keyword that prevents your ad from showing when that term is included in a search query. Negative keywords help reduce wasted spend on irrelevant searches. Available as negative exact (blocks the specific term) or negative phrase (blocks any query containing the phrase).
NNew-to-Brand (NTB): A metric for Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display that indicates purchases from customers who haven't bought from your brand in the past 12 months. NTB metrics help measure customer acquisition effectiveness.

O

OOrders: The number of orders attributed to your advertising within the conversion window. This is a key performance metric that, combined with spend, determines your ACoS and ROAS.
OOrganic Ranking: Your product's position in Amazon's unpaid search results. PPC advertising can positively impact organic ranking by driving sales velocity and improving your product's BSR (Best Sellers Rank), which Amazon's algorithm considers for organic placement.

P

PPhrase Match: A keyword match type that shows your ad when the search query contains your exact phrase in order, with additional words before or after. Phrase match offers a balance between reach and relevance. Example: "running shoes" matches "best running shoes" and "running shoes for men" but not "shoes for running."
PPlacement: Where your ad appears on Amazon. Sponsored Products can appear in: Top of Search (first page), Rest of Search (pages 2+), and Product Pages. You can set placement modifiers to bid more aggressively for specific placements.
PPlacement Modifiers: Percentage increases you can add to your base bid for specific ad placements. For example, adding a 50% modifier for Top of Search means if your base bid is $1, you'll bid up to $1.50 for the top position. Available for Top of Search and Product Pages placements.
PPortfolio: A grouping of campaigns that allows you to set shared budget caps and organize campaigns by brand, product line, or strategy. Portfolios help manage spend across multiple campaigns and provide aggregated reporting.
PPPC (Pay-Per-Click): An advertising model where you only pay when someone clicks on your ad, not when it's displayed. Amazon PPC encompasses Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display ad types.
PProduct Targeting: A targeting strategy for Sponsored Products and Sponsored Display that shows your ads on specific product detail pages. You can target individual ASINs or entire categories. Useful for conquesting competitor products or cross-selling complementary items.

R

RROAS (Return on Ad Spend): A metric measuring ad efficiency as revenue per dollar spent. Calculated as (Ad Revenue ÷ Ad Spend). A ROAS of 5 means you generate $5 in sales for every $1 spent on ads. ROAS is the inverse of ACoS: if ACoS is 20%, ROAS is 5x (100% ÷ 20%).

S

SSales Velocity: The rate at which your product sells over a period of time. Higher sales velocity improves BSR and organic ranking. PPC advertising can boost sales velocity, especially for new product launches.
SSearch Term: The actual words a shopper types into Amazon's search bar. Search terms may differ from your keywords depending on match type. The Search Term Report shows which queries triggered your ads, helping identify new keywords and negative keyword opportunities.
SSearch Term Report: An Amazon advertising report showing the actual search terms that triggered your ads, along with performance metrics. Essential for keyword harvesting (finding winners) and negative keyword mining (finding losers). Available with up to 60 days of historical data.
SShare of Voice (SOV): The percentage of total ad impressions in a category or for specific keywords that your brand captures. Higher SOV indicates greater visibility and market dominance in paid search results.
SSponsored Brands: An ad type featuring your brand logo, custom headline, and multiple products at the top of search results. Requires brand registry. Great for brand awareness and driving traffic to your Amazon Store. Now includes video format for enhanced engagement.
SSponsored Display: An ad type that reaches audiences both on and off Amazon using product targeting, audience targeting, or views remarketing. Can appear on product detail pages, customer reviews, and external websites. Useful for retargeting and expanding reach.
SSponsored Products: The most common Amazon ad type that promotes individual product listings in search results and on product detail pages. Available to all sellers regardless of brand registry status. Typically drives the highest direct sales attribution.

T

TTACoS (Total Advertising Cost of Sales): A holistic metric measuring ad spend as a percentage of total sales (not just ad-attributed sales). Calculated as (Ad Spend ÷ Total Revenue) × 100. TACoS shows the true impact of advertising on your business because it accounts for organic sales influenced by ads.
TTargeting: The method of reaching shoppers with your ads. Amazon PPC offers keyword targeting (matching search queries), product targeting (showing ads on product pages), and audience targeting (Sponsored Display's behavioral and demographic targeting).
TTop of Search: The premium ad placement at the very top of Amazon search results, above organic listings. This placement typically has the highest visibility and click-through rates but also the highest competition and cost. You can bid more aggressively for this placement using placement modifiers.

W

WWasted Spend: Ad spend on clicks that don't convert to sales. Identifying and eliminating wasted spend through negative keywords, bid adjustments, and targeting refinements is crucial for improving ACoS. AdFixer's AI identifies wasted spend patterns and automates optimization.

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Last updated: February 4, 2026

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Amazon PPC Glossary

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