How to create an Amazon Sponsored Products campaign
This guide walks through launching your first Sponsored Products campaign: choosing products, picking automatic or manual targeting, setting a bidding strategy, and checking the campaign once it is live.
Sponsored Products are cost-per-click ads for individual listings. They appear in Amazon shopping results and on product detail pages, and a click takes the shopper to your detail page. You pay only when someone clicks.
Every campaign has a targeting type. Automatic targeting lets Amazon match your ad to relevant searches and products based on your listing. Manual targeting means you choose the keywords or products yourself. The targeting type cannot be changed after launch, so a new approach means a new campaign.
Amazon’s own guides recommend starting with an automatic campaign, then using what it learns to build manual campaigns.
Open the campaign builder
Sellers can go to Advertising, then Campaign Manager, in Seller Central. Vendors and authors sign in at advertising.amazon.com. Click Create campaign and choose Sponsored Products.
Since September 2026, Amazon calls its ads platform Amazon Ads Agent. Menu names may differ slightly from older screenshots, but the Sponsored Products builder covers the same core settings.
Choose the products to advertise
Add the products you want in this campaign. Group similar items from the same category, because targeting and bids in an ad group apply to every product in it. A low-priced accessory and a high-priced bundle should not share one bid.
Amazon suggests advertising at least two products and giving priority to the ones it marks as suggested.
TipOnly include products that are in stock and winning the Featured Offer, since the others will not show.
Pick automatic or manual targeting
With Automatic targeting, Amazon uses four targeting groups. Close match and loose match show your ad on searches closely or loosely related to your product. Substitutes and complements show it on detail pages of similar or complementary products. You can set one default bid or bid on each group separately.
With Manual targeting, you choose keywords or products. Amazon recommends automatic targeting for a first campaign.
Understand manual keyword match types
Manual keyword targeting uses three match types. Broad matches searches that contain your terms in any order, plus related terms. Phrase matches searches that contain your keyword in the same order. Exact matches the keyword word for word, including plurals.
Amazon suggests bidding highest on exact, lower on phrase, and lowest on broad. Product targeting lets you target specific ASINs, categories, or brands instead of keywords.
Set your campaign bidding strategy
Choose one of three options. Dynamic bids – down only lowers your bid when a click is less likely to convert. Dynamic bids – up and down can raise or lower it based on how likely a sale is. Fixed bids uses your exact bid. Amazon suggests up and down for performance and down only when you are managing to a ROAS goal.
You can also adjust bids by placement, for top of search, rest of search, and product pages, by up to 900%.
Watch outPlacement adjustments multiply your bid, so a large top-of-search increase can raise your real cost per click well above the default bid.
Name the campaign and set budget and dates
Use a name that tells you the product group and targeting type at a glance, such as the product line plus the word auto. Enter a daily budget and a start date. Amazon recommends choosing no end date for an always-on campaign.
The minimum daily budget is $1. A budget that runs out early in the day limits what the campaign can learn, which the budget guide covers in more detail.
Add negative keywords you already know
Negative keywords stop your ad from showing on searches you do not want, such as a product type you do not sell. Amazon recommends phrase and exact negative match types, and you can exclude specific products or brands with negative product targeting.
In a new campaign, keep this list short. You will add more once you see real search terms.
Launch and watch the first two weeks
Review every setting, then launch. In the first week, Amazon suggests checking results at least twice, mainly to confirm the campaign is getting impressions and spending.
Let an automatic campaign run about two weeks before building manual campaigns from its search term report. Before cutting a target or adding a negative, wait for meaningful data. Amazon’s targeting guide uses at least 20 clicks as its threshold.
Before you move on
- Products in the campaign are in stock and winning the Featured Offer
- The targeting type is the one you intended, since it cannot be changed later
- Bidding strategy and any placement adjustments were set on purpose
- The daily budget is an amount you are comfortable spending every day
- The campaign is getting impressions within its first days
Official resources
- Sponsored Products overview
- Targeting with Sponsored Products
- Sponsored Products best practices
- Getting started with sponsored ads
Ad platforms update their tools often. This guide was last reviewed against the official documentation above in October 2026. If your screen looks different, the official help pages have the latest steps.
At a glance
- Level
- Beginner
- Time
- About 30 minutes
- What you need
- A registered Amazon Ads account with billing set up
- One or more in-stock products that are winning the Featured Offer
- A daily budget you are comfortable spending every day for at least a few weeks
- Your product margins, so you can judge results later
Rather have it done for you?
Active Digital Marketing builds and manages Amazon advertising for businesses doing $25,000+ a month in revenue.
Apply to work with usOr get an ad account auditWhere DIY setups go wrong
The most common problems with self-built Amazon Ads setups, and what they cost.
Judging the campaign too early
Cutting a campaign in its first week means deciding on very little data, and you lose what it would have learned. Give it the two weeks Amazon suggests before restructuring.
Never reading the search term report
Automatic campaigns will match some irrelevant searches. Without regular negative keywords, spend on those terms keeps growing without anyone noticing.
One campaign for the whole catalog
Putting every product in one ad group forces a single bid on items with different prices and margins, and makes results hard to read.
Stacking placement increases without watching cost
A high top-of-search adjustment combined with dynamic up and down bidding can push real click costs well above the default bid you set.
Advertising products that cannot convert
If a listing loses the Featured Offer or goes out of stock, the ad stops showing. If reviews or images are weak, clicks cost money without producing sales.
What this guide doesn't cover
Launching a Sponsored Products campaign takes about half an hour. Making it profitable takes ongoing work: moving proven search terms into manual exact campaigns, cutting waste with negatives, setting bids by margin, and keeping campaigns funded through peak periods.
ADM handles that work for established brands, and adds Sponsored Brands and display ads once the foundation is solid.
- Search term harvesting from automatic into manual campaigns
- Negative keyword and negative product targeting
- Bid and placement adjustments tied to break-even ACoS
- Campaign structure by product line, margin, and goal
- Branded search defense and competitor detail page targeting
- TACoS tracking to see how ads affect total sales
Common questions
Should my first Amazon campaign be automatic or manual?
Amazon recommends starting with automatic targeting. After about two weeks, use its search term report to find keywords and products worth targeting in a manual campaign.
Can I switch a campaign from automatic to manual?
No. The targeting type is fixed once the campaign is live. To change approach, create a new campaign.
How much will each click cost?
You set the maximum bid. The actual cost depends on the auction and any placement adjustment, but it will not exceed your maximum adjusted bid.
Where do Sponsored Products ads appear?
In Amazon shopping results and on product detail pages. You can adjust bids for top of search, rest of search, and product pages.
Keep learning
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Read the guideRather have it built right the first time?
If your business does $25,000+ a month in revenue, apply and Mitch will review your accounts personally. Earlier than that? An ad account audit gives you a senior-level fix list you can work through yourself.