Why Structure Determines Your Ceiling
Most Amazon PPC accounts are a mess. Campaigns named randomly, ad groups stuffed with hundreds of keywords, auto campaigns running unchecked for months. It works at small scale. It breaks at scale.
The difference between a $20K/month brand and a $100K/month brand isn't just budget — it's structure. A well-architected account compounds efficiency. A messy account compounds waste.
The Profexis Campaign Architecture
We build every account with the same foundational structure, then customize based on the brand's specific needs.
Layer 1: Brand Defense
Purpose: Capture every search for your brand name and product names.
Campaigns:
- Brand - Exact (all brand name variations)
- Brand - Product (brand + product type combinations)
Why it matters: Brand searches convert at 3-5x higher rates than non-branded. If you don't bid on your own brand, competitors will — and they'll steal sales you should be getting for free.
Target ACoS: 5-15% (these should be your most profitable campaigns)
Layer 2: Core Non-Branded
Purpose: Capture high-intent, purchase-ready searches.
Campaigns:
- Category - Exact (top 20-30 converting keywords, exact match)
- Category - Phrase (next 30-50 keywords, phrase match)
Why it matters: This is your growth engine. These campaigns target customers who want what you sell but don't know your brand yet.
Target ACoS: 20-30% (varies by margin)
Layer 3: Discovery
Purpose: Find new keywords and expand reach.
Campaigns:
- Auto - Close Match (auto campaign, close match only)
- Auto - Loose Match (auto campaign, loose match only)
- Broad - Discovery (broad match, low bids)
Why it matters: You can't grow without finding new keywords. But discovery spend must be isolated so it doesn't pollute your efficient campaigns.
Target ACoS: 35-50% (acceptable for discovery — winners graduate to Layer 2)
Layer 4: ASIN Targeting
Purpose: Show your product on competitor listings.
Campaigns:
- Product Targeting - Direct Competitors
- Product Targeting - Complementary Products
Why it matters: Product page placements are some of the highest-converting placements on Amazon, especially when you have clear advantages over the competitor.
Target ACoS: 25-35%
Layer 5: Sponsored Brands & Display
Purpose: Top-of-funnel awareness and remarketing.
Campaigns:
- Sponsored Brands - Video (top search placement)
- Sponsored Brands - Headline (brand awareness)
- Sponsored Display - Remarketing (viewed but didn't purchase)
Why it matters: These formats build brand recognition and capture customers at different points in the purchase journey.
Target ACoS: 30-40% (measured by total impact, not just direct attribution)
The Search Term Mining Process
Structure alone isn't enough. The system only works if you maintain it weekly:
Every Week:
1. Pull search term reports for all campaigns
2. Identify converting search terms from auto and broad campaigns
3. Add winners as exact match keywords in Layer 2
4. Add non-converting terms as negative keywords
5. Adjust bids based on 7-day performance data
Every Month:
1. Review keyword performance at the campaign level
2. Pause keywords with 100+ clicks and zero orders
3. Graduate proven discovery keywords to exact match
4. Review placement performance and adjust multipliers
5. Analyze TACoS trend and adjust strategy accordingly
The Negative Keyword Strategy
Negative keywords are as important as positive keywords. Without them, your campaigns bleed money on irrelevant searches.
Account-Level Negatives:
- Competitor brand names (unless you're intentionally conquesting)
- Irrelevant product types
- Problem-indicating searches ("broken," "refund," "complaint")
Campaign-Level Negatives:
- Cross-campaign term isolation (prevent the same keyword from triggering in multiple campaigns)
- Performance-based negatives (terms with high spend and zero conversion after statistical significance)
Common Architecture Mistakes
Mistake 1: One campaign for everything
This makes optimization impossible. You can't set appropriate bids when branded and non-branded terms are in the same campaign.
Mistake 2: No negative keyword strategy
Without negatives, your auto campaigns will spend on hundreds of irrelevant terms. We typically add 50-100 negative keywords per account in the first month.
Mistake 3: Too many keywords per ad group
Amazon recommends up to 1,000 keywords per ad group. We recommend 20-30 maximum. This gives you control over bid management and performance tracking.
Mistake 4: Set and forget
PPC accounts need weekly maintenance. The market changes, competitors adjust, and Amazon's algorithm evolves. Neglected accounts deteriorate quickly.
What This Architecture Delivers
For a Canadian supplement brand, this exact structure delivered:
- Revenue: $482K (+88% growth)
- ROAS: 8.3
- TACoS: 5.1%
The structure didn't just manage ads — it built a system that compounds efficiency over time. That's the difference between running campaigns and architecting growth.