Many Amazon sellers face a common dilemma: significant advertising investments that fail to translate into sales. Rather than making blind adjustments, a strategic approach involves thorough analysis of advertising reports. These reports serve as precise navigational tools, effectively quantifying input and output while enabling data-driven decisions for optimal profitability.
With vast amounts of data available, how can sellers extract actionable insights? Amazon advertising reports fall into four primary categories:
I. Product Selection Optimization
Sponsored Products Report
This report tracks sales performance across all advertising campaigns. By analyzing three key metrics—impressions, click-through rate, and Advertising Cost of Sale (ACOS)—sellers can identify trends and prioritize high-potential products. For instance:
- High impressions but low clicks suggest the need for improved listing titles or product images
- Strong click volume with excessive ACOS indicates required adjustments to bidding strategies or product page optimization
Purchased Products Report
Revealing what customers actually buy after clicking ads, this report uncovers purchasing patterns and reveals cross-selling opportunities. When customers clicking Product A frequently purchase Product B, sellers might consider:
- Creating bundled offerings
- Adding complementary product recommendations
- Strategically increasing average order value
II. Keyword & Targeting Strategy Refinement
Search Term Report
This essential tool identifies all search terms generating at least one click, along with their performance metrics. Sellers should:
- Increase bids for high-converting terms
- Add underperforming terms to negative keyword lists
- Expand visibility for profitable search queries
Placement Report
Offering long-term performance data for keywords, products, or categories, this report informs bidding strategy adjustments. Consistently strong performers warrant increased investment, while chronic underperformers may require reduced bids or campaign suspension.
Search Term Impression Share Report
This competitive analysis tool measures your ad visibility against other sellers for specific search terms. Low impression share suggests bid increases may be necessary, while high share with poor conversion rates indicates potential listing quality issues.
III. Campaign Management Optimization
Advertising Campaign Report
Providing campaign-level performance data, this report guides strategic decisions:
- Successful campaigns deserve budget increases and expanded targeting
- Underperforming campaigns require diagnostic analysis—low impressions may need bid adjustments, while poor click-through rates suggest listing improvements
Budget Report
Key metrics like average budget duration and missed impression estimates help sellers avoid both overspending and missed opportunities. Frequent budget depletion signals the need for increased allocations, while unused budgets with poor results indicate required campaign optimizations.
Ad Placement Report
This breakdown of performance across search result positions and product pages enables precise bid adjustments. High-performing placements justify increased investment through placement-based bidding strategies.
IV. Account Performance Overview
"View Performance Over Time" Report
This comprehensive summary tracks all product promotion campaigns, displaying clicks, cost-per-click, and expenditures. The holistic view enables accurate assessment of overall advertising effectiveness and informed strategy adjustments.
Amazon's advertising reports represent powerful tools for strategic decision-making. Mastery of these analytical resources transforms advertising expenditures from speculative costs into calculated investments, driving sustainable sales growth and maximizing return on investment.