Key Insights into Amazon PPC

featuring Stephen Noch from AdLabs

March 14, 2025

Read time 5 min

Amazon Unwrapped featuring Stephen Noch

Welcome to Amazon Unwrapped, a weekly newsletter where we feature a different Amazon expert each week to give you a fresh perspective on the platform from different viewpoints, with real actionable advice straight to your inbox.

In this episode of Amazon Unwrapped, host Andy Bryn sat down with Stephen Noch, co-host of That Amazon Ads Podcast and founder of AdLabs, to dissect the evolving world of Amazon PPC.

Noch, a six-year veteran of Amazon advertising, shared actionable strategies, debunked automation myths, and emphasized the irreplaceable role of human expertise in bid management. Below, we break down his most critical insights for sellers navigating Amazon’s competitive ad landscape.

TLDR | Stephen’s Top Takeaways

  1. Manual Bid Management Outperforms Automation
    Rule-based automation tools often fail to account for dynamic variables like date-range relevance. Noch advocates for manual optimizations using his proprietary "revenue per click" method, which balances competitiveness and profitability.

  2. Sponsored Products Dominate Ad Spend
    For 85–90% of brands, Sponsored Products should command the majority of ad budgets due to their native integration, lower CPCs, and higher conversion rates. Exceptions apply only to enterprise-level brands investing in DSP or Sponsored TV.

  3. AI Isn’t Ready for Prime Time
    While AI excels at language tasks (e.g., categorizing search terms), it lacks the contextual awareness to manage bids strategically. Noch envisions a hybrid future where AI assists—but doesn’t replace—human decision-making.

  4. Campaign Structure Requires Nuance
    Over-segmenting campaigns (e.g., single-keyword campaigns) risks low data confidence. Instead, blend auto, keyword research, and performance campaigns, reserving granularity for high-volume "VIP" keywords.

  5. Awareness Drives Long-Term Growth
    For novel products, off-Amazon platforms like Facebook/Instagram often outperform Amazon DSP for building awareness. Creative video ads and lifetime value (LTV) calculations are critical for scaling.

In partnership with AdLabs

A tool built by Amazon advertisers, for Amazon advertisers.

Adlabs are a couple of Amazon PPC'ers who needed something that could make smart optimizations without surrendering control to automation.

They couldn't find that tool... so they built it themselves. AdLabs is fast, intuitive, and designed from the PPC manager's perspective

AdLabs is the only software that guarantees to pay for itself within 2 weeks. If it doesn't, they'll issue a full refund.

No questions asked.

To find out more about AdLabs visit https://adlabs.app and for more PPC Insights check out the That Amazon Ads Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/@ThatAmazonAdsPodcast

Introducing Stephen Noch

Founded AdLabs in 2023 and co-host of the That Amazon Ads Podcast, Stephen is a 6 year veteran of Amazon Advertising and is passionate about helping companies make more money through effective advertising, whilst not forgetting to have fund doing it along the way.
Stephen Noch portrait

  • You’ve criticized rule-based automation tools. What’s the flaw in their logic?

    Automation struggles with two core issues: faulty math and rigid date ranges. For example, if a keyword’s ACOS spikes over a weekend, tools analyzing 30-day windows will miss the urgency. Manual optimization lets me adjust bids based on shorter, context-specific windows—like prioritizing last weekend’s data to curb losses. With AdLabs, I optimize bids weekly in minutes, balancing aggression and caution based on client goals.

  • Why allocate 85% of budgets to Sponsored Products?
    They’re native, high-intent ads. When someone searches “wireless headphones,” your Sponsored Product blends into results, offering the lowest CPC and highest conversion rate. DSP ads? They’re static banners on third-party sites—great for retargeting but weak for cold traffic.

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For 85–90% of brands, Sponsored Products should command the majority of ad budgets due to their native integration

  • Can AI ever fully manage Amazon PPC?
    Not until it sits in client meetings. Imagine a brand needing to cut ACOS from 30% to 25% by month-end versus overnight—AI can’t grasp that urgency. Today’s tools lack the nuance. We’re building an AI trained on our podcast transcripts and bid logic, but humans will always steer the ship.

  • How granular should campaigns be?
    It’s a spectrum. For a $30K/month brand, I use 5 campaigns per product: auto, keyword research, performance, and single-keyword for top performers. But if you split every keyword into its own campaign, you’ll starve placements (top-of-search, product pages) of enough data to optimize bids.

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blend auto, keyword research, and performance campaigns, reserving granularity for high-volume "VIP" keywords

  • When should brands consider DSP?
    Rarely. For new products, Facebook’s algorithm and shoppable videos outperform Amazon’s off-site ads. One client hit $5M on Amazon and doubled it on Shopify via Facebook. DSP’s static banners can’t match that—unless you’re a household name.

  • The Gary Kasparov Lesson
    Chess engines beat humans, but the best teams combine humans and AI. Same with PPC: let AI suggest bids, but keep humans in control. Formula One drivers use semi-automatic transmissions—they’re faster than full auto but nimbler than manual.

Wrapping it up

Stephen’s insights underscore a truth: Amazon advertising rewards hands-on expertise. While tools and AI evolve, strategic decisions—like bid adjustments and campaign structure—demand human intuition. For brands, the takeaway is clear: master Sponsored Products, experiment cautiously with automation, and invest in awareness beyond Amazon’s walls.

In partnership with AdLabs

To find out more about AdLabs visit https://adlabs.app and for more PPC Insights check out the That Amazon Ads Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/@ThatAmazonAdsPodcast

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