We’ve been discussing in the last two weeks about how to make the most out of automatic and manual campaigns. We saw how automatic campaigns have improved in the last months and how manual campaigns can be used to influence more sales on Amazon. As everyone likes side by side comparisons (well… almost everyone; if you don’t, then learn how to like them as I already created the table and I am not going back 🙂 ), let us take a step further and compare these 2 side by side.
| Element | Manual | Automatic |
| Complexity to set up | Medium | Easy |
| Research needed before launch | Yes | No |
| Targeting (delivery) | Defined by you | Defined by Amazon: ads will appear automatically to relevant customer searches and products |
| Targeting options | Keyword targeting and Product targeting | Only available after the launch of the ads: Close match, Loose match, Complements, Substitutes. |
| Where are the ads shown? | Search Pages and Product Pages | Search Pages and Product Pages |
| Budget type | Daily | Daily |
| Cost plan | CPC (Cost-per-click) – you pay only when customers click on your ads. | CPC (Cost-per-click) – you pay only when customers click on your ads. |
| Devices | Ads may appear on both desktop and mobile – You cannot control impression share. | Ads may appear on both desktop and mobile – You cannot control impression share. |
| Can You optimise? | Yes – comprehensively: adding/pausing keywords/products; adding/pausing match types; bid optimisations for each keyword/product. | Yes – very limited: pausing/relaunching Targeting options + optimising their bids. |
| Placement bidding availability | Yes | Yes |
| Campaign bidding availability | Yes | Yes |
| Match types | Broad Match. Phrase Match. Exact Match. | Not available |
| Negative targeting availability | Yes, for Sponsored Products Ads. No, for Sponsored Brands. | Yes |
| Reports’ availability | Yes | Yes |
| Best to use for | Sales. Building brand consideration. Building brand awareness. SEO. | Keyword research. SEO. |
| Where to learn more? | How To Use Manual Targeting And Keyword Targeting In Amazon PPC Or AMS Ads | How To Use Automatic Targeting In Amazon PPC Or AMS Ads |
I hope the comparison is comprehensive enough to help you get an idea of the features that both automatic and manual campaigns have. While you will be able to learn more about the two in their specific articles (see above), my recommendation to you is this:
- Test these for your product and for your brand: you might be surprised by the difference in results.
- Adapt to the market regularly and continue to optimize: if something isn’t working, improve or change.