PPC Bid Automation allows sellerboard to optimize your Amazon keyword bids based on clear financial goals, such as a target ACOS or a target profit margin.
Instead of adjusting bids manually for every keyword, sellerboard evaluates performance data, calculates break-even thresholds, and updates bids according to the strategy you define. You can keep full control by reviewing changes first, or allow sellerboard to apply them automatically.
Use PPC Bid Automation to:
- Keep bids within profitable ranges
- Reduce wasted ad spend
- Scale keywords that meet your goals
- Apply consistent logic across large PPC accounts
How PPC Bid Automation works
Bid automation is configured per campaign, but applied per keyword.
For each keyword, sellerboard:
- Evaluates historical performance (clicks, sales, ACOS, profit)
- Calculates break-even ACOS and break-even bid
- Compares actual performance against your target
- Generates bid changes based on your chosen strategy
Depending on your automation mode, these changes are either suggested for review or applied automatically.
Automation status modes
Each campaign can run in one of three automation modes.
Off
No bid optimization is applied. All bids remain manual.
Test
sellerboard calculates bid recommendations but does not apply them automatically. You review and approve changes manually.
On
sellerboard applies bid changes automatically according to your settings.
Setting up PPC Bid Automation
How do I enable bid automation for a campaign?
- Go to PPC → Dashboard.
- Open the Campaigns tab.
- Locate the campaign you want to automate.
- In the Actions column, click the three dots (⋯).
- Select Edit.
- Open the Bid Automation tab.
From here, you can enable automation, choose your goal, and define how bids should be adjusted.
Choosing an optimization goal
When enabling bid automation, you must select one optimization goal.
Target ACOS
This goal optimizes bids to keep advertising efficiency within a defined ACOS threshold.
It focuses on ad performance rather than full profitability.
Target Margin
This goal optimizes bids based on final profit margin, taking all costs into account.
It is more conservative and profit-focused.
Choose the goal that best matches your campaign objective.
Bid adjustment strategies
Bid strategies determine how fast and how precisely sellerboard adjusts bids.
Each strategy defines:
- How many clicks are required before making a change
- How granular the bid adjustments are
Strategies range from fast and aggressive to slow and conservative, with a custom option for full control.
When should I use each strategy?
Use faster strategies when launching products or testing new traffic.
Use slower strategies when optimizing stable campaigns with consistent data.
Use custom settings if you want to control thresholds precisely.
Break-even ACOS and break-even bid
sellerboard automatically calculates two key reference values:
Break-even ACOS
The ACOS at which advertising neither makes nor loses money.
Break-even bid
The maximum CPC you can afford without turning the keyword unprofitable.
These values are derived from:
- Product price
- COGS
- Amazon fees
- Refund impact
- Other applicable costs
Bid automation uses these thresholds to determine whether bids should be increased or decreased.
Setting bid limits
You can optionally define minimum and maximum bids.
How do I set bid limits?
- Open the campaign’s Bid Automation settings.
- Enter a minimum bid to prevent underbidding.
- Enter a maximum bid to cap spend.
Bid limits are strongly recommended to maintain control, especially in full automation mode.
Applying bid recommendations manually
When automation is set to Test, sellerboard generates bid recommendations without applying them.
How do I apply all bid recommendations for a campaign?
- Go to PPC → Dashboard.
- Open the campaign in Test mode.
- Click Edit in the Actions column.
- Select Accept all bid recommendations.
How do I apply a single bid recommendation?
- Switch to the Keywords tab.
- Find the keyword with a pending recommendation.
- Click Accept recommended bid.
Accepted changes are sent to Amazon and logged in the Automation Log.
Keyword-level automation behavior
Although automation is configured per campaign, bid changes are always applied per keyword.
This means:
- Each keyword is evaluated independently
- Strong and weak keywords in the same campaign can move in opposite directions
- Manual keyword bids are overwritten when automation is On
Understanding bid evolution
What does the bid evolution chart show?
When clicking on a keyword, a bid evolution chart appears showing:
- Bid changes over time
- Actual ACOS
- Target ACOS
This chart helps you understand how sellerboard adjusts bids step by step to reach your defined goal.
“Same SKU / All SKUs” metric
This metric shows how many PPC-attributed sales came from:
- The advertised product (same SKU), versus
- Other products in your catalog
It is used to improve keyword profitability calculations when ads generate cross-product sales.
Choosing between Test and On mode
Use Test mode when:
- You want to validate automation behavior
- You are optimizing high-risk or high-budget campaigns
- You want full manual approval
Use On mode when:
- You trust your rules and limits
- You want hands-free optimization
- You manage large PPC accounts at scale