How to Reverse Engineer Competitors’ Advertising Strategies in Amazon PPC

Competition is a natural part of any business, but how you approach and utilize it is up to you.   

Today, where millions of sellers vie for attention and sales, gaining an edge over the competition on Amazon is reliant on understanding the intricacies of Amazon’s Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising system and employing it effectively to drive traffic and conversions.  However, with limited visibility into other sellers’ strategies, how can you ensure that your advertising efforts are optimized?  

This is where the power of reverse engineering can come into play. By dissecting and analyzing your competitors’ advertising tactics, particularly their keyword focus, you can gain invaluable insights to enhance your own campaigns and stand out in the crowded marketplace.  

So you might ask: Shivali, how exactly can you see the exact PPC campaign strategy for a competitor?  

Start by performing a single ASIN search and check out the keyword distribution on your listing of interest inside Cerebro (located in the center of the page). 

For instance, the keyword distribution on the particular bamboo coffin shelf we are examining here states zero sponsored keywords suggesting we did not detect them in any sponsored ads in the last 30 days or so. 

It means the sellers are probably running a lot of Phrase Match, Broad Campaigns, and Auto Campaigns considering many keywords that identify as sponsored under the Keyword Distribution could just be Amazon showing them randomly and not necessarily the seller’s personal strategy. 

BUT, then take this coffin shelf from page one.  

It means the sellers are probably running a lot of Phrase Match, Broad Campaigns, and Auto Campaigns considering many keywords that identify as sponsored under the Keyword Distribution could just be Amazon showing them randomly and not necessarily the seller’s personal strategy. 

BUT, then take this coffin shelf from page one.  

It has 35 sponsored keywords. If they’ve got 35 sponsored keywords, chances are this is their entire Exact Match Campaign as opposed to their auto campaign on a tiny budget.  

All I would have to do to learn their entire sponsored strategy is navigate back to filters, hit match type, and hit sponsored before clicking apply to see all 35 of these keywords they are intentionally targeting.  

The keywords range from grunge decor to grunge, wall decor, and coffin decor. I see a skull bookshelf skull’s gift and not only that, but I can also see where they are concentrating their spending.  

Just think about the opportunities.  

Discovering that your top competitor isn’t running any ads presents a golden opportunity for you to dominate your market in the long run just by choosing to run them. Conversely, uncovering a competitor’s extensive list of sponsored keywords sheds light on their deliberate targeting strategy, allowing you to fine-tune your own approach.  

Armed with the powerful tools and techniques offered by Helium 10, you can reverse engineer and decode the secret language of success through PPC and watch as your own business soars to new heights. With determination, creativity, and the right insights, you have the power to make competition work in your favor and chart your own path to prosperity. 

How cool is that? Pretty cool I think!