Scaling Your Ad Spend: When and How to Invest More in Amazon Ads
For ecommerce managers, marketing leads, and founders selling on Amazon, knowing when and how to scale your ad spend is crucial to sustaining profitable growth. Amazon Ads offer powerful tools to boost visibility and sales, but increasing your budget without a strategic plan can quickly erode margins. This article provides a clear, data-driven approach to scaling Amazon advertising spend effectively. We’ll explore key performance indicators, optimisation tactics, and timing strategies to help you invest more in Amazon Ads confidently and efficiently. By following these insights, you’ll maximise return on ad spend (ROAS) and position your brand for long-term marketplace success.
Understanding the Importance of Strategic Ad Spend Scaling
Scaling Amazon Ads is not simply about spending more money; it’s about investing smarter. Increasing your budget at the right time and in the right way can accelerate growth, but doing so prematurely or without optimisation risks wasted spend and reduced profitability.
A strategic approach involves monitoring key metrics, optimising campaigns continuously, and scaling incrementally based on data. This ensures your ad spend drives sustainable sales growth rather than just higher costs.
In this section, we’ll cover the foundational principles of when and why to increase your Amazon ad budget, helping you avoid common pitfalls and make informed decisions.
When to Consider Increasing Your Amazon Ad Spend
Before scaling your ad budget, look for these indicators:
Profitability at Current Spend: Your campaigns should be profitable or at least break-even, with a healthy Advertising Cost of Sales (ACoS) relative to your margins.
Consistent Sales Growth: Organic sales and paid sales should be growing steadily over 2–3 weeks, indicating strong product-market fit and demand.
Budget Caps Reached Early: If your daily budget is exhausted early in the day, it suggests unmet demand and missed sales opportunities.
High-Performing Keywords and Placements: Identify specific keywords, ad placements, or times of day that generate the best returns to prioritise scaling.
Scaling without these signals can lead to inefficient spend and poor ROI.1.
How to Scale Your Budget Gradually and Safely
Rather than making large jumps, increase your budget in controlled increments, such as 20–25% every few days. Monitor the impact on ACoS, conversion rate, and sales volume closely.
If you observe rising ACoS or declining conversions, pause or reduce spend and reassess your campaign settings. This iterative approach minimises risk and allows you to capitalise on growth opportunities without overspending.
Optimising Campaigns Before Scaling: Work Smarter, Not Just Harder
Many sellers believe that scaling Amazon Ads means simply increasing budgets. However, optimisation often yields better results without additional spend. This section outlines how to improve your campaigns to get more from your current budget before investing more.
Boost Click-Through Rate (CTR)
CTR measures how often shoppers click your ad after seeing it. A higher CTR means your ad is relevant and compelling.
To increase CTR without extra spend:
Use high-quality, eye-catching images that stand out.
Write persuasive headlines that highlight unique selling points.
Price competitively or justify premium pricing.
Showcase star ratings and positive reviews.
Adjust bids to target placements with higher CTR, such as Top of Search.
Improving CTR drives more traffic without increasing your budget.2.
Maximise Conversion Rate (CVR)
CVR is the percentage of clicks that convert into sales. Optimising your product listing is key:
Ensure your product descriptions are clear and keyword-rich.
Use high-resolution images and videos.
Highlight customer reviews and social proof.
Optimise pricing and shipping options.
Fix any listing errors or compliance issues.
Better CVR means more sales from the same ad spend2.
Refine Keyword Targeting
Cut weak or irrelevant keywords that drain budget and focus on high-performing ones. Use negative keywords to exclude unprofitable searches.
Transition strong auto campaign keywords to manual campaigns for greater control and bid optimisation.
Target competitor ASINs with Sponsored Display ads to defend your market share and capture high-intent shoppers.
Leveraging Data and Automation to Scale Efficiently
Scaling Amazon Ads profitably requires data-driven decision-making and automation tools that reduce manual effort and improve precision.
Use Data Analytics to Identify Winners
Tools like Ad Genius help identify your most profitable campaigns and keywords by analysing ACoS, TACoS (Total Advertising Cost of Sales), and sales volume over time.
Increase budgets on campaigns with low ACoS and high sales.
Pause or adjust underperforming campaigns.
Monitor SKU-level economics to allocate spend where margins are highest.
Embrace AI and Automation
AI-powered platforms automate bid adjustments, keyword optimisation, and budget allocation in real time.
Automatically increase bids on high-converting keywords.
Lower bids or pause keywords with high cost per click but low conversion.
Predict trends and adjust campaigns proactively.
Combining AI with manual oversight ensures campaigns stay aligned with your goals and budget.
Advanced Strategies for Scaling Amazon Ads
Once your campaigns are optimised and data-driven, consider these advanced tactics to scale your ad spend strategically.
Focus on High-Margin Products
Prioritise ad spend on products with higher profit margins to maximise ROI. Scaling ads on low-margin items can erode profitability even if sales volume grows.
Use Dayparting and Geo-Targeting
Analyse dayparting heatmaps to identify peak times for ad performance and concentrate spend during those periods.
Similarly, geo-targeting allows you to focus budgets on regions with the highest conversion rates or growth potential.3.
Expand Ad Formats and Placements
Diversify your ad portfolio by incorporating:
Sponsored Brands to boost brand awareness.
Sponsored Display for retargeting and competitor conquest.
Video Ads to engage shoppers more effectively.
Amazon Demand-Side Platform (DSP) for advanced audience targeting.45.
Monitor Key Metrics Continuously
Track essential Amazon Ads metrics such as:
Clicks and CTR to measure engagement.
Conversion Rate and Cost Per Conversion to assess efficiency.
ACoS and TACoS to evaluate profitability.
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) to understand overall campaign success.67.
Use these insights to adjust bids, budgets, and targeting dynamically.
Partnering with Incubate Agency for Marketplace Growth
Scaling Amazon Ads effectively requires expertise, tools, and strategic insight. Incubate Agency combines over 50 years of leadership experience in ecommerce marketplaces and digital performance strategy to help brands scale with confidence.
Why work with Incubate?
Tailored strategies that align ad spend with business goals.
Expertise in Amazon performance management and optimisation.
Data-driven insights and AI-powered tools for precision scaling.
Transparent, collaborative partnership focused on measurable results.
Learn more about our Amazon performance management services and how we can help you scale your marketplace growth.
Conclusion
Scaling your Amazon ad spend is a critical step in accelerating ecommerce growth, but it must be done strategically. Focus on profitability signals, optimise campaigns rigorously, leverage data and automation, and scale budgets gradually. Advanced tactics like dayparting, geo-targeting, and diversified ad formats can further enhance results.
With the right approach and expert support from a partner like Incubate Agency, you can maximise your Amazon Ads ROI and build a sustainable growth engine for your brand.
Ready to scale your marketplace growth with a partner who gets it? Book your consultation now.