This guide outlines key optimization practices to help you improve the performance of your Sponsored Products campaigns. Use these recommendations to increase visibility, drive more clicks, and optimize your return on ad spend.
Before exploring detailed strategies, review these general recommendations to improve overall campaign results:
Product / SKU-Level Optimization
Increase CPC for high-performing SKUs to maximize visibility.
Keep CPC steady for medium-performing SKUs.
Reduce CPC for low-performing SKUs; consider pausing the bottom performers.
Make gradual CPC changes (typically 5–10% for ROAS-focused strategies).
Review product performance regularly.
Line Item-Level Optimization
Increase bids on top-performing line items; decrease bids for underperformers.
Adjust CPCs by page type (search, category, etc.) using bid optimizers.
Raise bids during peak conversion periods and lower them during slower hours/days.
Budget & Keyword-Level Optimization
If the daily budget caps early, increase it or adjust your ad schedule.
Add or remove keywords to improve relevance; use engine‑generated keywords when possible.
Adjust keyword-level CPCs—raise for high performers, reduce for low performers.
The recommendations below are organized by specific goals. Select the goal you want to view the recommended solution.
Scaling More Products
If you're promoting multiple products, you might want to focus more on the ones that matter most, like your best-sellers, newest launches, or highest-margin items.
Example Situation: You launch your campaign and check the performance report after a few days. Some important products aren’t getting enough visibility. Here’s how to scale those products:
If all products are in one Line Item:
Use the Product Bidding Tool to increase bids only for the high-priority products.
This helps those products get more visibility without affecting others.
If each product is in its own Line Item:
Group all important products into one new line item.
Assign a dedicated budget to this line item.
Set a higher bid than your other line items and gradually increase it until you see enough scale.
You can also adjust bids within the line item if some products are more important than others.
Make sure to increase or remove the CPC cap for better results.
Switch the optimization strategy to Click Optimizer for better reach and traffic (note: this will not optimize for ROAS or CPO).
You can adjust these settings while creating your campaign or by editing a campaign. Please refer to our Sponsored Products Campaign Creation guides.
Serve Ads More Frequently Than Competitors
If you're running ads on a retailer’s site or app, standing out from your competitors is key. See below to understand how to serve your ads more often and win visibility over others.
Example Situation: After launching your campaign, you notice competitor ads showing up more often than yours in key placements. You want your products to appear more frequently.
Here's how to improve that:
Raise your Bids gradually
Higher bids help you win more auctions and increase how often your ad is shown.
Keep an eye on your performance as you raise bids.
Adjust or Remove your CPC Cap
If you're using Revenue Optimizer or Conversions Optimizer, raise the CPC cap to at least 30% above your bid.
Or remove it completely for full bidding power.
This allows the engine to optimize without being limited.
Switch to Click Optimizer
Best for competitive environments.
Focuses on getting more clicks and impressions, not just conversions or ROAS.
Helps you reach more people and stay competitive.
What to expect when you apply these changes:
You’ll likely see more impressions, clicks, sales, and spend for those prioritized products.
Your average CPC might go up.
Your Clickthrough Rate (CTR) and ROAS might go down.
Your budget may be used up faster, especially for high-priority items.
These are normal when you're focusing on growth and visibility. Just keep monitoring and adjusting as needed.
You can adjust these settings while creating your campaign or by editing a campaign. Please refer to our Sponsored Products Campaign Creation guides.
Increase Campaign or Line Item Scale
If your campaign is performing well in terms of Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) but you're not getting enough impressions or reach, see below to learn how you can boost delivery and scale up effectively.
Example Situation: You launched your campaign and are happy with how much revenue you're getting for your spend. But your ads aren’t showing up often enough, and you want to reach more shoppers.
Here is what you can do -
1. Gradually increase your bids
Raising your bids helps you win more auctions and shows your ads more often.
Make small increases and monitor how performance changes to avoid overbidding.
2. Use the Click Optimizer
Best for campaigns focused on reaching more people.
It prioritizes clicks and competitiveness over ROAS or Cost per Order (CPO).
Ideal when you're aiming to scale up quickly.
What to expect when you apply these changes:
More impressions, clicks, sales, and overall spend
ROAS might decrease slightly
Bid changes should be made slowly to keep performance steady.
You can adjust these settings while creating your campaign or by editing a campaign. Please refer to our Sponsored Products Campaign Creation guides.
Improve ROAS for a Campaign or Line Item
If your campaign is getting good visibility and lots of impressions, but your Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) isn’t where you want it to be, see below to learn how to improve it.
Example Situation: Your ads are showing frequently and spending well, but you want a better return on the money you're investing.
What you can do:
Tweak Your Bids – Focus on Individual Products
Look at your top-spending products (SKUs).
If some products have low ROAS, reduce their bids slightly.
Don’t go too low—keep bids at least 20% above the minimum allowed.
If you use a CPC cap, keep it at least 30% above your bid to give the system room to optimize.
Switch to the Revenue Optimizer
This setting helps improve ROAS by focusing on driving more revenue per dollar spent.
Ideal if you want a more efficient return, even if you reach fewer shoppers.
What to expect when you make these changes:
ROAS should improve.
Your overall scale (impressions, clicks, and sales) may drop.
Spend might decrease.
Make changes gradually to avoid sudden performance drops.
You can adjust these settings while creating your campaign or by editing a campaign. Please refer to our Sponsored Products Campaign Creation guides.
Increase Campaign/Line Item ROAS and Scale
If your campaign or some line items aren’t performing well or aren’t reaching enough people, it may be time to change your approach, not just your bids.
Example Situation: You’ve tried adjusting bids, but your ads still aren’t scaling or performing as expected. It might be hard to get both strong ROAS and high reach at the same time with your current setup.
What you can do:
Rethink your ROAS target
If your current ROAS goal is too high, consider lowering it slightly to open up more delivery opportunities.
Focus on secondary goals
Instead of just ROAS, consider goals like brand awareness, clicks, or sales volume - whatever supports your broader business strategy.
Decide what matters most
Choose between optimizing for performance (better ROAS) or scale (more impressions and clicks), depending on your priority.
Try a different optimizer or product group
Switch to a different optimization strategy that better fits your new goals (e.g., Click Optimizer for scale or Revenue Optimizer for ROAS).
You can also reorganize products within line items based on performance potential.
You can adjust these settings while creating your campaign or by editing a campaign. Please refer to our Sponsored Products Campaign Creation guides.
How to Lower Your Average CPC
If your average cost-per-click (CPC) is higher than you'd like, there are a few ways to reduce it, while keeping your campaign performance in mind.
Things to know first:
If you're using the Revenue or Conversions Optimizer, your CPC bid may vary slightly. The system automatically adjusts it to improve results.
Options to Lower CPC:
Set a CPC Cap
Add a CPC cap to line items using the Revenue or Conversions Optimizer to control how much you’re willing to pay per click.
Add relevant main help center link
Lower your Bids gradually
Reduce your bids slowly, either at the line item or product level.
Try to stay at least 20% above the bid floor and keep your CPC cap 30% higher than your bid so the system can still optimize effectively.
Use a Fixed CPC
If you want full control and don’t want the system to adjust your bids, switch to the Click Optimizer. This keeps your CPC fixed and predictable.
What to expect when you lower CPC:
Your average CPC should go down.
Your reach and delivery may decrease.
Competitors may win more placements and show more often or in better positions.
You can adjust these settings while creating your campaign or by editing a campaign. Please refer to our Sponsored Products Campaign Creation guides.
How to Keep Your Ads Running All Day
If your campaign or line item is stopping early and not showing ads during key shopping times (like evenings), here are a few ways to help it stay live longer throughout the day:
Increase your Budget: Make sure your daily budget is high enough to run ads throughout the entire day.
Lower your CPC bids: Reducing your cost-per-click (CPC) bids can help your budget last longer and avoid running out too early.
Use advanced bidding tools: Use the product bid override tool to lower bids on underperforming products (SKUs). Apply lower bid multipliers to less effective page types.
Reduce spend on low-performing pages: Add negative bid adjustments (like -10% or -20%) to page types that don’t perform well.
Manually control your schedule: You can manually turn line items off and on during preferred hours of the day. This is a temporary workaround since built-in dayparting isn’t available yet.
Why this matters:
If your campaign ends early in the day, you’re missing chances to reach shoppers, which can reduce your revenue and overall performance.
You can adjust these settings while creating your campaign or by editing a campaign. Please refer to our Sponsored Products Campaign Creation guides.