Adtomic Video: How to Set Up Custom Amazon Bid Rules

If you're ready to optimize your Amazon advertising campaigns with more control, custom bid rules in Adtomic by Helium 10 can be a powerful tool. While setting up custom bid rules may seem time-consuming initially, it ultimately automates key parts of your campaign strategy, saving hours of manual work. Here’s a step-by-step guide on creating and using custom bid rules to align with your campaign goals.

1. Getting Started: The Benefits of Custom Rules in Adtomic

Adtomic’s AI-powered algorithms provide reliable automation options, but custom bid rules allow even more precision in reaching specific Advertising Cost of Sales (ACOS) or Return On Ad Spend (ROAS) targets. By setting up custom bid rules, you can automatically adjust bids up or down based on criteria you define. For example, you might set rules to increase bids on high-performing keywords and decrease bids for those with a high ACOS, streamlining adjustments that would otherwise require manual calculations and updates in Seller Central.

2. Setting Up Your First Custom Rule

To start with custom rules, go to the "Rules and Automation" section in Adtomic and select "Create New Rule." Here’s a simple example that shows how to create a bid rule based on target ACOS:

• Choose Your Rule Type: Set your primary objective, such as increasing or decreasing bids, based on a specific target metric like ACOS.
• Select the Campaigns: Rather than setting up the rule for each campaign individually, choose which campaigns you’d like to apply this rule to from the list, and then move them over to the “Selected Campaigns” area.

3. Define Your Criteria for Bids and Targets

This is where you can get specific about when you want to adjust bids based on campaign performance.

• Setting ACOS Ranges: For example, if a target ACOS exceeds 200%, you might want Adtomic to suggest pausing that target entirely. A high ACOS suggests it’s unlikely to become profitable, so pausing the bid conserves the budget for better-performing targets.
• Creating Bid Adjustment Ranges: Set rules based on specific ACOS brackets. For instance, if your ACOS is between 60% and 100%, you could instruct Adtomic to recommend lowering the bid to bring it closer to your target, say 50%. You can fine-tune your bid adjustment formula, adjusting cost per click based on your desired ACOS.

Each of these criteria can be layered with others for granular control. For instance, you could include conditions based on clicks, conversion rates, or advertising orders to ensure that Adtomic only suggests bid changes when they meet all your chosen parameters.

4. Using ACOS Formulas for Bid Adjustments

An ACOS-based formula is helpful for determining target bids. Let’s break down a simple example:

• If your bid is currently set at $4 with an ACOS of 50%, and you want to reach an ACOS of 25%, you calculate the new bid based on your ACOS target. Rather than manually adjusting every target bid one by one, Adtomic can automatically suggest adjustments using this rule.
• Alternatively, you might want to adjust more conservatively, reducing your bid from $4 to $3 instead of $2 and evaluating if that change moves your ACOS in the right direction.

This functionality allows you to automate bid adjustments across targets without having to re-evaluate every bid individually, a process that can be tedious and error-prone when done manually.

5. Setting Up Rules for Low ACOS Performance

Bid adjustments aren’t just for high ACOS targets. If you have a keyword performing well with an ACOS of 5%-10%, consider increasing bids. Adtomic can help you experiment by suggesting higher bids on these keywords, enabling you to capture more sales without sacrificing profitability.

6. Adding a “Pause” Rule to Prevent Wasted Ad Spend

One of the most useful rules you can implement is a pause rule. For instance, you could set a rule that pauses any target receiving more than 25 clicks with no orders, stopping ad spend on non-converting targets and preserving your budget for better performers. This simple pause rule can significantly reduce wasted spend in your campaigns.

7. Scheduling Rule Updates

Decide how frequently you want Adtomic to apply these rules to your campaigns. Many users schedule weekly updates to ensure a balance between staying on top of market changes and allowing sufficient time to evaluate rule effectiveness. For instance, you might schedule updates every Thursday at 11 PM Pacific Time.

8. Start with Manual Suggestions Before Automating

It’s tempting to turn on full automation, but starting with manual suggestions is a safer approach. This allows you to verify that your rules work as intended, making adjustments where necessary. Once you’re confident that your rules are functioning as expected, you can consider automating them for more hands-off management.

Conclusion

Setting up custom bid rules in Adtomic may require some upfront time investment, but the payoff is immense. With Adtomic handling complex calculations and bid adjustments based on your criteria, you save hours of manual work while maintaining control over campaign performance. Custom bid rules enable you to better align ad spend with your profitability goals, helping you to grow your campaigns effectively.