Why Audits Matter
Many brands invest five- to six-figure monthly budgets into Amazon Advertising. Yet few actually know whether their Amazon agency is spending that budget efficiently. Keywords are often mis-prioritized, campaign structures unnecessarily bloated, or budget simply burned.
The good news: with the right framework, you can determine in under five minutes whether your Amazon account is being managed well, or whether it's time to take a closer look.
1. Ad Spend Allocation: The Fastest Indicator
Your first check should always be budget distribution. A simple report setup is enough to see how ad spend relates to total revenue and what ACoS ranges your targets fall into.
Questions to ask yourself:
- How much budget is going to targets that generate zero revenue?
- How much budget sits within an ACoS range that makes strategic sense?
- How much money flows into keywords that are already too expensive?
As soon as you spot a clear imbalance, like heavy spend on non-performing keywords, you know immediately: budget is being wasted.
2. Exposing Bloated Campaign Structures
A classic sign of weak agency work is oversized campaign structures. When a single product suddenly appears across 100+ campaigns, it creates the illusion of control, but in practice, agencies quickly lose oversight.
Strong accounts are characterized by clean, logical setups. It's not about creating as many campaigns as possible, but about using the right campaign types and targets purposefully.
3. Focus on Total Profit, Not Isolated ACoS
Many agencies blindly optimize toward a target ACoS without considering overall profitability. This is one of the most common and most expensive mistakes.
What you should focus on instead:
- How profitable is the product overall?
- What's the margin, and how much profit remains?
- Is revenue trending in the right direction?
- Is TACoS stable or declining long-term?
A low ACoS sounds great but means nothing if you're barely breaking even. Only a holistic view of total performance reveals whether your setup actually works.
4. Campaign Segmentation: Logic Beats Complexity
There are countless campaign structures that can work. The deciding factor isn't how complex the setup is, but how logically it's aligned to the specific product and goal.
Strong accounts use all relevant campaign types: Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display, and combine them intelligently. Smart prioritization always beats unnecessary complexity.
5. The PCOStudio Internal Audit Framework
Our approach at PCOStudio always starts with a clear budget analysis:
- Where is ad spend going?
- Which targets generate zero revenue?
- Which campaigns are efficient, and which aren't?
Based on this analysis, we examine deeper KPIs, evaluate keyword priorities, and identify optimization opportunities. The goal is to determine within minutes whether an account is well-structured, and that's something you can verify yourself.
6. Tips for Brands With a Weak Setup
If you're switching agencies or restructuring your account, keep these principles in mind:
- Focus on the core products with the highest leverage
- Regularly check budget allocation and eliminate non-performing targets
- Align your strategy around revenue, profit, and TACoS
- Keep campaign structures lean, but comprehensive enough to capture all opportunities
An audit isn't a one-time event. It's a tool to continuously ensure your budget is working as hard as it should.
Conclusion: 5 Minutes That Can Save Thousands
With a focused look at ad spend allocation, campaign structure, and profitability, you can instantly tell whether your agency is doing its job. Brands that regularly audit these metrics have a clear edge. They invest budget where it creates maximum impact.
Questions about your Amazon strategy?
We manage brands with over €300 million+ in sales on Amazon. Let's talk.
