How to Audit an Amazon PPC Account in 90 Minutes

The exact 7-step PPC audit framework I run on every new account. Real benchmarks, real red flags, and the 90-minute process that finds where the money leaks.

Article summary

The exact 7-step PPC audit framework I run on every new account. Real benchmarks, real red flags, and the 90-minute process that finds where the money leaks.

Before you start: what you need open

Not a sales pitch. Not a vague "we'll review your campaigns." A structured audit that looks at seven specific things in a specific order, and at the end I can tell a brand exactly where their money is going, where it's leaking, and what I'd change first.

Step 1: Campaign count check

I've run this audit on 60+ Amazon PPC accounts over the past three years. The process is always the same. The findings are different every time, but the same five or six problems show up on 80% of accounts. Most brands have no idea these problems exist until someone actually looks.

Step 2: Branded vs non-branded split

This post is the full audit framework. The same one I use. If you run it on your own account this afternoon, you'll know more about your PPC health than most agencies tell you in a quarterly review.

Step 3: ACOS by campaign type

- A proper Amazon PPC audit takes 90 minutes and covers 7 specific areas in a specific order - 80% of accounts have the same core problems: over-segmentation, unharvested search terms, branded overspend, and ACOS-driven decision making - You don't need expensive tools. Amazon's native reports cover everything: Campaign Manager, Search Term Report, and Business Reports - The audit should produce a prioritized list of 5-10 specific changes, not a vague "things could be better" summary - Running this yourself before hiring an agency tells you whether their audit findings are real or recycled

Step 4: Search term harvesting health

- 7+ years hands-on experience managing Amazon PPC across EU and US marketplaces - Direct experience with Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Display, Amazon Marketing Cloud, and DSP Lite - Managed and audited multi-million-dollar annual Amazon ad spend portfolios - Former in-house Amazon Ads manager, now advising brands and agencies on scalable PPC systems

Step 5: Conversion rate sanity check

The exact 7-step PPC audit framework I run on every new account. Real benchmarks, real red flags, and the 90-minute process that finds where the money leaks.