What's the Difference Between Automatic and Manual Amazon PPC Campaigns?

Automatic campaigns let Amazon choose which search terms your ads show for — they're research tools for finding keywords. Manual campaigns let you pick the exact keywords and control bids precisely — they're performance tools for driving efficient sales. Most accounts need both, but the mistake is letting auto campaigns carry the budget long-term.

Article summary

The longer answer

Short answer: Automatic campaigns let Amazon choose which search terms your ads show for — they're research tools for finding keywords. Manual campaigns let you pick the exact keywords and control bids precisely — they're performance tools for driving efficient sales. Most accounts need both, but the mistake is letting auto campaigns carry the budget long-term.

What most people get wrong about this

Auto campaigns bid on whatever Amazon thinks is relevant to your product. You don't choose keywords — Amazon's algorithm does. This makes them ideal for discovery: finding search terms you didn't know existed that actually convert for your product.

What I would actually recommend

Manual campaigns give you full control. You pick the keywords, choose the match type (exact, phrase, broad), and set individual bids. This is where proven keywords should live — with bids based on your actual conversion data, not Amazon's suggestions.

About the author

Auto campaigns discover search terms. You review the Search Term Report every 1–2 weeks. Search terms that convert well get "graduated" to manual exact match campaigns with controlled bids. Search terms that waste money get added as negative keywords so the auto campaign stops paying for them.