Naming Campaigns & AdGroups on Amazon
Part 4 of 11 – This is the fourth part of a multi-step guide on how to succeed with Amazon ads. In this part, I will go over how you should name your campaigns and AdGroups.
Okay, we’re almost ready to set up the ads. But there’s one last thing I want to cover: how to name your campaigns and AdGroups. This step is without a doubt the most underrated part of the process. This is especially true since it’s so easy to get right.
I will show you how I typically name the ads I set up, but the important thing is that the system works for you. The names of the ads are not seen by customers; they’re only visible to you internally in your Campaign Manager. So they don’t directly impact the results, but they help you manage the campaigns, which often leads to better outcomes in the long run.
I haven’t seen a single successful advertiser who neglects naming, so don’t underestimate this step.
Campaign Names that Provide Clarity
I like to name ads in a way that gives me structure and clarity. I want to be able to look at an ad name and immediately understand what the campaign is about. An example of a name I might use for a campaign is “Headphones - SP - Exact - 20.” This name consists of four parts, and I always use these four parts.
The Four Parts of a Campaign Name
- Product Category - The first part describes the product category. This category refers to the categorizations you made earlier when deciding how to group your different products. The word (or words) you use here should quickly inform you which category of products this campaign belongs to. But try to keep it as short as possible.
- Ad Type - The next part describes the campaign’s ad type: Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, or Sponsored Display. To keep campaign names from becoming too long, I abbreviate them to SP, SB, and SD. If you use different types of ads within these categories, such as SB Video ads, I recommend adding that detail. For example, “SB Video.”
- Match Type - The third part describes the campaign’s match type, such as “Exact” or “Broad.” For campaigns that are Auto or use Product Targeting, there is no match type. In those cases, I simply write “Auto” or “Product.”
- ACOS Target - The last part describes the specific ad’s ACOS target. ACOS target is something I haven’t explained yet, but more information will come later. A brief explanation is that it’s the ACOS you aim to achieve with this campaign (see the chapter on KPIs for a reminder about ACOS).
Naming AdGroups
Okay, so that was for campaigns; now let’s also name our AdGroups. Naming here is not as rigid, but it’s important that you can see which product (or products) are in each AdGroup. How you name it depends on the type of products you sell. I usually try to use the product category followed by some kind of description of the specific product. For example, “Headphones (Red),” or if I’m selling many different red headphones, “Headphones (Beats, Red).”
I again include the ad type and match type because it simplifies optimization work in the future. But you usually don’t need to worry about the ACOS target. An example of an AdGroup name could be “Headphones (Red) - SP - Broad.”
This makes things much easier for you if you are consistent with AdGroup names across different campaigns. That is, if you use a name in your Auto campaigns, then use the same naming structure in your Exact match campaigns.
How Do You Set Up Ads?
Campaign and AdGroup names are crucial but often underrated. Now you know how to name your ads, so make sure to implement it. In the next part, I will cover how to actually set up the ads, and we will implement what you’ve learned in all the previous parts. Don’t miss it!