Product Launch Strategy

Why Launch Strategy is Different

Launching a new product requires a fundamentally different PPC approach than managing mature products. Your goals during launch are visibility, data gathering, and ranking - NOT immediate profitability.

Key Mindset Shift: During launch, you're INVESTING in future organic sales. Accept a higher ACoS as the cost of building momentum.

Understanding Your Launch Timeline

Step 1: Keyword Research Foundation

Before spending a single dollar on ads, you need a comprehensive keyword strategy:

• Identify 20-30 relevant keywords using PPCTools' keyword research feature or Amazon's own search suggestions
• Categorize by intent:
  • High Intent: Product-specific terms (e.g., "6mm yoga mat purple")
  • Medium Intent: Category terms (e.g., "yoga mat")
  • Low Intent: Broad terms (e.g., "yoga equipment")
• Note search volume and competition for each keyword
• Identify your "ranking keywords" - the 5-10 most important terms you MUST rank for

Step 2: Listing Optimization

Ads drive traffic, but your LISTING converts. Before launching ads, ensure:

• Main Image: White background, clear product, fills 85%+ of frame
• Title: Includes top 3-5 keywords naturally
• Bullet Points: Address customer pain points, include keywords
• A+ Content: If Brand Registered, use comparison charts and lifestyle images
• Price: Competitive with top sellers (within 15%)

Step 3: Review Strategy

Products with no reviews convert markedly worse than products that have them. Plan ahead:

• Amazon Vine: If eligible, enrol early. There is an enrolment fee and a cap on how many reviews it can generate - check the current terms in Seller Central before budgeting for it
• "Request a Review" Button: Use for every order starting day 1
• Insert Cards: Include quality inserts (follow Amazon TOS)
• Realistic Expectations: Your first 10-20 sales will convert poorly - that's normal

Week 1-2: The Data Gathering Phase

Launch these three campaigns simultaneously:

Week 3-4: Expansion Phase

Based on your data, add these campaigns:

• Sponsored Brands Video (if Brand Registered)
  • High visibility, and typically a stronger CTR than Sponsored Products
  • Great for building brand awareness during launch
  • Budget: 15% of total PPC spend
• Product Targeting Campaign
  • Target competitor ASINs (similar price, lower ratings)
  • Target complementary products (cross-sell opportunity)
  • Budget: 15% of total PPC spend
• Category Targeting
  • Broad discovery for related categories
  • Lower priority but can find hidden gems

Aggressive Launch Approach (Recommended for Most Launches)

Conservative Launch Approach (Limited Budget)

If you have budget constraints:

• Start at suggested bids (not above)
• Use Dynamic Down Only to reduce wasted spend
• Focus budget on exact match - less waste than broad
• Accept slower data gathering - launch will take longer
• Minimum viable budget: $15-20/day total

How Ads Build Organic Ranking

The Process:

1. Bid aggressively on exact match for your target keywords
2. Win Top of Search placement consistently
3. Drive conversions (sales from those keywords)
4. Amazon's algorithm sees: "This product converts well for this keyword"
5. Organic rank improves for that keyword
6. Reduce ad spend on that keyword (organic takes over)
7. Move to next keyword in your ranking list
8. Repeat until you rank organically for all target keywords

Recommended Budget Split

Week 1-2: Foundation

• Launch Auto, Broad, and Exact campaigns
• Gather initial performance data
• Monitor for any campaign issues
• Expected ACoS: 50-100%+ (this is normal at launch)

Week 3-4: Harvest

• Download first search term reports
• Move winning search terms to Exact campaigns
• Add losing terms as negative keywords
• Launch SB Video if Brand Registered
• Expected ACoS: 40-70%

Week 5-8: Accelerate

• Scale performing keywords
• Add product targeting campaigns
• Expand keyword footprint based on winners
• Monitor organic ranking progress
• Expected ACoS: 30-50%

Week 9+: Optimize

• Transition focus to profitability
• Reduce bids on keywords where you're ranking organically
• Expand to maintenance campaigns
• Target ACoS: 20-35%

The 6 Deadly Launch Sins

Week 2 Checkpoints

• [ ] Campaigns getting impressions (at least 1,000/day total)
• [ ] CTR above 0.2% (below = image/title problem)
• [ ] Some sales/conversions happening
• [ ] Search term data populating in reports

Week 4 Checkpoints

• [ ] 5+ converting search terms identified
• [ ] Some organic rank movement visible
• [ ] ACoS trending downward (even if still high)
• [ ] Reviews accumulating (ideally 5-10+)

Week 8 Checkpoints

• [ ] Top 3-5 keywords ranking on page 1 organically
• [ ] ACoS below 40%
• [ ] TACoS declining (organic sales increasing)
• [ ] Clear winner and loser keywords identified