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How to Identify Waste in Auto Campaigns

Learn how to spot and eliminate wasted ad spend in Amazon auto campaigns by analyzing key performance metrics, identifying irrelevant traffic, and applying proven optimization actions to keep your campaigns efficient and profitable.

Arisbeth avatar
Written by Arisbeth
Updated today

Overview

Auto campaigns are a powerful way to discover new keywords and ASIN targets, but without regular monitoring they can quickly accumulate wasted spend—ad spend that does not contribute to sales or strategic learning. This article explains how to identify waste in auto campaigns and outlines best practices to control and reduce it.
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Important: “Waste” depends on your goal. A search term can look unprofitable early on but still be valuable for discovery during a launch. Use the guardrails below so you don’t cut too quickly and accidentally remove future winners.
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What Is Considered Waste?

In the context of auto campaigns, waste typically includes:

  • Spend on search terms or ASINs that do not convert

  • Spend on products that are irrelevant to your offer

  • Spend that produces conversions but at an unprofitable ACoS

  • Spend that no longer provides discovery value (duplicate or already-harvested terms)

Key Metrics to Monitor

To identify waste, review auto campaign performance using the following metrics:


1. Spend

  • Look for targets or search terms with high spend and no sales

  • A common starting threshold is $10–$25 in spend with zero conversions (adjust based on product price)

2. Sales and Orders

  • Zero-order targets are the primary indicator of waste

  • Low-order targets with very high ACoS may also qualify as waste

3. ACoS / ROAS

  • Identify targets with ACoS significantly above your profitability goal

  • Consider whether the target is still valuable for discovery or should be excluded

4. Click-Through Rate (CTR)

  • Very low CTR can indicate irrelevant targeting

  • Repeated impressions with few clicks may signal poor relevance

5. Conversion Rate (CVR)

  • CVR helps you separate bad traffic from a listing or offer issue

  • If a term is relevant and getting clicks but not converting, review price, reviews, images, and the listing promise before negating

6. Cost Per Click (CPC)

  • Rising CPC can create “waste” even when targeting is relevant

  • If CPC spikes, consider lowering bids or segmenting auto targeting so expensive placements don’t drain budget
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Where Waste Commonly Comes From

1. Irrelevant Search Terms

Auto campaigns may match your ads to:

  • Unrelated customer searches

  • Broad or ambiguous keywords

  • Competitor or category terms that don’t align with your product

2. Poor ASIN Matches

Product targeting in auto campaigns can surface:

  • Lower-quality or unrelated ASINs

  • Products with different use cases, price points, or variations

3. Duplicate Coverage

  • Auto campaigns may spend on keywords or ASINs already covered by manual campaigns

  • This can lead to inefficient budget allocation and internal competition

4. Over-Aggressive Bids

  • High default bids can accelerate spend before performance is proven

  • This often results in wasted clicks on low-intent traffic

How to Identify Waste Step by Step

  1. Open the Search Term or Targeting report

  2. Filter for auto campaigns only

  3. Sort by spend (highest to lowest)

  4. Apply a filter for zero orders or high ACoS

  5. Review relevance and intent for each term or ASIN

Waste Identification Checklist

Use this Amazon seller–focused checklist during your regular auto campaign reviews to quickly identify and act on wasted ad spend:

  • Pull the Search Term Report and Targeting Report for auto campaigns in Amazon Ads

  • Filter results to the last 14–30 days to ensure enough data volume

  • Sort search terms or ASIN targets by highest spend

  • Flag targets with meaningful spend and zero orders (adjust spend thresholds based on your product price)

  • Identify targets with ACoS well above your break-even or target ACoS

  • Review search terms for irrelevant intent (wrong product type, use case, size, brand, or audience)

  • Review ASIN targets for poor relevance, including mismatched price points, variations, or customer expectations

  • Check for duplicate coverage where auto campaigns are spending on keywords or ASINs already managed in manual campaigns

  • Evaluate whether each target still provides discovery value or is no longer contributing new insights

  • Decide which targets require action and reference the steps below to apply the appropriate optimization

What to Do When You Find Waste

1. Add Negative Keywords or ASINs

  • Exclude irrelevant or non-converting search terms

  • Use exact or phrase negatives for precision

2. Harvest and Isolate

  • Move converting search terms or ASINs into manual campaigns

  • Add them as negatives in auto campaigns to prevent duplicate spend

3. Lower Bids or Budgets

  • Reduce bids on auto campaigns that are spending inefficiently

  • Consider segmenting auto campaigns by match type if applicable

4. Pause or Reset Campaigns

  • If an auto campaign no longer provides discovery value, pausing it may be the best option

  • Alternatively, reset with lower bids and tighter budgets

Best Practices to Prevent Future Waste

  • Review auto campaign performance weekly

  • Set conservative default bids

  • Actively harvest winners and negate losers

  • Use auto campaigns primarily for discovery, not scaling

Key Takeaway

Auto campaigns should generate insights—not uncontrolled spend. Regular analysis and disciplined optimization are essential to identifying and eliminating waste while preserving the discovery value that auto campaigns provide.

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