We used to have a big pre-amble about how we got here, but no one read it, and our bounce rate was super high, so we put the proof at the top. If you want the backstory, ask us on the Lontra Analytics LinkedIn Page, and will be happy to share.

In short, we got here because we developed a process called Keyword Shopping, and implemented our LAMP Scoreboard process.

This stuff really works. But you didn’t come here to take my word for it, so here’s some proof!

Want Proof? Pausing PPC on Account 1

Want more proof? Pausing PPC on Account 2

Each of those are screenshots from our testing dashboards that come standard with Lontra Analytics. We love these dashboards and we’re sure you’ll love them too. We can share more proof, whether its’ ranking, BSR, or anything else you want. Just mention us on social media and we’d be happy to tell you more.

Overall, this stuff works. Want to know how to do it? Make sure you grab a copy of our template and read on below!

https://youtu.be/5iRswnBrr08

Overview

As the drawing suggested, the steps we are going to follow are:

Get data
Evaluate if we are above or below 75% Organic Units %
Determine/confirm we have isolated a our top search terms into single keyword campaigns
Define the Test
Pause like a pro

That’s the playbook. So simple it hurts. Obviously, it’s the details that matter, but I wanted to make sure I gave it all away upfront so you didn’t feel like I was leading you on.

OK, so we are going to do this with a template. Make sure you download it.One final disclaimer. We are always testing. This article is likely to be updated, added to etc. Even if you don’t want the template (IDK why you wouldn’t ), sign up for our newsletter, because we are going to send out an email whenever we update this.

This has been our most requested topic by far, so I wanted to make sure we told you how to stay up to date with our experiments.

Finally, if you want to be able to do this in a few clicks instead of a ~45 minute process PER PRODUCT, then sign up for Lontra Analytics. You’ll love it.

Gathering Data

H10 Cerebro Report

Log in to your Helium 10 account.
Click on the “Cerebro” tool in the top navigation bar.
In the “ASIN Reverse Search” section, enter the ASIN you want to analyze.
Choose the marketplace where the ASIN is listed from the drop-down menu.
Click on the “Search” button to start the analysis.
Wait for the analysis to complete. This may take a few minutes depending on the complexity of the ASIN.
Once the analysis is complete, you will see the search results. Click on the ASIN you want to analyze to see more details.
On the ASIN details page, click on the “Download” button.
In the pop-up window, select the type of report you want to download. You can choose from the following options: CSV, XLS, or PDF.
Select the report format and click on the “Download” button.
Save the downloaded report to your computer.
Paste the report into “Paste – H10 Cerebro”

30 day Search Term Report

Log in to your Amazon Advertising account and navigate to the “Campaign Manager” tab.
Select the campaign for which you want to generate a search term report.
Click on the “Reports” tab in the top menu bar.
Select “Create Report” and choose “Search term” as the report type.
Choose the date range for which you want to generate the report (30 days).
Select the fields that you want to include in the report, such as clicks, impressions, conversions, and cost.
Choose the file type for the report, such as CSV or Excel.
Click on “Create Report” to generate the search term report.
Wait for the report to be generated. This may take a few minutes.
Once the report is ready, download it and open it in your preferred software.
Analyze the data in the report to identify high-performing and low-performing keywords.
Use this information to optimize your Amazon Sponsored Products campaigns, such as by adjusting bids, adding negative keywords, or creating new campaigns targeting high-performing keywords.
Paste the report into “Paste – SPA STR”

Business Report by Child ASIN

Amazon Seller Central report for the business report by child ASIN for the last 30 days:

Log in to your Amazon Seller Central account.
Click on the ‘Reports’ tab in the top navigation menu.
Select ‘Business Reports’ from the drop-down menu.
In the ‘Sales and Traffic’ section, click on the ‘Detail Page Sales and Traffic by Child Item’ report.
Select the date range for the last 30 days.
Choose ‘Child Item’ from the ‘Group By’ drop-down menu.
Click the ‘Request Download’ button to generate the report.
Once the report is ready, you can download it in CSV format by clicking on the ‘Download’ button.
Paste the report into “Paste – Biz Reports”

Amazon search query performance report for your highest performing ASIN:

Log in to your Amazon Seller Central account and navigate to the “Reports” tab.
Select “Business Reports” from the dropdown menu.
Click on “Detail Page Sales and Traffic” from the list of report options.
Choose the time period for which you want to generate the report. Make sure it includes the time period during which your highest performing ASIN has been active.
Click on the “Request Report” button.
Wait for the report to be generated. This may take a few minutes.
Once the report is ready, click on the “Download” button to save it to your computer.
Open the report in your preferred software (such as Excel or Google Sheets).
Sort the data by ASIN to find your highest performing ASIN.
Identify the search terms that shoppers are using to find your ASIN by looking at the “Search Term” column.
Analyze the data in the report to identify trends and opportunities for optimizing your product listings and advertising campaigns.
Use this information to improve the visibility and performance of your highest performing ASIN, such as by adding relevant keywords to your product listing or creating a new Amazon Sponsored Products campaign targeting these keywords.
Paste the data into “Paste – Best Seller SQP”

Problem: SQP only has preset options.

We saw this and realized there are not a lot of great options.
The most important thing to us is that we get a benchmark number, however, using historical benchmark numbers have their drawbacks.
- For example, conversion rates change month over month.
- A product might have a 30% conversion rate in December and an 8% conversion rate in January.

The Two potential SQP Solutions

Download the 4 most recent weeks of the SQP and paste them all in.
1. This will help with getting the most accurate data
2. The obvious drawback is that you need to download, paste, and blend 4 reports
  1. We thought we would not recommend this, as most of our readers are trying to do less data gathering, not more
Perform this activity on the 8th of the month, for the previous month
1. Doesn’t provide real time data, but gives you a good approximation for what is happening in the account
2. After you’ve done the previous month’s check, look at the current data to see how we are performing.
Final option, with Lontra Analytcis, we always have you do the 1st one automatically.
1. Yes, we shamelessly plug our own product 😉

Brand Analytics search terms report for your highest performing ASIN:

Log in to your Amazon Seller Central account and navigate to the “Brand Analytics” tab.
Select “Search Terms” from the dropdown menu.
Choose the time period for which you want to generate the report. Make sure it includes the time period during which your highest performing ASIN has been active.
Select the marketplace where your ASIN is sold.
Type in your highest performing ASIN in the search box at the top of the page and hit “Enter”.
Analyze the search terms report to identify the most popular search terms for your ASIN.
Look at the “Search Frequency Rank” column to see which search terms are most frequently used by customers who end up purchasing your ASIN.
Analyze the data in the report to identify trends and opportunities for optimizing your product listings and advertising campaigns.
Use this information to improve the visibility and performance of your highest performing ASIN, such as by adding relevant keywords to your product listing or creating a new Amazon Sponsored Products campaign targeting these keywords.
Paste the data into “Paste – Brand Analytics”

Final step – Paste data, check data, then hide all “Paste Tabs”

Paste all the data into their respective tas
Look at all the tabs that say “paste”
Does any of the data look broken? Or like it doesn’t match?
Most issues are fixed by re-pasting the data into the correct cells. Often it’s just that amazon added or subtracted some columns
I am assuming that if you’re read this far, you’re smart enough to figure this out with out me going over it in detail.

Evaluate if you’re above 75% Organic Sales %

First, check your organic sales percentage for the product you want to evaluate. If it’s less than 75%, it’s time to look at your organic units percentage.

You can easily calculate your organic units percentage by dividing organic units by total units in your provided spreadsheet or template. If your organic sales percentage is still under 75%, it’s time to take action. Check out our LAMP Scoreboard article for more tips on how to increase your organic units percentage.

If your organic sales percentage is over 75%, congratulations! The next step is to isolate your top search terms into exact match. This is an important step that you should not overlook. If you haven’t done this yet, go read our keyword shopping article for more information.

Once you have isolated your top search terms, it’s time to evaluate your pausability. In other words, which search terms or keywords are not performing as well as others? By identifying the search terms that are not performing well, you can strategically pause your PPC campaigns to save money and maximize your results.

Evaluate Pausability (I’m making it a word)

Let’s start by checking how our ranking is doing. If we’re already in the top 10, then let’s focus on those products first. Next, we need to evaluate our conversion rates compared to the benchmark. This is crucial because if our PPC CVR is beating everything else, then we are likely crushing it at the top of the search.

Ideally, we want to be in the top 5 organically, and our PPC CVR should be beating both the benchmark CVR and our Search Query Performance (SQP) CVR. If we find even one keyword that meets these criteria, then we have found a top candidate to pause. Be sure to make a note of this so that we can move on and check for more.

Now, it’s time to decide which keyword or keywords we are going to pause. This decision depends on your risk tolerance. If you have only one keyword, then you only have one to test, so either do that or don’t. If you have two keywords, then choose the one with less search volume. For three keywords, go after the middle one, and if you have four or more, then you’re in the driver’s seat.

Ideally, you want to choose the keyword that has the least strategic importance to you so that you can test with less fear. Don’t worry if you’re scared; we still get scared doing this. Once you have made a final decision on which keyword or keywords to pause, get ready because in the next step, we will create a plan.

Creating a Pause Plan
It’s time to put together a plan. First, you need to decide which keyword or keywords to pause. Once you’ve made your decision, it’s time to determine the duration of the pause. This is dictated by your risk tolerance. If you’re risk-averse, then do 5 days. If you’re medium on risk, then do 7 days. If you don’t mind risk, then do 10-14 days.

Next, we need to decide what our breaking points are. Generally, this is when organic ranking drops by 10 spots or more. It can also be when your product loses more than 20% of ordered product sales, or when your product makes less than a 5% increase in profitability in the first 5 days. Or it can simply be when you start feeling uncomfortable.

After that, you need to decide what you are going to do instead of refreshing Amazon. Look at your to-do list and pick something big that you will do. Go spend time with family, go for a walk, go camping. Just distract yourself, it will be hard. Commit to only checking 2x per day.

Once you’ve decided how long it’s going to take, what your breaking points will be, and what you’re going to do instead, you’re ready for the final section. This section involves deciding the hard cutoffs you’re willing to make. This includes the time period, communication to the rest of the team (inventory, listing, customer service, promotions), hypothesis, and breaking point.

By setting clear and specific cutoffs, you can more effectively evaluate the results of the pause and make informed decisions moving forward.

Pause Like A Pro
Begin by pausing your single keyword campaigns for the selected term(s). Double-check that your tracking is set up correctly so that you can accurately measure the impact of the pause.

If you anticipate that the process might be challenging, you could also consider leveraging Lontra Analytics to help you. Our team can provide expert support and guidance to help you achieve the best possible outcomes.

Once your test is complete, be sure to share your results and feedback on social media! Tag us (@lontraanalytics) in your post so that we can see your progress and share your successes.

If your test did not go as planned, don’t worry. Even if you’re not a customer, our team would be happy to review your results and offer suggestions to help you improve your performance.

Finally, if your test was successful, please consider paying us back for creating and sharing this strategy! We invested significant time and effort into developing and refining this approach, and we’re thrilled to see it helping others achieve their goals.

Happy pausing, and even happier profits!

What to do next? Check out our blog for more content like this!

Shameless Offer: Check out Lontra Analytics – The Data Driven Seller’s Dream Software

Automate this entire process and help you make data-driven decisions to improve your Amazon business
Save time and improve your profitability by easily tracking your performance metrics, optimizing your advertising campaigns, managing your inventory, and more.

Shameless Sub Offer: Check out our Done-For-You Account Management from Lontra Analytics’ Agency. Our team of experts can help you take your Amazon business to the next level by handling your account management tasks for you.

Lontra Analytics Secret Playbook: How Pausing Can Supercharge Your Amazon Profits

Click here to get a copy of Lontra Metrics!

Bonus Material: Get your copy of the Pause PPC Playbook Template Here

Want Proof? Pausing PPC on Account 1

Want more proof? Pausing PPC on Account 2

H10 Cerebro Report

30 day Search Term Report

Business Report by Child ASIN

Sponsored Products Advertised ASIN Report:

Sponsored Brand Bulk Operations Report:

Sponsored Display Advertised ASIN report

Amazon search query performance report for your highest performing ASIN:

Brand Analytics search terms report for your highest performing ASIN:

Final step – Paste data, check data, then hide all “Paste Tabs”

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