Amazon PPC Strategy 2025: How to Win Despite Rising Costs and Algorithm Changes

Amazon’s advertising landscape is evolving fast, and if you’re not adapting, you’re falling behind. In 2025, higher ad costs, new algorithm shifts, and more sophisticated competitors mean that having a sharp Amazon PPC strategy is more important than ever.

Whether you’re launching a new product or scaling an established brand, this guide breaks down what’s changed in 2025—and what you can do to stay ahead.

Amazon Advertising Costs Are Rising in 2025

Amazon’s pay-per-click (PPC) costs have climbed steadily. The average cost-per-click (CPC) now sits around $0.98—up over 10% from last year, according to data from Ad Badger and Marketplace Pulse. In competitive categories like electronics or health & wellness, CPCs often exceed $1.50.

Why the spike? Increased competition, aggressive bidding during peak shopping events like Prime Day, and a pay-to-play model that heavily rewards top-of-search placements. With so many brands funneling ad dollars into Amazon, the auction dynamics are more intense than ever.

If your Amazon PPC strategy 2025 doesn’t account for rising CPCs, you’ll likely see shrinking ROI. That’s why brands are doubling down on smarter targeting, better creative, and AI-powered tools.

Amazon’s A10 Algorithm Is Changing the Game

One of the biggest developments affecting your Amazon PPC strategy 2025 is the A10 algorithm. Unlike the older A9, which was more sales-focused, A10 weighs organic engagement more heavily. It favors listings that demonstrate buyer intent, strong conversion rates, and even external traffic.

Here’s how it impacts you:

• Organic Sales Drive Visibility: Your paid ads won’t boost organic rank unless customers are actually buying. The algorithm now prioritizes genuine shopper engagement over raw ad spend.

• Click-Through and Conversion Rates Matter: Ads with higher CTR and conversion rates are shown more often. That means your product images, titles, and bullet points need to work in sync with your keywords.

• External Traffic Gets Rewarded: If you’re sending traffic from social, email, or Google ads to Amazon, A10 is likely to favor your listings. This makes omni-channel efforts even more valuable.

Your Amazon PPC strategy in 2025 needs to factor in both paid and organic levers—because they’re more intertwined than ever.

What Works: PPC Tactics That Deliver in 2025

Here are four high-performing tactics eCommerce brands are using to optimize their Amazon PPC strategy 2025:

1. Keyword Clustering

Organize campaigns by tightly grouped, intent-based keyword clusters. For example, split campaigns into “branded,” “competitor,” and “category” keyword groups. This increases ad relevance and improves click-through rates—two key metrics in the A10 era.

2. AI-Powered Bidding

Brands using tools like Quartile or Perpetua are seeing stronger returns thanks to AI-driven bidding. These tools adjust bids in real-time based on keyword performance, conversion trends, and inventory status.

Using automation in your Amazon PPC strategy 2025 can save hours of manual work while delivering more efficient results.

3. Creative-First Ads (Especially Video)

Sponsored Brands Video is exploding in popularity—and results. Video ads tend to have better engagement and conversion rates than static ads. Keep them short (15–30 seconds) and product-focused.

Creative optimization is now a core part of every effective Amazon PPC strategy 2025.

4. Cross-Channel Retargeting

Amazon’s Demand-Side Platform (DSP) lets you target shoppers across the web, not just on Amazon. You can re-engage customers who’ve viewed your products or target lookalike audiences using Amazon Marketing Cloud data.

A cross-channel approach boosts performance both on and off Amazon, expanding your reach without inflating CPCs.

Adapt or Fall Behind

To thrive in Amazon’s pay-per-click space, your Amazon PPC strategy 2025 needs to be smarter, leaner, and more data-driven. Rising CPCs and algorithm changes aren’t going away—but neither is the opportunity.

Focus on ad relevance, embrace automation, and optimize your creatives to make every click count. And remember: the brands that win are the ones that experiment, measure, and adapt.

At Rebelution e-Commerce, we help brands stay ahead of the curve by building performance-focused Amazon PPC strategies tailored for 2025 and beyond. Whether you’re scaling or starting fresh, we’re here to help you turn complexity into clarity—and clicks into customers.